The Best Setting Powders for Dry Skin in 2024
Using the correct setting powder for your skin makes all the difference to your makeup. For a radiant, non-greasy, yet non-flakey look, you need to choose your setting powder that’s made for your skin.
With so many products on the market, one thing you can be grateful for is that there’s a product for everyone and their skin type!
From dry and flakey skin to oily and greasy skin. I’ve put together the best setting powders for dry skin in 2024. These powders help your makeup last better and longer without causing it to crack or appear dry. They don’t accentuate lines, nor cause your makeup to look heavy.
If you have dry skin, these setting powders will solve many of your makeup problems, but they’re not only for dry skin! I’ve tried and tested quite a few of them, and most skin types from oily to dry and everything in between will benefit from these setting powders.
Our Top Picks
Best for Hydration: By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder
Best for Mature Skin: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish
Best for Matte Finish: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder
Best Tinted: By Terry Hyaluronic Tinted Hydra-Powder
Best for Dry Under Eyes: Rodial Glass Powder
Best Drugstore: e.l.f. Halo Glow Setting Powder
Best SPF: bareMinerals Original Loose Mineral Foundation SPF15
Best for Photoshoots: Make Up For Ever Microfinishing Powder
Best Full Coverage: Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
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Best for Hydration: By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 1
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Silica/Silicon
- Coverage: Sheer-to-full
- Cruelty-free: No
Is it for you?
The By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder is the best hydrating face powder for dry skin. Infused with skincare ingredients, it ensures moisturized skin the whole day!
The best types of non-drying setting powders are the setting powders that hydrate the skin! Let me introduce you to the By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder, a setting powder with skincare elements infused in it!
The loose translucent powder ensures your makeup stays smooth with hyaluronic acid. By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder helps to maintain optimum moisture levels.
It’s the best setting powder to instantly blur minor imperfections, minimize pores, even out skin tone, fill in fine lines and hydrate with a matte finish! It does all that without causing any dryness to your skin.
The formula creates a silky, weightless veil to set makeup without drying out your skin or looking cakey. Overall, it’s a great setting powder for those who need that extra kick of moisture in their skin. This setting powder will leave the skin soft and smooth and ready for the day!
Pros
- Hydrating
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-drying matte finish
- Finely milled silky texture
- Non-chalky application
- Minimal ingredients
Cons
- Contains talc
Best for Mature Skin: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 4
- Formula: Pressed powder
- Main Base: Mineral
- Coverage: Medium
- Cruelty-free: Yes
Is it for you?
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder is the best face powder for mature skin because of how it blurs the skin without increasing the look of lines and wrinkles.
The Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder offers your dry skin a bright, perfect finish that is…flawless! The face powder doesn’t cake or sit in lines, it sits perfectly on top of your makeup, blurring your imperfections in the process.
A little goes a long way, so use it sparingly. Overdoing the powder can ruin the airbrushed flawless finish that it gives and you’ll run out of powder a lot quicker!
The breathable, micro-fine powder technology from Charlotte Tilbury gives an immaculate complexion that acts like a smooth veil on top of your skin, it feels luxurious and looks it too!
Infused with Rose wax and Almond Oil, it hydrates the skin throughout the day. These also enable the powder to blend flawlessly, while reducing shine. Best of all, it helps moisturize your skin and keeps it from drying out.
The setting powder’s nourishing formula work to soothe and restore your skin, while its light-reflecting ingredients diffuse light as it hits your face.
Pros
- Moisturising and hydrating
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-chalky application
- Non-drying natural finish
- Finely milled silky texture
Cons
- Contains Talc
- Pricey
Best for Matte Finish: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 3
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Mineral
- Coverage: Sheer to full coverage
- Cruelty-free: It’s in the grey area. Read more about Laura Mercier’s Cruelty-free status.
Is it for you?
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder is the best setting powder for a matte finish that doesn’t dry out the skin.
You haven’t seen soft matte until you’ve seen the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder on your face! This fan-favourite setting powder offers three shades with buildable coverage, but my favorite is the translucent one that fits all ranges of skin tones and is so versatile.
Sweep this all over to set your makeup in a weightless veil of non-cakey powder. Ideal for dry skin, but honestly, all skin types, including oily skin can benefit from this translucent powder.
It has no flashbacks in photos (hello #selfiegoals) and 16 hours of long-wear makeup. Tried and tested, I can verify that this loose setting powder really is long-lasting, it lasts for me all day without getting patchy or dry! It also creates a soft-focus effect to subtly blur fine lines and imperfections.
My favorite features of this setting powder are how smooth it applies and how it doesn’t patch the rest of your makeup, nor does it cause your under-eye concealer to crease.
I also love the lack of color in the setting powder. When you’ve applied your contour and blush perfectly, you don’t always want a setting powder with pigmentation to start changing your makeup.
It’s one of my go-to setting powders that simply doesn’t disappoint. Enjoy flawless sheer to full coverage that at the same time hydrates your skin throughout the day. Check out my in-depth review of the Translucent Loose Setting Powder!
Pros
- Dermatologically-tested
- Non-comedogenic
- Hydrating
- Super finely milled soft matte texture
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-chalky application
- Non-drying finish
- Long-wearing
Cons
- Contains Talc
Best Tinted: By Terry Hyaluronic Tinted Hydra-Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 8
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Mineral
- Coverage: Sheer-to-full
- Cruelty-free: No
Is it for you?
With 8 shades to choose from, the By Terry Hyaluronic Tinted Hydra-Powder is the best tinted setting powder for dry skin that needs an extra boost of hydration!
By Terry offers the Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder formula in a tinted version for those who want that extra coverage. It’s currently available in 8 non-cakey shades.
Other than hyaluronic acid, it is also infused with Mica to help blur out imperfections and set your makeup with a fine silky-matte finish. This setting powder also keeps your makeup together for the whole day!
The Hyaluronic Tinted Hydra-Powder formula helps absorb shine and excess oils without dehydrating your dry skin. It settles on your skin with a soft layer of product and camouflages fine lines and pores. It doesn’t sit on your face, nor does it create extra lines. It’s lightweight and comfortable to wear!
Pros
- Hydrating
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-drying matte finish
- Finely milled silky texture
- Non-chalky application
Cons
- Contains talc
Best for Dry Under Eyes: Rodial Glass Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 1
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Silicon
- Coverage: Sheer
- Cruelty-free: Yes
Is it for you?
Rodial Glass Powder is the best setting powder for under the eyes, but it also gets the title for the best setting powder for open pores and the best luxury one!
My all-time favorite is the Rodial Glass Powder. Called the Glass Powder, and that’s exactly what it is. It gives your skin a flawless, glass-like finish.
This setting powder blurs everything to perfection, without drying out the skin. That includes the under-eye area which commonly dries out from setting powder, especially for those with dry skin.
Not only does it not dry out the skin, but in its place, you get a beautiful airbrushed finish that no other setting powder can quite live up to!
The Glass Powder has a glass-microsphere innovation that scatters ambient light across the skin. If you want your foundation to have a flawless finish, this setting powder will do the trick!
It helps get rid of unwanted shininess and oil, without taking away from the skin’s natural glow. The setting powder has a peach undertone which helps color-correct the skin and cover dark circles.
If you’re worried about the peach undertone not working with your skin color, let me reassure you that’s not a problem. I’m sure pale with everything showing up on my skin, and I’ve never noticed any color change to my makeup or skin when using the Rodial Glass.
Read my in-depth review of the Rodial Glass Powder.
Pros
- Airbrushed finish
- Weightless
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-chalky application
- Non-drying finish
- Long-wearing
- Combats shine
Cons
- Contains Talc
- Pricey
Best Drugstore: e.l.f. Halo Glow Setting Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 5
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Water-based
- Coverage: Sheer
- Cruelty-free: Yes
Is it for you?
e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Setting Powder is the best drugstore setting powder for dry skin. Highly affordable, it gives dry skin a beautiful, yet subtle glow that isn’t shiny.
e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Setting Powder is a complexion booster for a glowing, soft-focus look. It can be worn alone, under foundation or in a lighter shade as a highlighter.
Lightweight in texture, it’s ideal for dry and aging skin that doesn’t look good in heavy makeup. But that’s not to say the results are any less impressive than full-coverage setting powders. This loose powder gives the skin a flawless finish that’s weightless and comfortable.
Its non-drying effect makes it perfect for use under the eyes where you want coverage that not going to crease or dry out the skin. It blends beautifully and blurs the skin giving you that perfect smooth finish!
Use it with the Halo Glow Liquid Filter for a full glowing effect.
Pros
- Talc-free
- Vegan
- Blurs imperfections
- Affordable
- Soft glow finish
Cons
Best SPF: bareMinerals Original Loose Mineral Foundation SPF15
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 30
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Mineral
- Coverage: Medium
- Cruelty-free: Yes
Is it for you?
bareMinerals Original Loose Mineral Foundation is the best face powder for SPF coverage and for those who want an all-in-one face powder and foundation.
Eventhough it’s called a powder foundation, you can use it as a setting powder, because its functions and characteristics are the same!
The face powder doesn’t clog pores or cause breakouts, it lasts all day and protects the skin with its mineral-based SPF. With a lightweight feel, it gives the skin a buildable coverage that has a natural, luminous finish! Easy to use, comfortable to wear, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Made with only five mineral ingredients, this talc-free foundation provides breathable, sheer-to-full coverage that feels weightless, doesn’t look cakey on the skin and nor does it feel it! Its vegan formula promotes clearer and healthier-looking skin over time.
The iron oxide ingredients provide mineral-based pigments for natural-looking colour and coverage. It’s an all-in-one setting powder and one that really does multi-task without fail!
But, that’s not all there is to love about this finishing powder! The bareMinerals Original Loose Powder Mineral Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 is made with physical sunscreen compounds that aren’t chalky or leave any white cast finishes, even as a powder product!
Pros
- Vegan
- Clean beauty
- Hydrating
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-chalky application
- Non-drying natural silky finish
- Lasts up to 8 hours
Cons
Best for Photoshoots: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 1
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Silica/Silicon
- Coverage: Sheer-full
- Cruelty-free: No
Is it for you?
Make Up For Ever’s Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder is the best face powder for photoshoots and selfies for dry skin!
Why use a virtual filter, when you can have one in real life? Make Up For Ever’s Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder does magic in making your skin look flawless.
Its amazing formula has a silica- and silicon-based formula that delivers a naturally matte, light-diffusing effect while minimising the appearance of your pores and fine lines. It’s formulated to look invisible under Ultra HD 4K technology, meaning this loose power is perfect for facing the cameras!
This setting powder consistently sets great on every skin tone and with its non-drying formula, it creates a visibly flawless finish in any light. As a finishing touch to your makeup, the weightless formula is one of the best when it comes to the ultra-fine natural finish!
Pros
- Extremely hydrating
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-chalky application
- Non-drying natural finish
- Finely milled satin texture
- Minimal ingredients
- Clean beauty product
Cons
Best Full Coverage: Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
IN A NUTSHELL
- Shades: 1
- Formula: Loose powder
- Main Base: Mineral
- Coverage: Medium-full
- Cruelty-free: Yes
Is it for you?
Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder is the best full-coverage setting powder that doesn’t dry out the skin.
If we’re talking about setting powders for dry skin, here’s one that hits all the right spots, especially for long-wear! Keep your skin and makeup looking fresh and hydrated with a touch of the Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder that improves the overall look of your complexion.
It’s an ultra-refined loose powder that is designed to give your skin a naturally flawless finish that has an illuminating glow to it and lasts all day. Your foundation might give up on you, but this setting powder will keep it together! It uses a super fine mineral formula that helps blur the appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkles.
Even though it’s medium-full coverage, it doesn’t dry out the skin or over-mattify it. Instead, it gives an airbrushed glow to the skin. You can also use it to bake your under-eye concealer to help stop it from creasing. Read all about Baking in Makeup here.
Pros
- Clean beauty product
- Moisturising
- Super finely milled satin texture
- Evens out skin tone
- Non-chalky application
- Non-drying natural finish
- Long-lasting
Cons
Common Setting Powder FAQs
How does setting powder work?
Setting powder is designed to help your makeup stay on longer and better. When you use wet and dry products together, it fuses together to create a bond. This bond is what keeps your makeup lasting longer.
Before your concealer or foundation dries, apply your setting powder to get a long-lasting effect. For even longer-lasting makeup, consider using a setting spray. Not sure how a setting spray differs from setting powder? Read my post on setting spray vs setting powder which explains all the differences between the two!
How to apply setting powder?
As I previously mentioned, setting powder is best applied when your base makeup is still wet so that creates that bond for a flawless finish. Using a pouffe or a powder brush, dust a thin layer of powder all over your face.
Should you put setting powder all over your face?
Traditionally setting powder is for all over the face. However, my recommendation for dry skin is to skip the extra-dry areas. Common dry areas are around the nose, around the mouth and between the eyebrows, but no skin is the same so assess your skin to figure out which areas are best to avoid.
Are translucent powder, loose powder and face powder the same as setting powder?
This is a common question for beginners in makeup. All the names refer to powders that help keep makeup in place for a longer, more flawless finish. Read more tips on How To Apply Makeup To Look Younger
Should setting powder be lighter or darker?
Setting powder should usually be the same shade as your skin or foundation. However, some setting powders can double up as a highlighter and in that case, opt for a lighter shade.
Looking for more setting powder tips? Read these setting powder hacks to give you maximum benefit from your face powder!
Final Thoughts
These setting powders are all top in the makeup game for flawless coverage in dry skin. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to find the best powder for your skin, after all, everyone has different skin and different concerns. But there’s something for every dry skin type in this review!
Hollie xx
Why Trust Beauty With Hollie
To compile this list, Hollie spent hours researching the best setting powders for dry skin on the market. I extensively dug into their key features—like formula, shade range, comfort and ease of application—in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources. Having used and tried out many of the setting powders mentioned, I brought my own personal experience too!
About Hollie
Hi, I’m Hollie, and I’m passionate about everything beauty. Over the last decade and a half, I’ve tested thousands of products to bring you the best of the best! I also love bringing you fun and creative beauty looks. Learn more.
Beauty profile – 35, dry, aging skin, focused on aging well with a healthy glow and natural makeup look ✨
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