Ben Nye Neutral Set Colorless Face Powder

Most mattifying powder for my oily skin (the RCMA No Color did nothing for me), doesn't oxidise on my face by the end of the day. Amazing price, don't care that it contains parabens, I will keep repurchasing for as long as I live.

Overall: 4
Price: 4 (approx $10 CAD for 1.75 oz)
Packaging: 3
Buy again: yes

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I bought the 1.75 oz size from Camera Ready Cosmetics.

I go through a lot of powder each year since I'm oily, and while I'm fine with using pressed powder compacts on the go, I prefer to use loose powders when I'm doing my makeup at home. I bought this powder on a whim several years ago just to try something new.

Ben Nye is a theatrical makeup company so stage performers use it to set their stage makeup to make it last through singing and dancing. It doesn't say anything about oil control specifically, but it does say it "controls perspiration". I suppose if you pack it on with a puff all over your face, it would have that effect. Personally, I only use a puff to set under my eyes or any concealing on blemishes. For all over the face I use a brush to pat it on so that it just mattifies without looking super flat.

Performance:

When I set my undereye concealer with a puff with this powder, my concealer lasts significantly longer than if I just apply powder under my eyes with a brush. It really does set makeup amazingly well. If I wear liquid foundation and set my face with a brush, it again helps my makeup last longer, but does nothing for my shine. I'm usually touching up 2-3 hours later or blotting - but hey that's my face, and this powder says nothing about controlling shine. I imagine if I set my face more heavily with a larger face puff (Patrick Starrr style) I'd get more mileage, but I'm ok with that (that's what mattifying makeup setting sprays are for...)

Texture:

This is a very fine milled, white coloured powder. It goes on translucent but if you're heavy handed you might see the white cast. It feels very light, and you can't really see it once it's on your skin, so it doesn't look powdery. If I do touch up with it, I blot my face first, then apply a thin layer over my oily spots, and voila, looks like fresh skin again, so it's great for touching up without looking cakey.

Packaging:

All sizes have a shaker-top dispenser with a twist off cap. I usually shake some product out onto a small dish (I use the lid of a candle...) and then use a puff or brush to apply to my face. Packaging doesn't leak during transportation, which is a plus, but it does not bode well for on the go touch ups.

I've had my 1.75 oz powder for about 3 years, but I've only been using it daily for about 1 year. I still have TONNES left, even after daily usage. I have only used maybe the first 1/6 of the bottle. You definitely get a lot of product for a very good price.

I bought this due to the ingredient list being similar to my favorite setting powder. It's actually pretty hard to find talc in setting powders these days since silica products have gotten more attention. This has both talc and silica. Talc is my favorite oil absorbing ingredient. I thought I was going to love this powder.

The name is misleading as it's not a neutral shade. It's a stark white powder. Yes, most of the white color blends away when you buff it in. I've experienced worse whitecast by other products.However this does lighten my foundation by 1 shade. Ben Nye Neutral Set truly is translucent in terms of coverage. Yet I felt like I could visibly see the powder sitting on my skin.

I tried using this with less matte foundation formulas just to test it out (my go-to fndt is very matte on its own). My face looked really gross within a few hours. I could see the make up separate from my skin once my oil broke through.

I honestly don't get the love so many reviewers have for this product. I think the tinted ones might be worth looking into if they blend more seamlessly. But... I am NC10 (very pale leaning yellow). Cameo and Fair were too pink/dark toned for me. I will admit I do like this better than the Make Up For Ever HD silica powder everyone raves about, but that isn't saying much given the low rating I gave that product too.

I love this powder. Very affordable and it works so well with any foundation. It makes my foundation stay on all day. However the packaging, ugh. the cap is useless. You'd have to take something else to put your powder into.

PROS

- finely milled
- translucent
- looks natural
- does not alter color of foundation

CONS

- packaging

COMMENTS: Oil control is no better than most powders, but aside from that it's a great no-color powder to set your makeup. I bake with this and it doesn't settle into any fine lines. It works beautifully and does not alter the color of foundation. I transfer this into another container because the packaging sucks, but the product is great.

Will repurchase.

I got a small tube of this product to set my makeup on a daily bases.

I used it back when Ben Nye was a hyped brand among youtubers. The quality is pretty good considering the price but I gave up on Ben Nye after I realized the it clogs my pores and causes me to break out...no surprise there given how cheap the product actually is.

This past Halloween I pulled the powder out in order to set a full "day of the dead" face makeup..... It didn't work. The makeup smudged and it also the "translucent" powder lighted the black parts of the makeup. I did layer a good amount of powder since I was going to spend the night wearing it... but after only a few hours it failed to hold up.

Disappointed in the results when used as its actually meant to be used...for heavy cosmetics.

Although I HATE the banana powder, I really like this neutral set to set my concealer. It does not leave me drying or patchy. & specially it does not leave a white cast under my eye. Great product!

Love this product for setting foundation for a long period of time. It can be used for any skin tone and is one of the cheaper Ben bye powders at £10.50 for 3oz! I just wished the would change the packaging so you don't have to pour some out. The same goes for all Ben bye powders, unless I'm missing something but shouldn't they Be in a large shifter pot style packaging .......

This product was far too white looking for me, even as a NC20 fair-medium. It is multi-purpose though so I suppose it could be used for other things. I am very particular with color matching on my face and I don't like the white ghost look. Even too white to set my eye concealer. Only recommend for very fair complexion. A shame because the texture and finish are very nice.

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.