As a theatre kid, I swear by Ben Nye. I even use it as my everyday makeup, instead of just for when I'm on stage. That being said, this powder is a gift from The Lord himself, it's not to heavy, it mattes me out like nobodies business, and it pales down my foundation juuuuust the right amount so that it blends into my albino white girl skin. The packaging could use a bit of work, but all in all it's a staple in my kit at all times.

Considering that I got this product with my school kit, I probably will buy it for the sake of clients but when it come to using this on my own face, I find it irritating.

I ended up switching over to 'Estee Lauder' - Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder because it's the only product that I haven't reacted to yet despite the price.

The packaging is good, just be cautious not to spill out too much and always brush your face with a large clean brush to get rid of excess powder.

I can honestly say that this is not a miracle product, I had to reapply this after a couple of hours . I have combination skin, my skin is not very oily. Its performance is not any better than Chanel Universal which is my regular go to powder. I bought it, used a couple of times and stopped using it after reading that it has parabens. I will not re-buy or use this powder. Parabens are not good for our health..

I have used MAC Prep & Prime translucent powder for years and absolutely loved it, but it got to the stage where I was repurchasing it every other month and it had become quite an expensive habit, so I did some MUA research and thought I would give this a go. I was surprised when I received it in the post because the bottle contains 49g, which is six times the amount you get with MAC Prep & Prime, but the container itself is really small. It just shows how deceptive the packaging is with the MAC one.


I am not a fan of the bottle-style packaging because I like to dispense loose powder into the lid of the pot and dip my brush into that, which isn't really possible because the lid is so small. I have been transferring this into an old Prep & Prime container to get around that (any loose powder container with a sifter would do). I have already filled the MAC container twice but it has hardly made a dent in the Ben Nye bottle, so you do get an awful lot of product for the money (this cost £5.50 plus postage, which came to about £8 in total. The MAC powder is £18.50 for less than a sixth of the amount!).


In terms of the product itself, the finish it gives is lovely and there is no white cast on my skin, even when I am wearing false tan (which takes me up to about an NC20-25). It does set make-up very nicely without making the skin look overly powdery, and it hasn't broken me out at all. I think the main difference between this and the MAC P&P is that the MAC one is slightly more finely milled and does control my oil for slightly longer. With the Ben Nye I have to touch up after about four hours, so it is still good but not quite as good. I also can't use this under my eyes, but I do have very sensitive eyes and I prefer to use other powders for that anyway. I would be more than willing to repurchase given the massive difference in cost. It is far better than most powders I have tried.

If you have oily skin or you find that you're skin gets oily around midday, this is definitely the answer. I use it to set my foundation and I find that it stays all day and I don't even have to carry any powders around.

Great price, nice for my fair skin (banana might be better for darker, warmer skin tones).
Does contain talc.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. Best powder ever, its like the dupe for mac prep and prime translucent powder, its super cheap and i use this everyday, i love how it doesn't make me look ghostly or pale no matter how much u apply,keeps my face matte except my T zone, but still love it, i got mine off makeupmania.com and i'll definitely get a new huge bottle once im done with my mini one!

I have an extremely, EXTREMELY oily face... like, beyond what most people can imagine, lol. After Kryolan Anti-Shine fell flat for me, I figured I'd give theater make up one more go and sprang for this stuff. Plainly, it sucked on me. My skin consumed it in about an hour or two. As with Kryolan, I found it extremely disappointing. I've gotten better results from regular drugstore powders. The baby powder-like bottle was also messy and inconvenient. I seem to be the only one who didn't like this powder, but I honestly was horrified at seeing my face a few hours after using this. For anyone whose skin also eats through this stuff, try aloe vera gel as a primer, and setting foundation with rice powder + UD All Nighter. This combo has given me the best results so far, after 5ish years of trying every damn mattifier on the market, from Milk of Magnesia to Chanel.

Magnificent face powder. I suffer from very oily skin around the T-Zone and this is the only powder I've found to keep it at bay all day long. I love the fact it's both theatrical grade (the special formula controls perspiration making it perfect for high energy performers such as clowns and dancers) and completely colourless. Works far better than MAC 'Studio Fix' Powder ever did and is a good £10 cheaper too! I have the 2oz (49gm) bottle and after 2 months of everyday usage I estimate that I have 98% of powder left, so it's superb value for money. It NEVER cakes on my skin either, I apply it with a damp beauty blender and really buff it into my skin. I imagine it would be perfect for hot, tropical holidays to combat scorching heat and humidity.

Best powder ever. And I don't really like powder. It just seems to mess up the work already done, in my opinion. No oxidizing of any kind, no caking, no making the foundation you just so beautifully applied look more like "makeup." This powder is a go to for many makeup artists. It's very inexpensive, the translucent powder works on everyone, it sets the makeup beautifully, and photographs well. I hardly even use any other powder on myself or clients unless I need to for effect. Two thumbs up and I will continue to repurchase this time and time again, but it's not necessary very often because it lasts forever.