Before I start, keep in mind that I’m going to discuss two completely different brands. With this in mind, you can have an entirely different opinion.

Products: Tarte Cosmetics Amazonian Clay Pressed Finishing Powder & Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Setting Powder

I’ve had the Tarte finishing powder for quite some time now, and it was the first setting powder I ever got. I didn’t use concealer as much then as I do now (the lovely effects of anxiety and insomnia). Now, I do use concealer when applying a full face, so the same day I purchased concealer, I purchased this powder.

Applying this product is simple. You put on your concealer, you blend it out, and finally you put on pressed powder over the concealer to prevent creasing. Pretty basic stuff. How you put on your powder is entirely up to you. I either use a clean small fluffy brush or use the sponge it came with, and press it into my skin. Underneath my eyes crease easily so I have to make sure to put it on as fast as possible and sometimes even go back with more because of my crazy creasing. The powder goes on pretty well. If you accidentally put to much on you can always dust it off with a brush.

The one thing that highly irritates me about this powder is at the end of the day, my makeup looks incredibly cakey. I know that it tends to happen overall with makeup after all day use, but this just looks I applied my makeup wrong. I learned over time that it’s better to just go in lightly with a big powder brush and just build. I also use to set all my face so that my foundation does not come off as easily.

I took a break from using Tarte to switch over to Laura Mercier loose setting powder. It was one of those things that beauty influencers made me try, because I really wanted to try baking. I personally didn’t buy it, I just borrowed my aunt’s because she’s a makeup artist. For baking purposes, I personally like to apply this product with a damp beauty sponge. It’s the same process as with a pressed setting powder: you apply your concealer, blend, and dab on the powder. When baking you leave it on for a few minutes. I leave mine on until I finish applying my eye makeup.

This product did significantly help with creasing under my eyes and around my mouth. I still creased, but it wasn’t terrible. This powder would also leave me matte ALL day, which is great, especially in heat. I would also use this powder to set my whole face using a big powder brush. I warn you that it is very messy, but worth it. What I didn’t like about it, is how dry my skin felt after. I have combo to dry skin, so I would end up with crazy dry patches.

Because of the dry patches, I decided to go back to using the Tarte pressed powder. Despite it being a pressed powder, it didn’t dry out my skin as much. Also, I noticed that with the Tarte powder, I didn’t end up with that weird separation of makeup on my nose where my glasses sit. I think that if you wear glasses and makeup, it’s important to take that into consideration.

Despite the Laura Mercier powder being too drying, I would rather use a loose powder versus a pressed powder. I really like the application of a loose powder, even though it’s messy. I would not stop using my pressed powder, because I use it to also set my eye base. Like I said earlier, it really depends on the person. I like loose powders best, but I definitely did not like the Laura Mercier powder. It’s just way too drying for my skin type.

Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments.

Stay Vampy,

The Boho Vamp

Remember  that this is my opinion and my experience with these two brands. What works for me, may not for you.