The love for dewy skin in beauty is nothing new, but as a perpetually shiny girl I promise you there is a huge difference between looking shiny and dewy, juicy skin. My T-zone, especially around my nose and chin, gets greasy really quickly so I always have to have a face powder in my bag (no matter how small) to mattify my skin. However, this doesn’t mean I like my skin to look super matte– far from it, I love a healthy shine. So, it’s taken a while but I have finally found powders and a routine that takes down the shine in greasy areas while maintaining a glowy complexion.
Firstly, I opt for a light to medium coverage foundation if I wear one at all, and get my coverage from concealer. This makes my face look fresh and not cakey as I continue to powder throughout the day. For staying power if it’s a day-job-to-night-plans kind of day, I always wear a primer and this takes care of my foundation and concealer not sliding so the powder can just be for stopping the oil coming through. Then, after I’ve finished my makeup, I set under my eyes and around my nose with a loose skin-coloured powder.
Throughout the day I carry a small fluffy brush and a pressed powder to pinpoint target areas of shine so I don’t make my whole face look flat and matte but eliminate shine in unwanted areas. There is a common misconception that using powder makes the face look two dimensional but it doesn’t have to be, as long as you’re clever with the application.
Here are the best powders I have tried from translucent to shaded, pressed to loose.
When I’m doing a full-face look, I love the MAC Studio Fix Foundation but the powder formula is excellent for pinpoint targeting greasy spots. Make sure you match your skin tone for your T-zone but if you’re using under your eyes, you’ll need a shade lighter.
This pressed powder has a subtle blurring effect so as it mattifies it maintains a realistic, healthy glow.
This powder leaves a velvety finish and keeps me shine-free for hours. It can’t be layered up too much though so apply to set your face and opt for a translucent powder for further shine reducing.
Milk Makeup is renowned for natural looking dewy skin so even this matte powder doesn’t truly mattify, it just removes excess oil.
Technically this is meant for setting the undereye but it’s so finely-milled I found it is really blurring for the T-Zone too.
With this powder you still have a hint of natural sheen without looking shiny– it’s wizardry. I sometimes carry the mini version around with me instead of a pressed powder as it’s super easy to use and not at all messy.
I love how light this powder is. Whether you’re wearing a foundation or not it sets the T-zone seamlessly.
This is my ‘going out’ powder for when I’m doing a ‘look’. It’s very blurring and gives the skin a satin-y look.
This loose powder is very lightweight and easy to blend in. The banana shade is great for setting and brightening the under-eye area. Next up, the best shampoos for thin hair.
