Setting Your Makeup - The Only Guide You'll Need

When talking about makeup, setting powder is essential. For everyday wear or fun costume looks, making sure to set your makeup is key to keeping the look lasting all day.

It’s often not always the most highlighted step in a makeup routine, partly because it’s so rudimentary, partly because it’s not the most exciting part of the process. But it’s one of the best things you can do to upgrade your makeup looks. The better you get at setting your makeup, the better your makeup transformations will look. And we’re here to help with that!

This step-by-step tutorial focuses on the basics of using setting applicators in both powders and sprays to seal makeup for all day looks.

Watch our video below & follow along as we lay out each step of the process!

Step 1: Paint your Face

This is the easiest part. Whatever your base layer of makeup will be, apply that first. In the case of our tutorial, it’s full face coverage of a white clown makeup.

Step 2: Mind the Gaps

Our makeup artists begins using the setting powder over areas of the face that gives us the most expression, and as a result could create lines and creases in our makeup. Around the eyes, below and on the sides, as well as any smile/frown lines, are all hot spots you wanna prioritize.

Pro Tip: It pays to know your face. Use the right tool for the job. A dense brush can help apply the setting powder to certain areas like mentioned above. A larger brush will certainly give you more overall coverage, but it might miss those smaller areas that a more precise brush could navigate better. It ultimately depends on what your makeup look is. Maybe you don’t need a larger brush if your makeup isn’t a full face look. So, try some different makeup brushes out and see what works best for you.

Step 3: Hot Spots

Continuing from Step 2, focus now on parts of your face that can get oily. Areas like your nose, maybe your brow, perhaps even around your lips. You would cover these areas regardless for a full face makeup like this, but being familiar with how your face behaves, particularly in heat if you plan on being outside with your look, will make it easier to know where to give attention to with setting powder.

Step 4: Add & Subtract

Now, we start using the larger brush to just get as much coverage as possible, essentially applying one big layer of setting powder. You don’t need to go overboard with it though, because what you want to avoid is unnecessary amounts of it sitting on your face. It should look smooth.

To avoid that, once you’ve applied it completely over your makeup, you’re going to gently dust off any excess powder loosely clinging or clumping on your face. It’s the key to keeping just the right amount of setting powder without drying out your face in the process.

Step 5: The Finer Details

With your base layer completely set, now you can add on whatever elements you want for your makeup look. Our tutorial shows a Joker makeup look, with classic red and blue elements added around the mouth, nose, and eyes (the main areas we already focused on setting at the start!).

Then it’s just a repeat of the previous step with going over all your makeup once more with more setting powder, and dusting away the excess. It may feel odd using even more, but trust that it’s magic in a bottle. As long as you’re getting coverage and removing excess powder you don’t need, it will go a long way to retaining your makeup look.

Step 6: Set It and Forget It

The final step is applying a setting spray. This works two-fold. It will lock in and set your makeup layers to prevent smudging, while also giving some life and moisture back to your face. Depending on your look, you might see how some of your makeup colors might lose their vibrance after using setting powder. Even a translucent powder can still sap some of the color and desaturate it slightly. Using a setting spray is key to bringing those colors back out and ensuring your look isn’t sacrificing fashion for function.

Pro Tip: Keep those eyes closed! It should go without saying, but be sure to keep your eyes and mouth closed when applying the setting spray. Give it a minute or two once spraying to lock in, and fan your face if needed to let the spray settle on your makeup.