For those with oily skin, it’s a battle between staying matte or getting oily at the end of the day. For me, not having 20/20 vision, I have a second barrier between being matte and I: my glasses. Sitting on the bridge of my nose and spreading across my cheeks and around my eyes. The plastic material throughout the day rubs my foundation off and causes my oily skin to produce more oils and I end up having makeup on only 75% of my face after 12 pm.
So what is “baking powder“?
This is for the newbies who are just starting to use makeup.
Some people call it “setting” or “baking” powder but the action is called “baking”. The idea behind it is to bake and set the foundation in place, especially liquid foundation. Baking is geared towards people who have oily skin.
Why not use powder foundations?
People have different preferences, like myself, I prefer liquid foundations over powder foundations because I think that powder foundations makes me look like I’ve packed on 200 layers of it. Others choose liquid over powder because the liquid foundation may be a “matte” liquid foundation like the popular Fenty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear by Rihanna or the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation.
How many setting powders are there?
Your friend might have the best setting powder but it might not be the best fit for you. There are translucent, banana and darker-tinted powders. Translucent fits most skin tones from light to tan, banana powder fits olive skin tones and yellow undertones. For darker skin tones, there are powders that can be matched with your skin tone because translucent and banana may make you look chalky and be unflattering on photographs.
Does it work?
It all depends on the wearer’s daily life and what type of setting powder they use. There are two types: pressed and loose setting powder. One is easier to use than the other, loose setting powder can get a bit messy if you’re first starting out. To find the best setting powder is tricky because it all comes down to trial and error. When I first started baking, I had gone through 3 powders before finding the one I liked. The first one had a darker tint to it, while the second one had flashback* and I looked like your neighboring ghost. The one that I was satisfied with was a pressed banana powder.
To set it all, pun intended, anyone can bake. It all comes down to a trial and error until finding the best technique for yourself to stay matte all day.
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