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Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
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Powder & Setting
#4 in Powder & SettingSee the ranking →
About this product

A translucent, finely milled loose setting powder designed to set makeup, control shine and soften the look of pores, with light-reflecting pigments and vitamin C.

Full ingredients

Talc, Magnesium Myristate, Nylon-12, Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben, Lauroyl Lysine, Propylparaben, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Butylparaben, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Tocopherol, Methicone, Ultramarines (Cl 77007), Iron Oxides (Cl 77491, Cl 77492, Cl 77499)

More from Laura Mercier 8 products · Guru Score 92% →

Guru Score

85%

Yay

13 experts · Strong agreement
Guru Certified
Broad expert consensus

What the gurus are saying

Oily areas are where this sheer, finely milled powder earns most of its praise, with gurus finding it takes down shine without a heavy look. It is also liked for keeping photos free of a white, ghostly cast, and a little goes a long way. The one thing to keep in mind: those with mature skin are advised to use light layers rather than packing it on.
Synthesized from 13 expert reviews · most recent take October 2026

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.

    Type

    Powder & SettingPowder

    Key actives

    Vitamin CVitamin E

    Formula notes

    Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

    Where to buy

    Opens a store search. We may earn from these links.

    Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

    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
    AliceintheRabbitHole
    AliceintheRabbitHole
    59k subs
    ✓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
    A K-Beauty brand just released an INCLUSIVE tinted moisturizer!? Chat & Try On!
    "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."
    Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert
    Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert
    55k subs
    ✓Yay
    "Rarely do I use powder, but if I do, I like this by Laura Mercier."
    Alexandra Anele
    Alexandra Anele
    1.45M subs
    ✓Yay
    "Laura Mercier, the original powder is good for oily skin."
    The Style and Beauty Doctor
    The Style and Beauty Doctor
    222k subs
    ✓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."
    Beyond50Skin
    Beyond50Skin
    32k subs
    ✓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."
    Dr. Sam Ellis
    Dr. Sam Ellis
    898k subs
    ✓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."
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    "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."
    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."
    Dr. Aleksandra Brown
    Dr. Aleksandra Brown
    151k subs
    ✓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."
    Dr Sam Bunting
    Dr Sam Bunting
    240k subs
    ✓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."
    Caroline Hirons
    Caroline Hirons
    250k subs
    ✓Yay
    "I like the [...] one from Laura Mercier. I think those are like a good stunning foundation and a good finishing powder."
    Dr. Jenny Liu
    Dr. Jenny Liu
    324k subs
    ✓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."
    Dimma Umeh
    Dimma Umeh
    542k subs
    ✓Yay
    "I'm just going to set my forehead and down the bridge of my nose with a brush."
    Robert Welsh
    Robert Welsh
    1.11M subs
    ✓Yay
    "I absolutely love this stuff. I can rely on this powder. [...] It's just the right level of matte for me, and it still looks like skin. It doesn't look cakey or overcompensating. I [...] think it's one of the best powders in existence."
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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."
    Testing the worst reviewed makeup from Sephora!!
    "I absolutely love this stuff. I can rely on this powder. [...] It's just the right level of matte for me, and it still looks like skin. It doesn't look cakey or overcompensating. I [...] think it's one of the best powders in existence."
    Allie Glines
    Allie Glines
    829k subs
    ✓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."
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    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."
    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."
    Umm.. Testing NEW Makeup!!
    "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."
    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."

    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 translucent, finely milled loose setting powder designed to set makeup, control shine and soften the look of pores, with light-reflecting pigments and vitamin C.

    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 85%.

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

    Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder holds a Guru Score of 85%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 13 expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.

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