20 Best Setting Powders for Your Most Flawless Makeup Ever
To use setting powder or not to use setting powder? It’s a question we’re often debating ourselves over, while, for others (like the majority of makeup artists), it may be a no-brainer. Whether you’re a setting powder devotee, an occasional dabbler, or a total novice, one thing is for sure—everyone can use a little setting powder in their lives, and once you do, you’ll never look back. Consider setting powder like the icing on the cake; it’s the finishing touch to your look that enables your makeup to reach its full glam potential. Sure, it seems like an easy step to skip—but makeup artists everywhere swear by the power of a quality setting powder to help your makeup stay exactly where you want it: on your face.
So what is setting powder? Setting powder, or translucent powder, is a sheer, lightweight powder that is used as the final step of makeup (before a setting spray) to reduce shine and absorb oil. It’s also a key part of makeup baking, which celebs swear by for keeping their skin red-carpet ready, even if they’re just running groceries and getting stalked by the paps. It also increases the staying power of your foundation to make it last longer. Loads of pros on this list already! Ready to stop settling for melting makeup? Check out 20 of the best setting powders on the market.
About the Expert:
Jessi Butterfield is a celebrity makeup artist based in New York City.
1. Best Lightweight Setting Powder:
HOURGLASS Veil™ Translucent Setting Powder
Made from ultra-refined, finely milled, and soft-focus particles, this powder is the ultimate lightweight formula. Basically, it soaks up all of your skin’s excess oils to ensure long-lasting makeup wear while feeling barely-there on the skin. The best part is that it’s talc-, paraben-, and fragrance-free.
2. Best Setting Powder for Dry Skin:
CHARLOTTE TILBURY Airbrush Flawless Finish
If you’ve got dry skin, some setting powders can have a difficult time settling into skin, making it look even drier. If this sounds like you, we’ve got you covered. Infused with rose wax, almond oil, and pearls that reflect light, this hydrating, finely-milled powder helps moisturize and soften skin while leaving behind a soft-focused, airbrushed finish.
3. Best Drugstore Setting Powder:
MAYBELLINE Fit Me!® Loose Finishing Powder
You don’t have to dip into rent money to find a setting powder with high-end results. This budget-friendly find gets straight to the point, helping control shine and smooth skin texture for up to 12(!) hours. Even better, it comes in a variety of shades (from fair, to medium and dark skin tones), so you’ll never suffer from that dreaded mismatched neck color, and you can use it to set and bake your makeup, too.
4. Best Longwear Setting Powder:
LAURA MERCIER Translucent Loose Setting Powder
Sure, all setting powders will help your foundation and concealer last for hours, but when you really need to make sure your makeup looks pristine for a considerable amount of time, try using this weightless powder from LAURA MERCIER. It’s proven to provide 16 hours of wear without weighing your face down. Apply it on warm days to keep your makeup from melting, or use it on its own for a sheer, natural makeup look. It comes in Translucent, Translucent Honey, or Translucent medium deep shades so you can find the best match for you.
“Love this powder,” said one Ipster after receiving this in their Glam Bag. “This is a holy grail product. I use this every day.
5. Best Professional Setting Powder:
DERMABLEND Loose Setting Powder
This loose translucent powder can tackle serious jobs—including setting body makeup. Use the non-comedogenic formula wherever you’d like for 16 hours of transfer-resistant, smudge-free makeup wear. It works great for all skin types and blends smoothly to absorb excess oil and mattify the skin.
6. Best Blurring Powder:
E.L.F. Halo Glow Setting Powder
One word: Magic. That’s what we immediately thought after swiping this silky smooth powder onto our skin. This loose setting powder has a way of instantly taking your complexion to new levels of flawlessness by blurring imperfections, getting rid of shine, and leaving behind a healthy, dewy glow. It comes in a variety of shades from translucent to deep, and a little bit goes a very long way.
7. Best Setting Powder Shade Range:
FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Setting Powder
If sheerer translucent powders haven’t always blended in seamlessly with your skin, you’re not alone. This super-fine weightless powder comes in eight shine-reducing shades that won’t flashback. Each shade melts into skin, leaving behind a smooth, healthy-looking finish without the white overcast. It works all day long to blur the look of pores and fine lines while helping skin maintain a matte finish.
8. Best Pore Blurring Setting Powder:
IT COSMETICS Bye Bye Pores Pressed Setting Powder
If large pores are your problem, consider this skin-perfecting powder your new bestie. Made with a mix of silk, collagen, and antioxidants, this formula helps smooth and soften skin while blurring the appearance of large pores for a flawless-looking, airbrushed finish. Wear it alone or over makeup. It comes in three translucent shades that work with a variety of skin tones.
One Ipster found all the best uses for this powder after getting a deluxe sample in a Glam Bag: “I used this mostly with a BEAUTYBLENDER to set concealer on my eyelids as an eyeshadow primer, and it did the job perfectly. No creasing. Also used with a fluffy brush over foundation and I feel like it decreased oil/shine.”
9. Most Innovative Setting Powder:
KOSAS Cloud Set Setting Powder
Ok, this is really cool. This buttery-soft pressed powder formula starts off as a mousse (yup!), that’s infused with active skincare ingredients to help improve the look of fine lines, pores, and reduce oil before it's baked into a powder, making it a skincare-and-powder-in-one. It's super light and airy, making it great for changing temperatures, and it comes in a wide range of shades which makes finding your perfect match a breeze.
10. Best Setting Powder for Shine Control:
URBAN DECAY All Nighter Softening Loose Setting Powder
URBAN DECAY has quite the reputation for products that withstand the test of time (and humidity), and this setting powder is no different. It delivers 16 hours of oil and shine control, and prevents your makeup from settling into pores and fine lines. The silky vegan formula also creates a transparent matte finish without looking cakey or drying.
11. Best Baking Setting Powder:
ONE/SIZE Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder in Translucent
Ready for a bake-off? This pro-grade setting powder from One/Size by Patrick Starrr (aka the G.O.A.T of makeup baking), is formulated to create hi-def, full-glam looks that can last for the long haul. Use a thin veil for your everyday look or add more (it’s easily buildable), for a photo-ready finish. No flashback or white overcast either.
After getting a full size of this powder in their Glam Bag x Madelaine Petsch, one Ipster left this review: “I absolutely love this! I never want to run out! Finally, a loose powder that doesn't settle into the lines and creases on my face!
12. Best Setting Powder for Color-Correcting:
NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP HD Finishing Powder Pressed Setting Powder
This lightweight setting powder is one of the best around, according to hundreds of five-star reviews. The translucent formula softens the appearance of pores and fine lines while delivering a photo-ready matte finish. Users say that it helps their look last all day without creasing or over-drying. We also love that translucent isn’t the only option. Opt for the banana powder to minimize dark circles and hyperpigmentation, or try the green setting powder to reduce the appearance of redness.
13. Best Multitasking Setting Powder:
L'ORÉAL PARIS Infallible Pro-Sweep & Lock Loose Setting Face Powder
Don’t forsake the trusted drugstore brands—they’ve been around for decades for a reason. This micro-fine translucent powder locks in makeup, controls shine, and does all of the amazing things that more premium brands promise, including blurring the look of pores and fine lines. Users say that it’s long-lasting and doesn’t dry out their skin.
14. Best Everyday Wear Setting Powder:
RARE BEAUTY Always an Optimist Soft Radiance Setting Powder
Whether you’re a makeup minimalist or a full-glam fan, you need a setting powder that you can reach for every day and this baby is it. Perfect for daily wear alone or over makeup, this silky smooth powder checks all the boxes. It blurs, stops shine, smooths texture, and prolongs the life of your makeup with no caking, clumping, or flashback. Even better, the packaging comes with a built-in locking sifter to keep your powder in its case and away from your stuff.
15. Best Pressed Setting Powder:
BAREMINERALS Original Mineral Veil® Pressed Setting Powder in Translucent
Not only does this classic setting powder extend foundation wear and blur fine lines and imperfections immediately, but it's also proven to reduce the look of pores over time, ultimately creating a smoother complexion. Made with 86% naturally derived ingredients, this vegan veil also includes conditioning shea and cocoa butters as well as vitamin E to keep skin protected from environmental stressors like pollution.
16. Best Setting Powder for All Skin Types:
CLINIQUE Blended Face Powder
This easy-to-use powder is great for all skin types. The superfine powder creates a smooth finish that helps reduce the appearance of pores while softening your skin’s texture, enhancing the look of your natural skin or makeup underneath. We also love that the radiant quality of the powder reflects light so that you can get rid of shine without sacrificing glow.
17. Best Skin Brightening Setting Powder:
MORPHE Bake & Set Setting Powder
From translucent to pink, to banana shades, this satin-finish setting powder provides coverage to an array of skin tones and provides a brightening, color-correcting, soft-focus effect that’ll have your skin ready for its close-up all day.
18. Best Setting Powder with SPF:
ILIA Radiant Translucent Powder SPF 20 | Flow-Thru
We all know that SPF is an important part of every beauty routine, so it’s great news that this multitasking finishing powder with SPF 20 marries sunscreen and makeup in one simple step. The talc-free formula protects, softens, and eliminates shine for a lit-from-within luminosity that gives skin a healthy-looking glow. We also love how this nourishing formula is conveniently packaged. The handheld powder clicks to open and close and comes with a buffing brush already attached. Click it to open, point it downwards to tap product into the brush, and buff away.
19. Best Talc-Free Setting Powder:
COMPLEX CULTURE SET, GO • Translucent Finishing Powder in Clarity
If your skin doesn't react well to talc or you simply like to steer clear of this ingredient, this finishing powder omits it from its formula. Instead, the loose powder flawlessly sets, blurs, and mattifies using hydrolyzed silk and ceramides. And for even more skincare goodness, botanical-rich blue lotus flower extract gives the complexion a noticeably soft and radiant glow.
"Love this talc-free setting powder," writes Ipster Sylk0781. "Texture is very soft and easy to apply with a fluffy brush. Gives the face a nice matte finish, helps makeup last much longer, and doesn’t affect the wear of products used prior. Also absorbs shine and helps the face look more smooth and radiant."
20. Best Lux Setting Powder:
CHANEL Poudre Universelle Libre
Everything about this setting powder feels amazing on skin. From the silky finish to its light-as-air texture and soft-as-butter powder particles that melt into skin, this setting powder is a lux treat that you’ll want to smooth on everyday. Formulated with light-reflecting pigments, this sheer formula helps blur imperfections while brightening your complexion, evening out skin tone, and delivering a sheer, natural finish.
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