Kiko Free Soul Baking Powder Review & Swatches

Kiko Free Soul Baking Powder ($16) is a new matte face powder available in two shade selections which can be used when baking your face. I don’t bake. I always feel like my skin is too dry to attempt it but I do like setting my concealer with a banana shaded powder like Ben Nye Banana Powder or Hard Candy Sheer Envy Bake, Brighten & Set Loose Finishing Powder.

Honestly, I’ve long since found my holy grail banana powder in Ben Nye’s formula but I still tend to migrate towards trying new ones and considering my successful history with Kiko I decided hauling Free Soul Baking Powder wouldn’t be any great chore.

Kiko Free Soul Baking Powder arrives in a double-lid container that holds 0.31 oz of powder. I truly appreciate the double lid as it makes traveling with this very easy. Having a sifter only and a single lid means a lot of powder can spill out if you decide to take it with you which results in a big puff of powder blowing out when you open the jar. The double lid seals over the sifter and ensures you don’t end up with powder everywhere.

They launched this in two shade selections of Banana and Peach and both are available for a limited time with the Free Soul Collection. I’m not sure if they plan to keep it on in the future and just move it to the standard Kiko packaging but I have my doubts. That’s the one thing I dislike about Kiko as if you end up loving this formula it might prove difficult to purchase in the future.

Lucky enough, I’m not as in love with as I am my Ben Nye. Both shades are excellent for setting concealer and brightening up the eye area up especially yellow which will neutralize any darkness you might have (peach will be great on fairer skin tones with bluish circles). The formula is very smooth and silky but it does have the slippery texture and feel of a loose silica powder which tends to crease under my eyes. I suspose if you’re an expert baker you won’t have an issue. I’m not and I personally used the powder with a blending brush to gently sweep under my eyes to set my concealer and although, it did brighten well it ended up creasing into my finer lines due to the texture. Please excuse my swatches on my super dry arm! Don’t worry, the powder isn’t as dry as it looks in my swatch! I’m just having a bout of super dry skin.

Kiko Free Soul Baking Powder Swatches (Banana and Peach)

Oddly enough, it’s a talc powder and not a silica so I’m not sure why I experienced problems. I just don’t really love the slippery texture and prefer the talc and rice starch formula that Ben Nye’s favors.

Kiko Free Soul Baking Powder should do you well if you’re bake or if you commonly use loose silica powder to set your makeup or concealer. Personally, I like to set my concealer with something that has a silkier texture but not the slipperiness I associate with silica.

Kiko Free Soul Baking Powder is available at kikocosmetics.com.