By technique · Sub-chapter 03
Cream before powder. Powder before more powder. Setting spray when nothing else needs to land on top. The full library on sequencing, sorted and kept clear.
97 how-to's · Updated 27 April 2026 · Avg. 4 min per piece · Edited by Nelly · Beauty & Style Director
Editor's note
Setting order matters more than the products themselves. The rule is shorter than it looks: cream before powder; powder before more powder; setting spray when the look is finished. Anything that departs from that sequence needs a reason.
Other techniques
What 'setting order' actually means
Setting order is the sequence in which makeup products are applied relative to each other — specifically which texture type precedes which. A cream can't grip over a powder, and a powder can't bind under another cream once it's set.
The beginner's path
- The cream-powder rule — and why it exists (3 min)
- What setting powder actually does (4 min)
- Setting spray — the one product most people use wrong (4 min)
- Layering cream over powder — when it breaks and when it doesn't (4 min)
- The finished look — reading when setting is done (3 min)
Everything we've published on setting order
- Setting spray — the one moment you should use it
- Cream blush over powder foundation — the only way it works
- Translucent powder — where to put it and how much
- Why your makeup pills — and how to stop it
- The full setting sequence — written out as a checklist
- Baking — the under-eye method, explained exactly
- Loose vs pressed powder — which to use when
- Setting the eye — why it's different from the face
- Powder placement — brush, puff, or sponge
- Setting without going matte — the dewy finish option