You don’t need me to tell you that $75 is a lot of money to spend on a powder, so that leaves me at a loss for what exactly to tell you about the Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Blurring Talc-Free Setting Powder. That name is obnoxious to go along with the price, but it does clue you into what is “special” about this particular setting powder. If you are not familiar with Westman Atelier, it is a luxury clean beauty brand. Although there can be overlap in which ingredients are left out of clean beauty products, each brand determines what “clean” means for them. So I encourage you to visit the Westman Atelier About Us Page, to see what they consider “clean” before you decide if you even want to know about my experience with this powder.
The Packaging
Before I get into the performance, I want to gush over the packaging. At this price, you are in fact paying for the way these products are presented, so it matters. It comes in a linen, drawstring pouch to protect the compact. I bought mine in April 2023 and haven’t gotten any scratches but I do keep it in the pouch and I’m also generally not rough on things. The pouch is also more of a blush pink color that doesn’t really come across in the image.
I’ve read complaints of the Westman Atelier compacts being hard to open and while I haven’t had that issue, I don’t personally have issues with dexterity. If you do, I’d recommend going into a store to see how you get along with the packaging. It is small, rounded, and smooth though, so I can understand how it would be tough for someone with dexterity issues to manage. Just something to keep in mind.
The compact itself is heavy and refillable. Unfortunately, as of November 7, 2023, the brand doesn’t actually sell the refills. Hopefully, they can make those available soon so the people who do enjoy the product don’t have to buy another compact to continue to enjoy it.
Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Blurring Talc-Free Setting Powder, $75
The big reason I finally decided to check this powder out in the store was that it has been recommended for drier skin. If you are new here, I have dry eczema-prone skin but I don’t like a dewy finish. I have textured/bumpy skin in some places and that is sometimes worse when I’m having a dermatitis flare-up. A smooth, matte finish, or at least a satin finish, is more forgiving to texture issues. So during the spring VIB sale, I bought it for $60. I would not have paid full price for it and spoiler alert, although I like it I still wouldn’t pay full price for it. Is $60 still expensive? Of course. While the Westman Atelier Vital Skin Pressed Powder is really beautiful, for me, the experience of the packaging gives it an edge. It does mattify my skin without feeling drying and there is no visible look of powder. It just melts into whatever foundation or concealer I add it to. If I’m doing my makeup and I want a powder that is going to blur, the NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Powder does a better job at blurring for me personally. However, if you are looking for a talc-free powder, then the NARS isn’t an option. The Nars Light Reflecting powder contains Magnesium Silicate which is talc according to The National Library of Medicine.
The shade Dune is recommended for tan complexions and it works well for me. For reference my best shade match is Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 (wearing it here) and although a little dark for me NARS Natural Radiant Longwear in Tahoe is also a decent match (wearing it here). This is a sheer formula so while it doesn’t add much color I do think if the undertone is wrong it may stand out more. There are only 5 shades (translucent, pink bubble, creme, dune, and cafe) right now, but Westman Atelier does seem to regularly add to their shade range in other products so hopefully, this formula will follow suit.
The powder I would say is the closest to this formula (that I’ve personally tried) is the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural but the MAC formula does contain Talc and that will be a deal breaker for some people. I wouldn’t say I’ve tried a ton of powders though, so keep that in mind. Also, these are not dupes to me, but with something this expensive, I thought it was important to compare it to other pressed powders that I typically use. For me, the MAC powder doesn’t do as good of a job at setting, or giving a dried-down feeling to the face without applying it heavily. When I touch my face after using a light layer of the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, it feels tacky whereas the Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Powder makes my face feel dry to the touch. In the spring and summer when it is warmer and I’m less dry, I can get away with applying the MAC powder heavily to get a more dried-down feeling. On the other hand, I can use a light layer of the Westman Atelier and get a dried-down feeling even in the last month when temperatures have gotten down to the low 30s on some nights here in the Boston area.
The MAC powder retails for $42 however, and you can get it on sale for as much as 30% off if you keep an eye on the MAC website. So while I do think that the Westman Atelier pressed powder does set my foundation more effectively than MAC, I wouldn’t say it performs $33 better than MAC. Another advantage of the MAC powder is that it contains 10 g of product whereas the Westman Atelier only has 5 g of product. I assume the Westman Atelier is keeping the quantity low on this powder because it is infused with skincare (vitamin C, quinoa seed extract, probiotic) and only has a 12-month shelf life. I do wonder if the brand decided that 5 grams of product can be used up before the skincare ingredients degrade. I do think it’s reasonable to think that some people will pay for the nicer packaging, clean ingredients, and added skincare benefits. It doesn’t take much product to get what I need for my dry skin to be mattified, so I don’t think the amount of product in the compact will be an issue for me. But of course, your mileage may vary if you are less dry than I am.
If I ignore the packaging, this is just a good powder and a good powder doesn’t need to be this expensive. If I consider the packaging it becomes above average but I still wouldn’t recommend anyone pay $75 for it. I’m still glad I bought it and I do enjoy using it.
If you are still considering purchasing the Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Powder and have other questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sticking around. You can check out my Brands A-Z index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.
Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Nikki From HR 
How you regard the powder is pretty close to how I feel about their bronzer. Good product, but it would be considered overpriced without that gorgeous compact.
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