ASK SAJ: The deal on Translucent Powder

Anonymous asks:

" What is the deal with translucent powder? Sorry if this is a silly question but what does it do?"

On the contrary this is a very good question!

Translucent Powder is a "colourless" powder, usually in loose form, used to set makeup.

Cream Foundations ( yes even those claiming to be cream to powder), Liquid Foundations, Cream Blush, Cream Shadows, Liquid Shadows etc all can be set with a dusting of translucent powder.

What makes Translucent Powder special is that it is considered to be No colour, so it will not shift the colour of the base you are applying it to.

I'm pretty sure that we've all seen a great foundation match altered drastically by a powder that was heavily pigmented ( especially on deep skin tones)

With that said, it's time to go into just how translucent is translucent?

If you go out looking for a translucent powder, chances are what you will find is a White powder. Now it doesn't have white pigment, so it won't have the effect as let's say white eyeshadow, but it can only be as invisible as the BASE allows it to be.

So for example on porcelain-light skin tones it would be completely invisible but on medium to deep/dark tones you will see a slight haze over the skin which to me dulls down the natural richness and glow of the complexion. 

Hubby's wonderfully hairy arm shows us the "white" translucent powder and a "brown" translucent powder, can you find the brown? 

Whats a girl to do then?

Thankfully many makeup companies, both drug store and department store brands have created what I call "tinted" translucent powders, which can be considered the powder version of a tinted moisturizer.

While still working as an "invisible" powder, the powder itself is slightly tinted in shades of pink, yellow, brick and brown to relate to the undertones of the skin, getting rid of the dulling haze without interfering with the base colour.

These are a few of my translucent powders just to show a range of "tints" the picture made them look even more"tinted" than they do in person.

Translucent powder is definitely a must have for any girl wearing foundation.

FYI when buying make sure it says TRANSLUCENT on the packaging, especially if it's "tinted" to make sure you're not getting a heavily pigmented product.

Hope this answers your question!

Shop translucent powders below:

translucent loose powder

Saj Mack is a Professional Makeup Artist in Atlanta Georgia providing over 6 years experience in Beauty, Commercial, Film, Television, Special FX and more. See her work at www.makeupbysaj.com