"Soft Matte" Makeup Is Trending for 2025—These 17 Setting Powders Are the Portal to Success

"For oily skin, try the Make Up for Ever Ultra HD Matte Setting Powder. It keeps skin flawless and shine-free all day." — Celebrity makeup artist Sara Talias

Pros: Extends makeup wear for up to 24 hours, provides a matte finish, blurs the appearance of pores and blemishes, and is smudge-proof and waterproof

Cons: May not be suitable for skin that's oily on the surface but dry underneath (dehydrated)

Customer Review: "I have skin on the oily side, and this helps to keep the shine down and makeup in place. Hard to believe it took me so long to find this, but I really love it. Also, [I] like that there is no scent. I am fair/medium Asian skin, and the banana works well for me."

"One of my favorite translucent setting powders for light to medium skin would be Laura Mercier's translucent powder. It's a cult classic for a reason and has been a part of my personal and professional kit for over 17 years." — Celebrity makeup artist Judi Gabbay

Pros: Oil-free, provides a matte finish, gives a soft-focus effect on the skin

Cons: Contains talc

Customer Review: "I have used multiple products in my 48 years of trying to be a stand-out in-the-crowd kind of girl. Laura Mercier powder is not just the only loose powder I will ever use, but the whole line is fresh and a complete success, in my opinion."

This oil-absorbing powder from Too Faced blends effortlessly, contains hyaluronic acid for extra hydration, and leaves a lightweight, silky finish on the skin.

Pros: Oil-absorbing, adds luminosity to the skin, and contains hyaluronic acid for extra lightweight hydration

Cons: May leave a slight white cast at times

Customer Review: "A lot of setting powders give you a cakey finish—this is not one of them. It's a great neutral powder that smooths out your pores and gives you an amazing look."

This formula from Polite Society is talc-free, weightless, and blurring and controls excess oil production. It's a great option for oilier skin.

Pros: Fragrance-free, talc-free, weightless, blurs out blemishes, controls excess oil production

Cons: May be too drying for certain skin types

Customer Review: "This is hands down my favorite setting powder!!! I have oily skin with large pores and have tried several other high-end setting powders meant for oily skin or normal skin. This one is very fine, keeps me matte for a few hours, and looks really pretty even when I do get a little oily. I absolutely love it and will keep repurchasing! Bonus points because it's talc free, paraben free, and silicone free! I also feel like it's a fair price for the amount given. Lovely!!"

"How is it that a setting powder actually makes my skin glow in all the right places? This talc-free number from Tower 28 smooths uneven texture and blurs pores without leaving behind a cakey residue," says Who What Wear senior beauty editor Jamie Schneider. "I'm also obsessed with the adorable triangle puff; the tiny tip makes it easy to cover up precise areas, like my under-eyes and the corners of my nose."

Pros: A very thin powder that feels like nothing on the skin at at all, doesn't accentuate skin texture

Cons: Not a ton of shade options

Customer Review: "Okay, I’ve tried many setting powders and this one by far is the BEST for dry skin. I went to an amusement park for 9+ hours, went on water rides, screamed all day, and it still looked so good with no touch ups. It didn’t feel cakey at all!"

"The Hourglass Veil Translucent powder is an amazing powder for dry skin because it is so light and maintains a dewy finish." — Talias

Pros: Talc-free, ultra-refined, gives skin a naturally flawless and dewy finish.

Cons: Expensive.

Customer Review: "I received this Veil Translucent Setting Powder gifted by Hourglass. This powder is gorgeous! It is so fine and just melts into the skin. It gives a beautiful blurred effect without looking cakey! It's hard to find a good powder, but this one is great."

This setting powder glides on like velvet and sinks effortlessly into the skin. It comes in 13 stunning shades, but if you deal with blue-toned under-eye shadows, you'll definitely want to snag the pink version for brightening up the under-eyes. It's a total game changer!

Pros: Lightweight and doesn't ever look cakey

Cons: Very sheer, so not the best option if you're looking for extra coverage

Customer Review: "Sooo good! I have oily skin and this powder set my makeup well and lasted for a long time. The pink is amazing and brightens beautifully. I love the texture—very smooth and velvety on the skin!"

Saie Beauty's Airset Loose Setting Powder contains squalane, an ultra-hydrating ingredient that helps lock moisture into the skin and plumps it up for a healthier appearance. Drier skin types will love it.

Pros: Made with a unique air-cream technology that sets, smooths, and diffuses for a radiant finish, squalane provides extra hydration to the skin.

Cons: Finish may be too radiant for some.

Customer Review: "This is the most lightweight, flawless setting powder I've ever used! It's probably the most natural skin-like powder that provides a beautiful filter-ish semi-glow that I've ever used! I hope they don't ever reformulate it and [ruin] it."

Infused with fermented arnica, squalane, and tourmaline, this makeup-skincare hybrid works great for skin prone to dryness or irritation.

Pros: Great for finishing touches or a "no-makeup" look

Cons: Doesn't provide much extra coverage, if that's what you're looking for

Customer Review: "Haus Labs Setting Powder has been an excellent addition to my makeup routine. It’s perfect for beginners who want a reliable product that’s easy to use and delivers great results. If you’re new to makeup and looking for a setting powder that won’t let you down, this one is definitely worth trying!"

Of course, celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic would offer one of the best loose setting powders in the game. With seven gorgeous shades, the finely milled formula helps control shine and make the skin look pillow-soft. I especially love how buildable it is; you can easily customize how matte you want your makeup to wind up.

Pros: Easy to control the level of shine

Cons: Not the best for on-the-go touch-ups

Customer Review: "BEST SETTING POWDER!! Mario knows what he’s doing and he kills it every time with every product! Not only is this powder lightweight but it leaves a seamless blurry effect under the eye. I also use this to set my face and it just looks like my skin. Extremely impressed and will continue to buy this!"

Celebrity makeup artist Allison Kaye loves this setting powder from Huda Beauty because it has a light, silky texture perfect for combination skin types. It creates an airbrushed finish that blurs out pores and fine lines and blends seamlessly into the skin.

Pros: Blurs the appearance of fine lines and pores, holds makeup in place all day, while the light and silky texture blends seamlessly into the skin

Cons: Can look a bit dry without proper hydration underneath

Customer Review: "This is amazing! I've repurchased Easy Bake for years now. It's my favorite setting and baking powder. This pink color is the literal cherry on top because it does all the wonderful blurring and smoothing, plus the pink is extra brightening on my under eye [area]. The pink looks bright in the container, but it's just the right tone to offset dark circles on my very fair skin. Highly recommend this!"

Kaye loves this Charlotte Tilbury setting powder because it reduces shine and contains nourishing ingredients like rose wax and almond oil to hydrate the skin, leaving it more balanced. It also has light-reflecting pearls that diffuse the light as it hits your face to really illuminate your complexion. 

Pros: Contains rose wax and almond oil to nourish and moisturize skin, and light-reflecting pearls diffuse light and illuminate the complexion.

Cons: Expensive.

Customer Review: "I ALWAYS get compliments on my skin when I use this setting powder. I've even used it over sunblock to blur my T-Zone, and it blends so beautifully onto your skin. I've been using it for three years now, and I'm still obsessed with it."

Ilia's setting powder is another great option for combination skin, as it's infused with soothing and hydrating aloe along with bamboo to balance oil production and rosemary leaf to soothe any redness or irritation

Pros: Talc-free, aloe keeps skin soft and hydrated, bamboo balances oil production in the skin, rosemary leaf soothes irritation.

Cons: Leaves a bit of a white cast and may not work as well for darker skin tones

Customer Review: "I have neutral undertones and fair-light skin, so a powder with even a slight tint shows as yellow on my face. It seems harder these days to find a powder with no tint as all. This tint-free Ilia powder looks great on my skin, setting my foundation and imparting a blurred look. Best of all, it does not contain talc."

"The Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Setting Powder provides a gorgeous finish to the skin and comes in beautiful deep shades." — Talias

Pros: Provides a filtered, photo-ready finish, comes in eight shades, great shades for darker skin tones

Cons: Contains talc and fragrance

Customer Review: "Leaves a nice smooth finish and lasts all night without creasing. Beautiful packaging and smells amazing."

"I love the Juvia's Place loose setting powders for darker skin tones. They are rich in color in the best way possible and do not give off a gray or ashy undercast." — Kaye

Pros: Budget-friendly, can also be used to contour and highlight, highly pigmented

Cons: Contains talc

Customer Review: "One of [my] favorite finishing powders. Pigment and texture of the powder are great and [it] blends well with other Juvia products."

"My all-time favorite setting powder is Givenchy Prisme Libre because it is so finely milled and comes in a good range of colors for all skin tones." — Talias

Pros: Provides a matte finish, good color range to suit a variety of skin tones, weightless and transparent finish.

Cons: Expensive.

Customer Review: "For the price, I really wanted to have this be an overhyped item, but man, she's good! I've tried all the powders, and this is one of, if not the best. I'm combo/oily, and I even used it to set the face without dying."

"My favorite [setting powders] are the Soft Focus Powders by Sigma Beauty. These powders are finely milled and come in many shades. My favorite for deeper skin tones would be Cinnamon or Honey!" — Gabbay

Pros: Provides a soft matte finish, blurs the appearance of pores and texture, and is enriched with hyaluronic acid for extra hydration.

Cons: Doesn't have the best longevity.

Customer Review: "Love! Blurring and serves as a great way to blend makeup for seamless coverage. I bought it in the lighter shade as well!"