That’s where a good setting powder comes in.
As someone with oily skin, I never skip this step in my makeup routine. A good setting powder helps lock everything in, reduces shine, and blurs the look of pores without making your face look cakey or overly dry. Over the years, I’ve tried and researched quite a few learning which ones make a difference on oily skin.
So today I’m sharing a list of some of the best makeup setting powders that work well for oily skin. These powders help control shine, smooth your skin’s texture, and keep your makeup looking fresh throughout the day, whether you’re heading to work, filming a video, or just running errands.
Let’s dive in.
1. MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Skin Shine-Control & Blurring Setting Powder
This is one of the newer powders in my collection, and I’m loving it so far. It’s designed specifically for oily skin and does exactly what the name promises—controls shine and blurs imperfections. The texture is super fine, so it doesn’t sit on top of the skin or make your face look dry. 
I don’t use this as my final setting powder, though. I like to use it as my powder base, meaning I put it on before I put on my foundation. It acts like a first defense for my facial oil, helping to absorb oil that starts to break through my matte primer.
I like to apply the MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Skin Shine-Control & Blurring Setting Powder with the little triangle powder puff that comes with it. The angles help me to get around my nose and eyes. I use the puff to really press it in where I get the most oily, which is my T-zone.
This setting powder claims to
- Provide long-lasting shine control, up to 24 hours
- Provide a blurring effect that smooths pores
- Be lightweight and not feel heavy
- Have a soft matte finish
While I use this daily, there are a few things I don’t like about this MAKE UP FOR EVER setting powder
- It’s pretty expensive
- I can only find it at Kohl's, Sephora, and the MAKE UP FOR EVER site. As well as other high-end stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s, which are stores I don’t shop at
- There are only two darker shades. Deep Sienna is for deep skin with neutral to golden undertones. It has the right undertone for me, but it can look too light on my skin. Deep Espresso is for deep skin with neutral to warm undertones. The undertone for this one looks a little redder on me than I’d like, but it’s also a bit too dark for me
2. Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Longwear Setting Powder
This is another high-end or prestige-level powder. I tried it a while ago, and for some reason, I wasn’t that impressed. You may be wondering why I included this on the list even though I didn’t care for it. The reason is I can’t remember why I didn’t like it. I only recall that I was happy I had the mini or travel size and didn’t spend money on the full size. Plus, it’s a really, really popular setting powder among all skin types.
The reason it’s so popular is that
- It’s lightweight and doesn’t look cakey on skin
- There’s no flashback in photos, which is a big problem with translucent powders
- It’s long-lasting with 16-hour wear and 24 hours of shine control
- It helps to control and reduce shine by absorbing excess oil
The Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Longwear Setting Powder comes in four shades
- Tone Up Powder is a peachy pink used to brighten and color correct light to medium skin tones
- Translucent for fair to medium and tan skin tones
- Translucent Honey for medium skin tones with olive and golden undertones
- Translucent Medium Deep for medium-deep to deep skin tones
If I were using this setting powder, I would be wearing Translucent Medium Deep.
Things I don’t like about it are the cost, and it’s typically sold at higher-end and beauty-specific stores like Sephora, Macy's, Ulta, and Nordstrom. You can also find it on Amazon.
3. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder
Fenty’s powder is another high-end go-to for those with oily skin. It’s a loose powder that comes in seven sheer shades (Fenty’s site says eight, but I only counted seven). I haven’t used it but have seen some positive reviews, written and video, about it.
I like that, unlike some of the other powders on this list, you can see which undertone each shade is best suited for. Mine may be Nutmeg, which is for deep tones with warm undertones. Other shades are
- Coffee for deep skin tones with a neutral undertone
- Hazelnut for medium deep to deep with warm undertones
- Honey for medium with medium deep with warm undertones
- Cashew for medium to medium deep with cool undertones
- Banana for light medium to medium deep with warm undertones. It’s also good for brightening
- Butter for light medium to medium with warm undertones.
- Gives a matte finish
- Feels lightweight and comfortable
- Works all day to reduce shine and blur the look of pores, fine lines, and imperfections
You can find this setting powder on the Fenty site, Sephora, and Ulta.
Related read: My Favorite Drugstore Makeup Powder For My Oily Skin
4. Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder
In my opinion, this is one of the best drugstore setting powders out there for oily skin. I’ve been using it for several years now, and when I try to find something else to replace it, I always come back to it. 
I typically use this as just a powder foundation or a setting powder for setting my liquid foundation. This also works great for touch-ups throughout the day.
My favorite things about the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder are that
- It is budget-friendly
- It provides a nice matte finish without my skin looking flat
- It does a good job of minimizing shine and blurring my pores. It does such a good job that I get compliments on how smooth and clear my skin looks when I wear it
While this powder comes in multiple shades, I feel the shades on the darker side of the spectrum do leave a little something to be desired. There seems to be a big jump from the shade Nutmeg to the darkest shade Java. I use Java, which is slightly darker than I’d like, but it’s a better option than Nutmeg, which tends to look a bit off on my complexion.
Now, finding the Java shade can be a bit hard. I rarely can find it in the stores near me, so I tend to order it from Ulta and either have it shipped to my house or the Ulta store closest to me.
If you’re looking for other shades of the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder, you can find them at Target, Walmart, Amazon, CVS, and Ulta.
Related read: My Favorite Drugstore Makeup Powder For My Oily Skin
5. L'Oreal Paris Infallible Blur-fection Longwear Loose Setting Powder
Another drugstore option for a setting powder is from the brand L’Oreal. I’ve never used this powder before as I tend to only use L’Oreal’s eye products, not their face products.
This setting powder intrigues me because there are options for setting your face, but also for setting brightening under your eyes. For the eyes, there are two pink shades, and for the face, there are two shades as well.
For lighter skin tones, there is Brightening Light Pink for the eyes and Translucent Light for the face. But for medium deep to deep skin tones like mine, they have Brightening Deep Pink for the eyes and Translucent Medium Deep for the face.
No matter the shade, this L'Oreal Paris Infallible Blur-fection Longwear Loose Setting Powder claims to be
- Longwear by brightening and blurring for up to 24 hours
- Transfer and flashback resistant
- Able to control shine all day
As I mentioned, I’ve never used this before, but I may give it a try soon. When I’m ready to try it, I’ll be able to find it at Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Ulta.
6. NYX Can't Stop Won't Stop All Day Mattifying Powder
If you’re looking for something compact and easy to take on the go, this pressed powder from NYX is worth checking out. It’s part of the “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” line, which is made specifically for oily skin.
I haven’t used this powder yet, but I have used the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray and love it! Same with the NYX Shine Killer Charcoal Infused Mattifying Primer,
Anyhoo, back to the NYX Mattifying Powder. It comes in 12 shades and says it
- Can be applied under or over makeup with a powder brush or sponge
- It is infused with oil-absorbing rice powder, providing a long-lasting, smooth, matte finish and minimizing the appearance of oil and shine
- Has a sheer buildable coverage
- Is non-drying and non-cakey with a non-ashy finish for all skin tones
- Is lightweight
- Helps extend the wear of makeup
- Is no transfer, no smudge, and no makeup interruption
If I were to try this powder to set my makeup, I would get the shade Deep. It does look like that shade and some of the other shades aren’t available at all of the retailers I found carrying it online, which are Ulta, CVS, Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
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