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For stay-all-day makeup, setting powder is essential. But since the majority of formulas are made with oily skin in mind, finding one that works for dry skin can be tough. To help narrow down the best setting powders for dry skin, I got in touch with celebrity makeup artist and founder of The Pretty Fix, Melissa Murdick (she works with Selena Gomez). Ahead, her top picks — plus a few tips on how to use them.
"If you've got dry skin, it tends to absorb your makeup in search of the moisture it needs, so I would highly recommend using a foundation primer to prevent your makeup from disappearing on you," Murdick advises. "You really need that barrier between your skin and the makeup to help keep it in place, and to allow the makeup to glide on smoother." Not only will your makeup look more seamless, but using a hydrating primer will also help your dry skin retain more moisture.
But if you're set on using a powder, make sure you're using a formula that's dry skin-friendly. Melissa stresses that HD powders in particular are to be avoided by anyone with drier skin because they are usually made of 100 percent silica. "Silica is a desiccant, meaning it is literally designed to pull out moisture," she says. "You know those little white packets that they sometimes put in food? Those are silica, so you can imagine what effect that ingredient might have on skin that is already dry," she explains.
When it comes to applying your powder, Melissa recommends using it as the final step of your makeup routine. "Use a large, fluffy brush to dust on the lightest layer of powder possible over the face," she says. "You could also powder only through the center of the face, since that is the most active area, and where makeup tends to shift the most," she notes. If you still find powders to be too drying, Melissa suggests switching to a spray formula. "You can find dewy setting sprays, which are a dream for dry skin."