Hydro Setting Powders Mattify and Hydrate Skin at the Same Time

By Devon Abelman

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Water-based setting powders are the latest makeup innovation stumping TikTok. Powders are synonymous with matte, oil-controlled skin that comes at the cost of chalkiness, flashback, and dryness. But hydro setting powders, as we like to call them, are packed with perplexing contradictions: They appear in jars as fine-milled dust like any other setting powder but they’re confusingly also a liquid. They mattify but hydrate and give skin a dewy yet blurred finish.

Nearly half a million people have watched Houston-based makeup artist Rose Siard test out the most popular water-based setting powder on the market right now: Uoma Beauty’s Hydroblast Finishing Powder. It appears wet to the touch, melts into skin like a liquid, and then, somehow still mattifies and blurs her skin. One of the viral video’s top comments reads, “My brain can’t comprehend this.” Honestly, mine couldn’t either.

Setting powders are the bane of my makeup routine’s existence because they make my oily skin feel drier than on an old, neglected sponge. They also leave my face looking like I just competed in a particularly messy round of The Great British Bake Off. I accepted setting spray as my sole makeup-locking alternative in favor of dreaming of a more hydrating option. And it seems hydro setting powders are exactly that.

Here, cosmetic chemists demystify the sorcery behind them.

Meet the Experts:

My first question to cosmetic chemists was “How is a setting powder formulated to be both a powder and water-based?” Turns out, there’s a pretty simple explanation for the magic behind the formulation: microencapsulation.

Most powder particles found in traditional setting powders, particularly talc and silica, are actually hollow, New York City-based cosmetic chemist Rachel Johnson tells Allure. However, in the case of hydro setting powders, “Water is encapsulated inside the powder particle,” she adds. “So when friction is applied, it releases the water, giving the product a powder-to-liquid experience.”

Lauren Jin, the founder of CLE Cosmetics, utilized this technology when formulating the brand’s Lip Melting Powder, a pigmented loose powder that liquefies as you swipe it onto your lips. In 2018, it mystified the masses, including Allure editors. Now, the same formulation concept powers CLE’s new Hydro Blot Loose Powder.

For its powder base, Jin chose illite, as the clay-based mineral naturally absorbs oil and water. “But the illite itself is too drying on the skin,” she tells Allure. To balance it out, she encapsulated illite with water, niacinamide, natto gum, and powdered hyaluronic acid for a setting powder that melts onto skin like a featherlight skin-plumping essence but cuts down on shine and gives skin a soft focus finish just as a loose powder does.

Other hydro-setting powders — like the viral Uoma Beauty Hydroblast Finishing Powder and the Refy Skin Finish — on the market feature the same mechanism. What sets apart Uoma’s, though, is it’s offered in five different skin tone-matching shades, while most water-based setting powders only come in one translucent option.

Water-based setting powders help you “enjoy water-soluble active ingredients that normally would not be included in this type of formulation,” Johnson says. “They also add a boost of hydration into your makeup routine without disorganizing your routine.”

Because niacinamide and hyaluronic acid are micro-encapsulated in these powders, the active ingredients can effectively penetrate skin to provide benefits like any other skin-care product, Johnson explains. However, they don’t pack enough of a punch to replace a serum spiked with it in your skin-care routine. “This is definitely a product that complements or extends the efficacy of other products, though,” she adds.

In addition to packing setting powder with skin-care benefits, hydro setting powders also feel ultra-refreshing as you sweep them onto your face thanks to their substantial water content, says Ron Robinson, a cosmetic chemist based in New York City and founder of the Best of Beauty-winning skin-care brand BeautyStat. Imagine using it to touch up your makeup on a hot day.

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The inclusion of water in setting powder formulas also prevents your foundation from looking cakey and minimizes shine, Robinson adds. The powder will still absorb oil like a traditional formula but “provides a more natural finish to the skin,” he says.

Because the powder melts into your skin, it won’t emphasize any flakes on your skin, let alone lines you might have or ones you may create when you make a joyful facial expression. Although Johnson says water-based setting powders are great for all skin types, they are particularly helpful benefit for those with mature skin due to their melting powers. “Given mature skin also tends to be drier, a water-based setting powder won’t settle into fine lines,” Robinson says.

Hydro setting powders are easier to apply and blend into skin, making them more effortless than old-school formulas, Jin points out. You can also wear them on bare skin for a layer of mattifying moisture or as a makeup primer. “It's a very multi-functional product to have in your routine,” she says.

Siard also loves lightly dusting Uoma’s Hydroblast Finishing Powder on after makeup primer or skin prep. “This can be beneficial if you have oily skin as it helps with wear time for your complexion products,” she explains. “It can also help your skin retain moisture.”

Water-based setting powders may seem like the perfect addition to any makeup routine, but they do come with caveats.

The active ingredients in water-based setting powders have a tendency to deepen the shade of any underlying pigment, Johnson points out. This goes for any color cosmetics, including foundation and concealer. For some, this may come in handy: Beauty creator Jennie Pham also pointed out in her viral TikTok that hydro setting powder amplifies the pigmentation of her blush in all the right ways.

In Siard’s experience, her base makeup looks darker at first but goes back to its true hue once the powder dries down. She also only adds a thin, even layer of the powder to her skin with either Rose and Ben Beauty’s C-41 Blush Brush or Setting Puff, so it’s less likely to change the color of her base makeup.

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If you tend to reach for a setting powder for baking your face, this isn’t the right formula. Baking and water-based setting powders require two different application methods to adhere to the skin. “Baking would create a huge mess since the product works with friction and is not meant to be packed on and then buffed away,” Johnson explains. “You will most definitely see foundation clumping if using this product to bake.” Instead, stick to sweeping on thin layers to give your skin a smooth, hydrated matte glow.

People throw around the phrase “dolphin skin” a lot these days, but CLE’s Hydro Blot Loose Powder gives me the smooth, dewy-yet-matte skin of the wild dolphin I recently saw swimming near the surface of the ocean outside my dad’s living room window.

Lately, I haven’t been wearing foundation — I love how my skin looks on its own and hate the feeling of foundation masking it. But when I do my bright eye makeup and dramatic blush here and there, I like to control the shine on my T-zone to balance out the whole look. CLE’s water-based setting powder elevates my bare skin game, enhancing my natural glow while mattifying those hot spots on my face that can’t be targeted with just a spritz of setting spray.

Plus, it really does feel more like the last step in my skin-care routine with its serum-like consistency rather than a powdery layer of makeup all over my face. Consider me under the hydro setting powder spell.

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