What You Need to Know Before Trying Glossier Wowder

Every cool girl’s favorite brand, Glossier, has been racking up an impressive amount of beauty launches in the three years since it started, and out today is their newest invention: Wowder ($35), a finishing powder. It’s billed as a powder that “cuts shine, sets makeup, and blurs the appearance of pores, all without masking your skin’s texture or creating that dreaded cakey film that turns into fine lines.”

It comes in a range of three shades—light, dark (deep medium tone), and rich (a deeper, darker tone)—and is made with diamond powder (light reflecting), kaolin clay (absorbs oil), and Vitamin E (non-drying). It also is paired with a handy, soft brush, which you press lightly into a springy mesh (that holds in the powder), swirl around, and lightly tap off excess. Sweep onto skin, working your way up and out.

Our editors and friends test drove Wowder for the last few weeks. Here we divulge (slightly anonymously) everything we learned—the good, the bad and the raving reviews.

“When it comes to my makeup routine, I’m a firm believer of ‘less is more.’ Not purely for the aesthetics, but I would be hard-pressed to stick with a multi-step routine. At best, I’m out the door with a light layer of foundation or tinted moisturizer, mascara, and a little blush. That said, I was able to seamlessly integrate the Wowder into my routine, admittedly applying it simultaneously with the blush. My skin tends to be on the oiler side during the summer, so the powder helped tone that down a bit. And it does pair well with Glossier’s Tinted Moisturizer.”  – Anna

“I was really excited to try the

Glossier Wowder

Finishing Powder because I stopped using the finishing powder I currently use (by Urban Decay). However, as soon as I opened the container I realized the powder did not match my complexion and was way too dark for my skin tone. It was a pretty color, and I liked that Glossier has colors available for darker skin tones, it was just not a match for my honey-brown skin. I still tried to be creative with it and see if I could use it as a contour. The consistency was light, which I liked, but since it was too dark to use over my entire face. Overall, I’m looking forward to trying a color that is better suited for my skin.” – Adrienne

“Upon opening the Wowder, I was pleasantly surprised to find it had a very specific color (similar to my skin) that I haven’t seen in many finishing powders. As someone who doesn’t wear foundation but loves a little translucent finishing powder to tone down my shine-prone face, I found this powder lightweight and wonderfully comparable to the Laura Mercier powder that I’ve used in the past. I loved that it didn’t feel or look as though I had anything on and found the silky, smooth and finished look had a great appeal. Overall I like the product and packaging—simple, chic and straight-forward. The mesh inside is very practical and actually quite helpful in terms of getting an even amount of powder to achieve an even appearance. A slightly less pigmented version of this wonderful idea of flesh tone finishing powders would ideally be used for my personal needs.” -Amari

“Loving the coordinating Wowder brush: It’s soft, the perfect size, and fabulous for powder. Bravo! The powder is trickier for me. It’s superior at oil-absorbing, but creases on my face quickly (but it’s to be expected, most things crease easily on me). But the diamond powder is a super smart addition to a powder for the ultimate light reflective look.” – Kristin

“I really liked how the powder looked on my skin. It gave me a super matte look without looking cakey or like I was wearing too much makeup. I’m super sensitive to a certain texture, and this product reminded me a lot of dry shampoo (which I don’t wear for that very reason!), but other than that, I was into it. Verdict: Will definitely continue using.” – Alyssa

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