Best powdered skincare products to buff up your beauty routine

If there’s one aspect of at-home skincare that’s sure to bring out your inner beauty nerd, it’s the ability to mix up your own to order.

Be it a foaming cleanser, an enzymatic exfoliator or treatments such as multi-tasker niacinamide, powdered formats, designed to be swirled up into lathers and lotions via the bathroom tap (or occasionally your other skincare picks), offer efficacy teamed with a touch of playfulness. 

“You have more control with powder formulas,” enthuses Falkirk and London-based facialist Nicola Russell, who has perked up the complexions of Minnie Driver and Lisa Snowdon and is industry-renowned as the Skin Geek. “They often contain a higher concentration of active ingredients, so are perfect if you like to customise your skincare as the amount of water you add will determine both the strength of the product and the texture. Another important benefit - especially in these times - is that they require less energy and resources to produce due to the lack of water. That lack of water also eliminates a breeding ground for bacteria, so products have a longer shelf life.” 

Powders also offer versatility in the range of ingredients they can carry, such as microfine granules and enzymatic proteins - both brilliant for sloughing off, which tackles pigmentation and boosts collagen production. “For me, the best ingredient that lends itself to a powdered formula is Vitamin C,” says Nicola. “It’s a volatile ingredient, hard to stabilise in liquid and starts to deteriorate after being bottled, so its best form is definitely powder.” Yet another benefit is their portability: no chance of arriving at your travel destination with gloopy, spilt lotions covering clothes due to a leaky skincare bottle.