Hey makeup lovers!  This weeks Tuesday topic is going to be about setting powders; more specifically, Ben Nye Luxury Setting Powders.

First of all, setting powders are what is applied to your face after you have already put on your face makeup application to “set” and “finish” your foundation.  They are used to help keep your face makeup in place or “set” it and are best when applied with a large, soft, and fluffy “powder” brush.  Think of it as a kind of facial “hair spray” as is the same concept for facial setting sprays you spray on after face makeup application that also “set” only in a different form.  One can choose from “transluscent” or “neutral” powders that set makeup with hardly any color at all, or powders that match your skin tone giving a very soft natural look.   However, people with darker skin tones should avoid some transluscent powders because it can tend to make their skin look ashy.  So, unless you are looking for a 1700’s Victorian era or geisha white face look, it should be avoided.

The powders that I am so highly impressed with are the Ben Nye Luxury Setting Powders.  These powders were designed by Ben Nye, Sr. using his extensive experience in the film industry to create these powders.  In his family owned business, he was always looking for ways to improve his products and one of the biggest reasons was creating a facial powder that could withstand the conditions on the filming set and have extensive long-lasting results.  There are so many different colors among these luxury powders to choose from you would be hard-pressed to find one that didn’t fit a client’s or your own skin tone. There are the Ben Nye Bella Luxury Powders, the Ben Nye Mojave Luxury Powders which are geared to the olive, darker, and Indian toned skins, the Ben Nye Mojave Visage Luxury Powders, and The Ben Nye Transluscent Luxury Powders with different colors to meet the needs of all skin tones.

These powders are so incredibly finely milled, providing a slightly soft mattifying and very natural look that lasts for hours. They are also “high definition” which means they are perfect for photography and filming with no ugly white “flashback” that you can sometimes see in pictures and films that is so unflattering.  I use the powder shade called “buff” on my face and it has this very soft looking finish that literally lasted 8 hours without changing the look of it (no creasing, cakiness, etc…).  It just makes your skin look good because of being so finely a milled powder hardly seeming like there is anything there.  They make your skin so soft and it does not fade off requiring multiple touch-ups.

These powders are also ideal for a makeup artists kit because of the multi-faceted jobs of the makeup artist.  I use them for mine and am very happy with the results I see as well as with the clients I apply them on.  They are also very affordable with the medium size that is 1.5 oz. it ranges from around $5.00 to $10.00  and a little goes a long way which means they will last for quite some time.  So, in conclusion, I don’t see any downside to these high quality powders and they would be an excellent investment for the professional/freelance makeup artist to have in his/her makeup artist kit, as well as for personal use.  You did good Mr. Ben Nye!