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Laura Mercier

Translucent Loose Setting Powder.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
Powder & Setting

About this product

A finely milled translucent loose powder designed to set makeup, control shine, and create a smooth, blurred finish without white cast or heaviness.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

84%

Yay

13 experts · Strong agreement
13Gurus
13Yay
0Mixed
0Nay
#5 in Powder & SettingSee the ranking →

What they liked

  • No white cast or flashback in photos
  • Controls shine and blurs pores
  • A little goes a long way

What they flagged

    Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.

    What the gurus are saying

    This powder earns consistent praise for its sheer, lightweight texture and lack of flashback in photos, a standout feature that keeps gurus coming back. It controls oil and blurs pores without looking cakey, though the experts who tested it stress that less is more, a light layer applied with a brush and tapped on, rather than packed, delivers the best flawless finish and works especially well for mature skin. A little truly goes a long way.
    Synthesized from 13 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026

    What the gurus are saying.

    Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

    All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
    Yay
    "This is seriously an icon, I was happy to see it made it into the top three. There's a time and a place for a classic product that just works, and in this case it's iconic and it's been around for years for a reason."
    All 9 takes from Allie Glines
    Doing My Makeup Like It's 2016 🥹 (haha this is a fun one)
    "I'm going to go in with the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. This is the original formula. They've since launched a few different ones, like a luminous one and a blurring one, but I'm just going to go ahead and tap this all over the eyelid to prep for eyeshadow."
    A Timeless Makeup Tutorial: Never Go Out of Style ❤️
    "I'm going to be using the very classic Laura Mercier translucent setting powder. This has been around forever and I don't see it going anywhere either. It's one of the most timeless and foolproof products period. I just think it's going to work on anybody. Obviously the amount matters here as well. I feel like this is a product that you can accidentally go overboard with, so I'm using a very small amount and just buffing it into the complexion with my brush. I'm also setting the under eyes and I'm focusing it in the T-Zone where I just want a little bit more of a matte finish and the most longevity, that's where I get the most oily throughout the day."
    Overcoming Your Fear of Makeup: Part 2
    "The Laura Mercier one is a classic. It's a little bit more of a, I don't want to say heavy because it doesn't look heavy on the skin. It's not as light as this one in texture, but both of them look great on the skin."
    Makeup YOU Said You'll NEVER Buy Again..
    "This is a powder that's like pretty heavy duty so I could see how some people just might not vibe with the intensity of it. You obviously you can change the intensity by how much you apply but it's more of a heavy powder compared to like my Huda Beauty one. But it's a classic, you know, a lot of people love it, a lot of people have tried it, a lot of people rave about it, and so therefore there's got to be people who don't."
    My Best FALL MAKEUP Routine 🍁 (Easy for Everyday)
    "I do want to kind of blur things a little using my Laura Mercier setting powder. This is just a classic and it's just gonna give a little more of an airbrushed finish to the face. I'm taking my powder puff and kind of massaging the powder into the puff into my hand and then I'm going to press this into the skin through the T-Zone mostly for me so everything just like is locked in all day but also has that slight airbrushed finish so we kind of get a happy medium between matte and glowy, keeping the outside of the face nice and glowy and then kind of transitions to this soft matte finish in the center."
    Umm.. Testing NEW Makeup!!
    "This is their regular translucent powder, but it's in the shade mint. The thing about these colored powders is while technically they are supposed to be helpful in kind of color correcting, I feel like because of my fair skin, I often turn the color of these powders. I'm lowkey hoping that this is sheer enough once it's applied to not turn me green. Apparently people love it for combating redness. I see a hint of tint of green, but it's not alarming, which is good. I am pleasantly surprised that I'm not completely green. Although I do kind of see a little hint of tint of green. The good news is I don't look completely green. The bad news is I don't think I personally would use this over the translucent one, but I think there's definitely a market for it. You got to have like probably a slightly deeper skin tone than me and some more redness to kind of neutralize. There is something about this Laura Mercier classic formula that is just so nice. It's a classic for a reason. And honestly, I have not used it enough lately. It's so good though."
    Trying 53 HIGH-END MAKEUP Winners... Allure 2023
    "We are going to set the face with the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. You guys know I love this one, so I was really happy to see that this won an award. It's so good. I'm going to press that underneath the eyes and through the T-zone, then I'm just going to take a fluffy brush and kind of dust that along the sides of the face."
    The BEST BEAUTY Picks for Amazon Prime Day!!
    "For setting powders, a classic available on Amazon is this one from Laura Mercier. I have the pink one, which I really like for under the eyes, it's a really good formula and comes in several different shades, I just love it. There's something extra blurring about the Laura Mercier powder."
    Top 10 Setting Powders of 2026 Voted by YOU!!
    "This is seriously an icon, I was happy to see it made it into the top three. There's a time and a place for a classic product that just works, and in this case it's iconic and it's been around for years for a reason."
    Yay
    "The Laura Mercier green powder, they say that this cancels out redness, and I feel like it does in such a soft, subtle way."
    All 2 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole
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    "I'll use my green powder from Laura Mercier, very lightly dusted on the rest of my face. It turns out this really does help with redness, I feel like I always have redness around my nose these days."
    WE HAVE A DATE FOR ULTA'S 10X! Info & My Recs!
    "The Laura Mercier green powder, they say that this cancels out redness, and I feel like it does in such a soft, subtle way."
    Yay
    "Rarely do I use powder, but if I do, I like this by Laura Mercier."
    Yay
    "Laura Mercier, the original powder is good for oily skin."
    Yay
    "This is the Laura Mercier translucent medium deep powder. Just a little because I really love the finish, but I do have oily skin and it is somewhat warm today in New York City and you know, we don't want to look like a grease ball. So, I'm just going to really kind of get that especially in the areas where I tend to get super oily."
    All 6 takes from The Style and Beauty Doctor
    DRAMATIC Under Eye Transformations in Just MINUTES
    "I'm going to add a little powder. This is the Laura Mercier translucent powder in medium deep. I'm just gonna take the smallest amount of powder and just kind of tap right there."
    From ASHY to CLASSY: Making Mineral SPF Great for Darker Skin
    "I set it with a setting powder so I used the Laura Mercier translucent powder in medium deep and that instantly took down a lot of the shine made it look a little bit more natural."
    Putting TikTok Makeup Dupes to the Test!
    "I'm going to use this Laura Mercier translucent powder in medium deep just to kind of set everything so that we're not like, you know, muddying the waters for the next layers."
    Now THIS is a TINTED Mineral SPF, BUT... (e.l.f. Halo Glow Skin Tint Dark Skin)
    "We are going to put on the Laura Mercier translucent powder in medium deep to take down some of this shine. Much better."
    The SNEAKY Thing Skincare Brands Have SLOWLY Been Doing...
    "This is the Laura Mercier translucent medium deep powder. Just a little because I really love the finish, but I do have oily skin and it is somewhat warm today in New York City and you know, we don't want to look like a grease ball. So, I'm just going to really kind of get that especially in the areas where I tend to get super oily."
    Black Girl Tries VIRAL Korean Skincare
    "I set it with the Laura Mercier translucent powder in medium deep. It gave it just like a little touch of color. It's not like a very pigmented powder, it just gave it a little hint of color."
    Yay
    "I just have a little mini of the Laura Mercier translucent powder. So, I'm going to powder my brows. And apparently, this soaks up some of the oils so that the products we're going to put on next stay better."
    Yay
    "I've used for over 10 years, and this is the mini. It goes with me when I travel, is by Laura Mercier. It's their Translucent Loose Setting Powder. This one is not tinted, but just incredibly sheer and makes for a very flawless application and finish. Now, the key with any loose setting powder is you don't want to just pack it on. [...] I like light layers. If you're sensing a theme, light layers is the way to work for mature skin. So, what I will do is I will pour a little bit of powder into the cap and then I will take a densely bristled brush and I will swirl it in the powder and then tap off the extra. Swirl and tap. And I will actually be pressing that powder into the brush so that when I go and distribute it on my under eyes or on my midface, I'm just getting the slightest but very even sprinkle of powder. Less is more. It will still work beautifully, but you're going to have a lot less cakeiness."
    Top Pick: setting powder
    All 5 takes from Dr. Sam Ellis
    My Favorite Anti-Aging Makeup - Your Skin But 20 Years Younger | Dr. Sam Ellis
    "I've used for over 10 years, and this is the mini. It goes with me when I travel, is by Laura Mercier. It's their Translucent Loose Setting Powder. This one is not tinted, but just incredibly sheer and makes for a very flawless application and finish. Now, the key with any loose setting powder is you don't want to just pack it on. [...] I like light layers. If you're sensing a theme, light layers is the way to work for mature skin. So, what I will do is I will pour a little bit of powder into the cap and then I will take a densely bristled brush and I will swirl it in the powder and then tap off the extra. Swirl and tap. And I will actually be pressing that powder into the brush so that when I go and distribute it on my under eyes or on my midface, I'm just getting the slightest but very even sprinkle of powder. Less is more. It will still work beautifully, but you're going to have a lot less cakeiness."
    Dermatologist's Morning Routine Before Work: Body & Skin Care, Makeup, Hair, & More! | Dr. Sam Ellis
    "I'm going to set that with the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder so I don't want my under eyes to get all wrinkly crinkly over the course of the day."
    Dermatologist's "No Makeup" Makeup Routine to Even Skin Tone & Enhance Features | Dr. Sam Ellis
    "I use the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. I've tried a lot of setting powders over the years and there are some really good ones out there, but Laura Mercier, she just never lets me down."
    Dermatologist's Easy, Everyday Makeup Routine to Cover Dark Circles & Rosacea | Dr. Sam Ellis
    "I'm going in with my Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder to just set things down so I can get a little more longevity out of the look, but also to help any powder products that I apply on top blend out a little bit more seamlessly."
    Dermatologist's Favorite Foundations & Skincare Prep for Makeup | Dr. Sam Ellis
    "I have a little bit of Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder as part of my makeup look."
    Yay
    "The Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder is a finely milled setting powder that sets makeup while brightening the complexion. You need very little of it. Its super lightweight, silky texture smooths, blurs those imperfections and helps makeup last longer without any cakey or heavy look or feel. The key ingredients are the vitamin C and light reflecting pigments."
    Yay
    "The Laura Mercier translucent powder, I haven't gone back from this because it doesn't give flashback. If you take a photo you won't see a white cast around your eyes or face, which is so upsetting when you've worked really hard on your makeup and then the camera does that and you look like a ghost. I've gone through so many of these."
    Yay
    "I like the one from Laura Mercier. I think those are like a good stunning foundation and a good finishing powder."
    All 2 takes from Caroline Hirons
    Glad We Had This Chat Takes New York - Nykita Joy
    "I like the one from Laura Mercier. I think those are like a good stunning foundation and a good finishing powder."
    S2 Ep23: GLAD WE HAD THIS CHAT TAKES NEW YORK - 'Neo It Girl' Nykita Joy
    "Laura Mercier also has that soft ambient powder look which is actually my preferred, and they have a better deeper shade range because I feel like with Hourglass that's the one thing where I want one line that is for everyone because I have to do like three different products to get everything."
    Yay
    "Yeah, this has got 20 grams in it as well. It retails for $78. It still has four times the amount of product as this, which still makes this $112 at the same amount of grams."
    All 3 takes from Robert Welsh
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    "If you have any areas you know get especially oily, you can also go in with a thin layer of a loose translucent powder such as Laura Mercier. I usually like to apply the powder step with either a damp sponge or a small setting brush."
    This BIG BRAND is scamming their customers! | Mecca Max
    "Yeah, this has got 20 grams in it as well. It retails for $78. It still has four times the amount of product as this, which still makes this $112 at the same amount of grams."
    TikTokers trying too hard to go viral???? | Pro MUA Reacts to TikTok makeup hacks
    "I prep my powder before I blend my concealer. Taking Laura Mercier and I'm dabbing off the excess, then lightly blend under the eye. I always blend and set one eye at a time because it's really important to prep your powder. As soon as you're finished blending, you can set it. Take the translucent powder all the way down the face so that when you apply the rest of the powders, you don't get any patchiness."
    Yay
    "It's super popular, it lasts for a long time, really great at controlling shine and kind of has this pore blurring effect and also creates kind of this no flash effect when you are filming or photographing. So just really nice to use regularly or for special events. [...] A little bit goes a long way and I basically just set my eyebrow, my eyes, my T-Zone on a regular basis when I film or when I have special events, and then certainly you can use it all over too. Ingredient wise it contains vitamin C and vitamin E, great antioxidants, also has skin conditioning powder as well as pore blurring powder that really kind of helps to coat the pores and reduce their appearance and gives that kind of silky smooth skin finish. Highly recommend if you're looking for an awesome, amazing, long lasting setting powder."
    Yay
    "I'm just going to set my forehead and down the bridge of my nose with a brush."

    What the evidence says.

    Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

    Vitamin C

    Topical vitamin C is an antioxidant with reasonable evidence for dullness and uneven tone. It breaks down in light and air, so how a product is formulated and packaged matters as much as the percentage on the front.

    Source: DermNet

    Vitamin E

    Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

    Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

    Frequently asked.

    What is Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder?

    A finely milled translucent loose powder designed to set makeup, control shine, and create a smooth, blurred finish without white cast or heaviness.

    Is Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder worth it?

    Yes. All 13 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 84%.

    What is Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder's Guru Score?

    Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder holds a Guru Score of 84%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 13 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

    Who is Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder best for?

    Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder is generally suited to oily skin.

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