The Top 12 Best Face Powders | Cult Beauty (2025)

You’ve spent an hour creating a smooth complexion, your concealer looks undetectable and your contour is sharp, but the last thing you want is to risk your make up mastery sliding off the moment you step outside. That’s where sourcing the best face powders comes in, ensuring your look stays locked in place, no matter what.

But what is the best face powder formula for you? Which one won’t look ashy, cakey or cause the dreaded flash-back on your carefully crafted photos? Well, here at Cult Beauty, we’ve curated a list of the top 12 best face powders so you can pick and choose one that works overtime on your make up.

Prepare to dunk, swirl and dab into a perfectly matte finish.

In This Article:

• Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish
• Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
• Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Powder
• Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
• Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Blurring Under Eye Powder
• By Terry Hyaluronic Pressed Hydra-Powder 8HA
• Kosas Cloud Set Brightening Powder
• NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder
• Chantecaille Perfect Blur Finishing Powder
• MAKE UP FOR EVER HD SKIN LOOSE POWDER BTG
• GUERLAIN Météorites Light-Revealing Pearls of Powder
• Supergoop! (Re)setting 100% Mineral Powder SPF30

THE TOP 12 BEST FACE POWDERS

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish

Achieve luminous looking skin with Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish powder. Crafted with light-reflecting particles that mattify where you need, this everyday essential keeps those midday T-zones in check, working wonders on those with oily and combination ski. But fear not drier skin types, as this formula is packed with hydrating hyaluronic acid, nourishing rose wax and almond oil to deliver a softer-than-silk sign off that won’t adhere to your dry patches too.

Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder

Extend and enhance your make up with Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder. Featherlight in finish and formulated with finely milled powders, this base player quickly sets your complexion without looking too heavy. Working to prevent creasing under the eyes, it imparts a soft-focus finish that blurs the look of imperfections and minimises the appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkles.

Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Powder

Blur, set and absorb shine with Huda Beauty’s Easy Bake Loose Powder. A must have for those who enjoy the art of baking, this shine-controlling essential blends seamlessly into skin, neutralises uneven tone and highlights the contours of your face for an airbrushed finish. What’s more, with the addition of vitamin E, it works to nourish and soften your skin over time too.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

We can’t have a list of the best face powders without mentioning the iconic Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. Locking in your look, this silky-smooth formula grants your complexion an invisible, soft-matte finish without any oxidization or flash back. Infused with antioxidant rich vitamins C and E, it goes beyond its call of duty to encourage a brighter, more nourished looking complexion too.

Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Blurring Under Eye Powder

For a runway-ready base, Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Blurring Under Eye Powder offers a skin-enhancing finish that blurs even the finest of lines. Offering a luminous sign off on the skin, this delicate face powder is crafted with smoothing mica that retouches your texture while delivering a sheer veil of pore-coverage that balances and matches your skin tone. The result? A photo-ready complexion that looks oh so fresh.

By Terry Hyaluronic Pressed Hydra-Powder 8HA

Dreamt up with a skin care first formula, By Terry’s Hyaluronic Pressed Hydra-Powder 8HA works wonders on dry skin thanks to its infusion of the brand’s exclusive 8x Hyaluronic Acid Technology. Utilising three types of hyaluronic acid, this hydrating formula quenches parched complexions while imparting a weightless, mattifying result. Plus, with a little mirror in the compact, it’s ideal for touch ups throughout the day.

Kosas Cloud Set Brightening Powder

Powered by bamboo stem extracts and Chinese peony, Kosas’ Cloud Set Brightening Powder is the innovative solution to set your make up. Starting as an airy mouse before being baked, this unique setting powder brightens skin, banishes dullness and blurs your complexion for a natural, radiant finish.

NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder

Diffusing light and offering a soft-focus finish that lasts all day, NARS’ Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder is one of the best face powders because of its smoothing finish that controls shine. Powered by Photochromic Technology, this complexion staple is weightless, blends seamlessly and is infused with glycerine and vitamin E to maintain the hydration levels throughout the day.

Chantecaille Perfect Blur Finishing Powder

Neutralise redness with Chantecaille’s Perfect Blur Finishing Powder. Long-lasting and crafted with a gel-to-powder formula, this multitasker is infused with optically correcting and blurring spheres to filter the look of your skin. Weightless and invisible on complexions, it glides on to deliver a feather-light, translucent radiance that looks natural and smooth.

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD SKIN LOOSE POWDER BTG

One of the best face powders that’s adored by professional MUAs? MAKE UP FOR EVER’s HD SKIN LOOSE POWDER. Offering a second-skin finish that instantly mattifies, this delicate formula is ultra fine, melts with your make up and works on all skin types. Delivering a soft filtered sign off that blurs the look of pores, fine lines and uneven texture, it’s the flash-back free powder that ensures your look stays fresh and radiant.

GUERLAIN Météorites Light-Revealing Pearls of Powder

Set, colour correct, mattify and illuminate with GUERLAIN’s Météorites Light-Revealing Pearls of Powder. Renowned for its multitude of purposes, this hybrid hero features a pot of pearlescent spheres, formulated from mother of pearls. Diffusing into skin, this innovative combination delivers a natural sheen for up to eight hours.

Supergoop! (Re)setting 100% Mineral Powder SPF30

Keep your skin shielded and matte with Supergoop!’s (Re)setting 100% Mineral Powder SPF30 – an ideal solution for those who want to have fun in the sun without worrying about their skin health or looking oily. Calling on silica to diffuse light and ceramide-coated powders to mattify skin, this on-the-go formula has a built-in brush to allow you to touch up your make up and SPF instantly and effectively.

THE BEST FACE POWDER FAQs

What is the best face setting powder?

The best face setting powder depends on your skin type and needs. However, the UK’s current bestselling formula is Laura Mercier’s Translucent Loose Powder as it works on most skin types and has great oil control.

What is the best face pressed powder?

Again, the best face pressed powder depends on your preferred finish, skin needs and the way you like your make up to look. But, Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder is a beauty community favourite as is Huda Beauty’s Easy Bake Pressed Powder.

What powder doesn't settle into wrinkles?

The key to finding a powder that doesn’t settle into wrinkles is to use a formula that is finely milled, lightweight and hydrating. A few fan favourites that are crafted specifically for blurring the look of wrinkles are Hourglass’s Veil Translucent Setting Powder, IT Cosmetic’s Bye Bye Pores Pressed Powder and Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder.

Whether you’re looking to keep shine at bay, blur pores or just want to set your base without looking cakey, dusty or powdery, you now know the top 12 best face powders that sink into skin, look undetectable and ensure your look stays fresh and locked in place. All that’s left to do it is pick your favourite and go and conquer the world... one perfectly set face at a time.