How To Use Loose Setting Powder 8 Ways

The number one purpose of loose setting powder is to set your foundations, concealers and creams into place to extend their wear time. Once you have created a flawless makeup base with liquid foundation and concealer and added dimension with cream bronzer and blush, taking a small amount of loose powder on a powder puff and pressing it into your makeup will take away the tacky, slippery feel of makeup and set it down with a smoothing, blurring effect finish. A fine layer of AIRbrush Flawless Blur Loose Powder all over your face delivers up to 16-hour* longwear that’s creaseproof and controls oil + shine for up to 24 hours*.

Don’t be afraid to pack on the powder, darlings! Loose powders that are finely milled can feel weightless on skin, especially a formula like my AIRbrush Flawless Blur Loose Powder that feels light as AIR! You can use a loose setting powder to get an instant lift effect and under-eyes that look super-bright by baking your makeup. Baking is an old stage trick where you apply more powder under your eyes, cheekbones, the centre of your forehead, and letting it sit – it acts like your own personal spotlight! With your powder puff, apply a generous amount of powder to strategically lift and brighten, then leave it to bake. After a few minutes, dust away the powder with a fluffy brush to reveal smoother, brighter looking highlights.

Tilbury Tip: I like to use a pink or peach loose powder to get an extra-brightening effect. Use my Brightening Pink shade if you have fair or medium skin or Brightening Peach for medium to tan skin.

Discover more about baking your makeup:

If you feel like your makeup tends to accentuate the look of your pores, you should try using a loose setting powder to blur and disguise their appearance. A soft veil of loose powder can help to smooth and blur the look of your complexion, making pores appear airbrushed away! People tend to experience enlarged pores in the oiliest parts of the face such as on and around the nose and forehead. With your powder puff, press loose powder into these areas to smooth out the look of your skin texture – it’s like a real-time blur filter for your pores!

Discover how to reduce the appearance of pores

Does your foundation get shiny as skin becomes oily throughout the day? If you have oily skin or you simply love a smooth, blurred, matte makeup look, you can use loose powder to control oil and shine. Pressing loose powder into the oiliest parts of your face like the T-zone and around the mouth absorbs excess oil and removes unwanted shine, making skin appear instantly mattified with a super-flattering blur effect. You can use loose setting powder to mattify makeup during your routine as well as later in the day when oils start to seep through… Just take a light amount of loose powder on your powder puff and press it into oily skin – just like that, skin that looked shiny suddenly appears matte and flawless.

Discover more foundation tips for oily skin

An easy tip for making your eyeshadow look smoother and last longer is to apply a thin layer of loose powder onto your eyelids before applying eyeshadow. Eyelids are prone to becoming oily which can lead to eyeshadow sliding around the eyes or separating during wear. On clean eyelids, press a light amount of powder into skin to mattify and absorb any oils of the surface, dusting away any excess with a fluffy brush. Once you have set your eyelids with powder, cream and powder eyeshadows will apply more smoothly, their pigments will pop even more and their wear time will improve.

Darlings, if you want your lipstick to last longer, try blotting a little bit of loose powder into your lip liner before applying lipstick. Lining your lips with Lip Cheat gives you up to 6 hours** of lip-defining colour, but adding a little loose powder on top is a good way to create a smooth layer beneath lipstick that helps prevent it from smudging or budging. A hydrating loose powder like AIRbrush Flawless Blur Loose Powder won’t feel drying on your lips and can help to blur the appearance of any lips lines and wrinkles. Pat loose powder into your lips after applying lip liner to set the foundation of your lip look, then apply lipstick on top for a seamless, long-lasting look.

Discover more tips and tricks to make lipstick last longer

Some shades of loose setting powder can also double as colour correctors – choose a pink or peach-coloured loose powder and dark circles appear brightened and neutralised! To colour correct with loose powder, first blend Magic Vanish colour-correcting concealer under your eyes to counteract and blue and purple tones that are making your under eyes appear dark, then set with a pink or peach loose powder – the pink and peach tones give a brightening effect that effectively lifts and blurs the look of dark circles. For a more intense brightening effect, bake using a pink or peach setting powder, focusing your powder in the darkest parts of the under eye at the inner and outer corners to brighten, blur and colour correct.

Discover more about pink and peach setting powder

If your bronzer, blush or eyeshadow aren’t blending seamlessly into your foundation, you can fix any blending faux pas with loose powder. Taking a small amount of loose powder on a powder puff and pressing it into the edges of your bronzer or blush can help to softly diffuse them and makes the gradient between your foundation and cheek products look more seamless. Likewise, take a small amount of loose powder on a fluffy blending brush and swish back and forth over the edges of your eyeshadow to blur the lines between where your eyeshadow starts and your concealer ends.

Tilbury Tip: A pink or peach shade of loose setting powder will blend effortlessly into a similar shade of blush, giving you that cloud-like blush look that blends dreamily into your under eyes. Try pairing my Brightening Pink with a pink shade of blush like AIRbrush Flawless Blush Blur in Blushgasm.