It’s not just for oily skin anymore.
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Powder foundation has gotten a bad rep over the last few years. While cream and liquid formulas really sink into the skin for a more natural finish, neither have staying power quite like powder. And for those of us particularly oily, acne-prone, sweaty, or even prone to combination skin, powder foundations help keep shine at bay and quickly obscure imperfections.
But today’s powder foundations aren’t just for the greasy-by-noon bunch, these advanced formulas are for everyone—effectively smoothing uneven skin tone, providing flexible coverage for problem areas, blurring pores and imperfections, and, in some cases, actually hydrating the skin. Even for those hesitant about applying a full face of powder, powder foundation is particularly useful for setting face makeup into place and on-the-go touch ups.
We took a deep dive into the latest and greatest powder formulas out there, reading through endless reviews and putting the top picks to the test. We also enlisted the help of celebrity makeup artists Molly R. Stern and Tobi Henney, and global makeup artist and brand educator for Makeup Forever, Eddie Duyos, to decipher the good from the great.
What We Love: The non-comedogenic formula effectively keeps oil under control and offers impressive coverage without caking or settling into fine lines.
What We Don’t Love: Unfortunately, this powder is not always transfer-proof, so proceed with caution around your go-to white tees.
MAC’s Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation is seriously impressive. To be fair, I have a particular allegiance to this powder: It was the first makeup product I bought myself, and I often referred to it as “the magic powder” throughout my mid-teens. And magic it is. The praise, which I still stand by to this day, was two-fold: The powder is ridiculously easy to apply—I like to use a denser powder brush to sweep it on, minimal blending necessary—and provides seamless coverage within a matter of moments. Best of all (especially for my pimply teen self), the formula is non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog pores or cause further breakouts. It significantly reduces the appearance of pores, fine lines, wrinkles, and imperfections, while the sweat- and humidity-resistant formula ensures the product actually lasts throughout the day.
Both Henney and Stern are mega-fans of the formula, too. Henney lauds its ability to mop up shine and its impressive coverage, while Stern says it’s simply a classic that can’t be beat. Keep in mind, the powder isn’t always transfer-proof, so it might not be the best day to nuzzle up in someone’s embrace.
Price at time of publish: $39
Size: 0.52 oz | Shades: 53 | Coverage: Medium to full | Finish: Ultra matte
What We Love: The foundation has great buildable coverage, but still feels light as air on the skin—and we’re big fans of the natural finish.
What We Don’t Love: It has a very pungent smell, sort of like a heavily perfumed lotion.
If you missed the uproar on TikTok when this first launched, L’Oréal’s Infallible Foundation in a Powder had a lot to live up to—and it largely exceeded expectations, winning over enough people to sell it out for the following two months, largely thanks to the impressive texture and matte (not dull) finish. While some powder foundations can feel chalky and drying on application, the Infallible Powder Foundation is surprisingly smooth and almost somewhat creamy. That texture makes applying the product (and customizing coverage) a cinch—simply swipe on with the included powder puff or a brush, blend, and build up coverage as needed.
The formula is incredibly lightweight and wears comfortably throughout the day. Plus, the foundation’s fresh matte finish reads more natural than traditionally matte: Think blurred pores, not over-emphasized fine lines and wrinkles. And at just $16, it ranks among the best drugstore foundations, and one of the most affordable options on this list. Not to mention, it works just as well as a traditional foundation as it does a setting powder, making it a real two-for-one get. Our only gripe with what otherwise is an incredibly impressive product is the smell. There’s a definite, heavily perfumed aroma to it that we’d imagine could be head-ache inducing for those sensitive to scent.
Price at time of publish: $16
Size: 0.31 oz | Shades: 20 | Coverage: Medium to full | Finish: Matte
What We Love: Sisley-Paris’ Phyto-Teint Eclat Compact goes on smoothly and provides just the right amount of coverage to soften the appearance of imperfections without hiding the skin.
What We Don’t Love: A seven-color shade range just doesn’t do it for us.
If you’re hoping to invest in a powder foundation, look no further than Sisley-Paris’ Phyto-Teint Eclat Compact. The silky powder evens out and perfects your complexion while nourishing the skin thanks to a blend of hydrating ingredients including gardenia, woodmallow, and linden blossom. That boost of hydration, along with the ultra-finely milled particles, makes for a breezy application process—seriously, it takes mere seconds to buff in—and leaves skin cake-free.
The coverage sufficiently conceals acne and imperfections but still allows natural skin to show through, giving the ultimate naturally flawless finish. It’s high-quality makeup at its best; light as air, optimal coverage, top-notch blurring capabilities, and a natural finish. We’d be remiss, however, if we didn’t point out the less-than-impressive shade range. In 2023, 20 colors is rarely enough, let alone a sad seven.
Price at time of publish: $137
Size: 0.35 oz | Shades: 7 | Coverage: Adjustable | Finish: Natural matte
What We Love: The breathable formula provides light coverage that leaves skin looking filtered without drying it out or emphasizing wrinkles.
What We Don’t Love: While the coverage can be built up, it’s decidedly lightweight, so some additional concealer might be necessary to fully cover blemishes and imperfections.
You might not think of powder foundation as the go-to foundation for mature skin—after all, we know skin loses hydration and moisture as we age. But the right powder foundation can make all the difference, buffing out imperfections, minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, and providing coverage while still letting the skin breath. Dior’s Forever Natural Velvet Matte Compact Foundation does just that, and more. The formula is both long-wearing and lightweight, meaning it effectively obscures imperfections throughout the entire day without settling into lines or clinging to dry patches. The result is an impressively natural finish that’s delicate on the skin and requires minimal touch-ups.
Keep in mind the coverage is light—while certainly buildable, you’ll need to bring in some reinforcement for any particularly problematic areas. But for general redness, fine lines, enlarged pores, wrinkles, and other small imperfections, this compact won’t let you down. It’s especially impressive in hot, humid climates, though it leaves skin looking airbrushed no matter your location.
Price at time of publish: $60
Size: 0.40 oz | Shades: 17 | Coverage: Light | Finish: Natural matte
What We Love: Fenty’s Pro Filt’r Powder Foundation mops up grease and blurs skin, all without creating flashback in photos.
What We Don’t Love: The foundation has a tendency to cling to dry patches.
Fenty revolutionized the foundation category with its diverse, 50-plus shade range, and while its Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Powder Foundation certainly follows suit, its claim to fame lies in its non-creasing, shine-controlling, pore-masking formula. It keeps oil and sweat at bay for hours, all without setting into the skin or separating. Not to mention the soft matte finish gives a flawless filter with an ever-so-subtle glow that makes skin look alive and radiant, not greasy.
Coverage-wise, the powder is fairly lightweight—think no-makeup makeup—though it is buildable enough to effectively mask any problem areas or blemishes. It’s important to note that while this is a great foundation for oilier skin types, it might not have the effect on those with dry or dry-combination skin, as it can cling to patches on occasion.
Price at time of publish: $40
Size: 0.32 oz | Shades: 54 | Coverage: Light to medium (buildable) | Finish: Soft matte
What We Love: This ultra-versatile powder foundation hides texture and pores, absorbs shine, and sets liquids and creams like a dream.
What We Don’t Love: It may potentially oxidize after a few hours of wear.
L’Oréal knows how to make a good powder foundation. If the Infallible Powder Foundation doesn’t do it for you, we’d suggest checking out the brand’s True Match Powder Foundation. While the texture isn’t as buttery as the Infallible formula, the True Match Powder effectively buffs away unwanted pores and texture without any dreaded dryness or flakiness. Skin is left with evened tone and a soft-focus effect that rivals our favorite Instagram filters.
And, like its Infallible counterpart, it’s as great on its own as it is on top of liquids and creams — meaning you’ll find endless uses for this versatile little powder. One important caveat: Some report oxidizing after a few hours of wear, meaning the color inexplicably becomes darker or more orange post-application.
Price at time of publish: $12
Size: 0.33 oz | Shades: 24 | Coverage: Medium to full | Finish: Soft Matte
What We Love: Packed with skin-loving ingredients like collagen and peptides, this formula minimizes shine and provides ample coverage without leaving skin looking flat or dry.
What We Don’t Love: This foundation has some serious staying power, which causes it to cling to wherever it's placed and requires some arm work to fully blend into the skin.
We’re all about a skincare-makeup hybrid, and IT Cosmetics’ CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder Foundation is just that. It’s infused with classic skincare ingredients like collagen, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and peptides to simultaneously keep oil and shine at bay while delivering a heaping dose of hydration to the skin.
The formula isn’t just skin-friendly, it’s also problem-solving; it features optical-blurring powder pigments that create a filter-like finish on the skin to cover and obscure imperfections and leave skin looking flawless. This heavy duty formula really lasts, which can unfortunately make it a bit more difficult to blend into the skin, but once it’s set, it won’t budge all day.
Price at time of publish: $42
Size: 0.19 oz | Shades: 7 | Coverage: Sheer to full (buildable) | Finish: Natural
What We Love: Made with only seven ingredients, this loose powder transforms into a silky cream upon application to ensure cake-free coverage.
What We Don’t Love: Because this is such a lightweight powder, it likely won’t provide enough mattifying coverage for oily skin.
BareMinerals’ Loose Powder foundation really epitomizes what the brand does best — that is, providing lightweight, mineral coverage that allows bare skin to shine through (see what we did there?). Seriously, this sheer foundation has countless five-star reviews, most of which laud the creamy formula’s blurring abilities and soft, velvet matte finish.
The foundation transforms into a weightless cream-like finish after application, making for easy, comfortable all-day wear sans any cakiness or settling. The lightweight powder is perfect for keeping summer shine to a minimum, though be forewarned it might not be mattifying enough for those with particularly oily skin.
Price at time of publish: $38
Size: 0.20 oz | Shades: 18 | Coverage: Sheer | Finish: Matte
What We Love: The creamy powder foundation works with the skin to help resist heat, humidity, and oil, resulting in a fresh-all-day finish that won’t cake up on dry skin.
What We Don’t Love: The self-refreshing nature makes the powder prone to transferring.
Most people with dry skin are hesitant to use powders — after all, they certainly don’t need something that will emphasize those pesky dry patches and flakey skin. That said, they probably haven’t tried Shiseido’s Synchro Skin Self-Reflecting Powder Foundation. Surprisingly moisturizing and long-wearing, this powder is a dry face’s best friend for setting creams and softening imperfections without any creasing, caking, or settling.
It’s all thanks to the brand’s ActiveForce technology, which synchronizes with the skin to help resist daily makeup aggressors (read: sweat, oil, facial movements) and maintains a just-applied finish that keeps things looking fresh and filtered. The powder can be applied wet or dry too.
But that self-refreshing technology isn’t without its downsides: Namely, it stops the powder from really settling into the skin, which means it’s fairly prone to transferring onto just about anything that comes in contact with the face.
Price at time of publish: $45
Size: 0.31 oz | Shades: 16 | Coverage: Medium | Finish: Natural
What We Love: This light-diffusing formula creates a bit of luminosity, while the absorbent powders mattify and keep excess oil to a minimum where needed.
What We Don’t Love: The floral fragrance is nice, but might be overwhelming for someone sensitive to scent.
Chanel’s Ultra Le Teint Ultrawear Foundation might just be combination skin’s best friend. It’s mattifying where needed, sopping up grease and sweat, while imparting a natural luminosity everywhere else thanks to its light-diffusing formula. It’s an impressive feat, especially for a powder. The foundation smooths over and hides imperfections, melting into the skin for seamless, buildable coverage that lasts all day.
That customizable coverage gives the product a lot of range, according to Stern, who says it can be worn sheer or layered on for fuller coverage. It’s velvet-y soft on the skin without feeling cloying or too heavy—perfect for everyday wear and basic coverage. It’s lightly scented with a floral fragrance that’s quite lovely, but it might be a bit distracting or headache-inducing for those sensitive to fragrance.
Price at time of publish: $65
Size: 0.45 oz | Shades: 32 | Coverage: Medium buildable | Finish: Velvety matte, sheer luminosity
What We Love: Sweat-proof, water-resistant, and smudge-proof formula offers impressive, buildable coverage that’s seriously high impact.
What We Don’t Love: The updated formula is drier than before, which makes it more prone to cakiness.
Makeup Forever recently reformulated its HD Skin Powder Foundation, with a new-and-improved formulation that offers tailored coverage and versatile use cases. It applies with medium to full coverage initially, but can be built up to cover even the most unseemly mega-zits — no matter how red or angry it looks. It can even be sheered out with a fluffy brush for a more natural finish. The silky texture glides onto the skin and stays put throughout the day, making it great for longwear and hot, sticky days.
The formula also features a trio-blur complex that visibly reduces the appearance of texture on application. Plus, it’s incredibly versatile: Use it as a foundation, setting powder, or throw it in your bag for on-the-go touch-ups. As is to be expected with any reformulation, there are some complaints. Namely, loyalists say the updated formula is drier than before, making it more susceptible to settling into fine lines and wrinkles and caking throughout the day.
Price at time of publish: $43
Size: 0.30 oz | Shades: 32 | Coverage: Full | Finish: Matte
What We Love: This adaptable formula provides medium coverage while allowing for a matte or natural, dewy finish that lasts all day.
What We Don’t Love: The powder is a bit testy when it comes to fine lines and wrinkles — sometimes it settles into them, other times it effectively blurs them.
Laura Mercier’s Smooth Finish Foundation Powder is a classic thanks to its long-lasting, seamless finish and versatile formula. The foundation is easily customizable when layered with other products, adapting to either a matte or luminous, natural look depending on what it’s paired with. The oil- and fragrance-free formula provides sheer to medium coverage when applied dry or medium to full coverage when applied wet. This, plus its adaptable finish and blendability, makes the foundation a jack-of-all-trades that’s seriously worth trying.
While it gives an impressive your-skin-but-better look, the powder seems to have mixed feelings about fine lines and wrinkles—sometimes it settles into them, other times it obscures them. It’ll likely take a bit of trial and error to get the application right with this one.
Price at time of publish: $52
Size: 0.30 oz | Shades: 20 | Coverage: Medium | Finish: Natural matte
What We Love: Despite the ultra-light coverage and texture, it leaves skin looking silky and soft.
What We Don’t Love: The finish is decidedly dry, though pairing it with hydrating primers, highlighters certainly goes a long way.
For those who like their makeup so lightweight they forget it’s there, Clinique’s Almost Powder Makeup SPF 18 Foundation is a no-brainer. As is often the case, that light-as-air texture goes hand-in-hand with an equally minimal amount of coverage—though the formula is surprisingly buildable when needed, which helps even skin tone and create a true no-makeup makeup look. That light approach translates to an ultra-gentle formula that’s both dermatologist- and allergy-tested.
While the powder has SPF 18, SPF 30 is the minimum recommendation to get protection, so don’t skimp on daily sunscreen. As is often the case with powders, it can leave skin feeling and looking very matte, almost dry even. That being said, the effect can be minimized by pairing the foundation with hydrating primers, setting sprays, highlighter, and the like.
Price at time of publish: $37
Size: 0.35 oz | Shades: 6 | Coverage: Light | Finish: Matte
Henney, Duyos, and Stern all agree that powder foundation tends to work best with oilier skin types thanks to its ability to keep grease and shine at bay. But Duyos is quick to mention that how a powder foundation performs is all in the skin prep and application of the product. Ultimately, anyone can make powder foundation work for their skin type, it just might require a bit more work for some of us.
“For a more normal to dry skin type, you may want to use a face oil during your skin prep so the powder doesn’t make the skin appear dry,” Duyos explains. For those with drier skin, he recommends applying the product sparingly and building up from there. He also suggests paying careful attention to formulation. For example, Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Custom Finish Powder Foundation features a creamy, self-refreshing formula, making it a great pick for those with drier skin.
Before picking a powder foundation, consider your desired coverage. Will a sheer wash of color do? Or are you looking for something that camouflages imperfections in a flash?
While different powder foundations offer different levels of coverage, application methods and tools can largely determine the outcome of your coverage. For fuller coverage, Stern suggests applying powder with a puff or sponge. For lighter to medium coverage, opt for a fluffy brush. Even with a lighter coverage option, Henney says you can easily layer on the powder to cover any blemishes or skin discoloration.
Regardless of your coverage goals, Duyos suggests opting for powders with blurring and smoothing properties, which will help mitigate the appearance of imperfections without looking too makeup-y. He also recommends looking for formulas with flexible coverage, like the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Powder Foundation. “This takes the fear out of making a mistake in the initial application and allows you to build the coverage you want,” he explains.
When it comes to application methods, powder foundations run the gamut. They can be used alone on bare skin or applied on top of cream and liquid products to amp up coverage and set the products in place.
Tool-wise, the best way to apply powder foundation really depends on the coverage you’re seeking. While most powder foundations come with some sort of powder sponge, it might not be the best option if your goal is more sheer, lightweight coverage.
“Typically, when you apply powder foundation with a sponge you immediately start with a medium coverage,” Duyos explains, “By using a brush to apply, you have much more control and can easily manipulate the coverage from sheer to full.”
As skin ages, it tends to lose moisture and hydration. As a result, powder foundation isn’t always the best option for mature skin. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be used on more mature skin. If you opt for a powder foundation, be sure to prep skin with hydrating, nourishing ingredients and use the powder itself sparingly to avoid any settling into fine lines or wrinkles, Stern suggests. From there, you can slowly build up the coverage as needed. Dior Forever Natural Velvet Matte Compact Foundation was our pick for mature skin as it gives skin a filter look without settling into lines.
The biggest difference between pressed powder and powder foundation is the coverage level. According to Duyos, pressed powders are intended for setting the skin and liquid foundation; they tend to be finer in texture and have little to no coverage. On the other hand, powder foundations have varying levels of coverage and can be used in place of a liquid foundation. Most of the time, you can actually use a powder foundation as a pressed powder (though you can’t necessarily use a pressed powder as a powder foundation).
Danielle Cohen is a freelance beauty writer and editor with more than five years of experience reporting on the beauty industry and testing products. For this story, she did her due diligence researching the top powder foundations on the market, scouring through pages of reviews, and testing out some of the top picks herself. She also spoke to celebrity makeup artists Molly R. Stern and Tobi Henney, as well as global makeup artist and brand educator for Makeup Forever, Eddie Duyos.
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