Hopefully I can provide a simple answer for a fairly simple question!
Pressed powder is a cake of face powder pressed into a mirrored
compact with a puff or sponge. It usually has a matte finish on
the skin, and is portable and convenient for touch-ups during
the day if you have oily skin that needs blotting.
Loose powder has a consistency more like baby powder - soft,
fine, and, well, loose. Most brands are packaged in a tin,
plastic box, or shaker container with a screen over the powder
so you can shake out a little at a time through the small holes
in the screen. Unless you have a container that stays tightly
closed, loose powder is not very portable. There is a benefit of
loose over pressed, though - loose powder is softer and more
natural looking on the skin. You can apply it with a powder
brush or a puff depending on the finish you want.
Both pressed and loose powders typically come in a variety of
skin tone shades from light beige to deep cocoa. There are also
translucent or colorless powders that are designed to work on
any skin color. If you always use your powder over foundation or
concealer, a translucent powder will set the makeup without
adding any extra color.
Face powder in skintone colors are great if you want to wear
only powder with no other foundation, or if your foundation
color needs some adjusting. For example, if your foundation is
too pink, you can layer a yellow-based powder over it to make
the overall color more neutral. Some brands also make green and
violet powders that are supposed to counteract too much red in
the skin (you’d use green powder) or too sallow (you’d use
violet). Personally I think these are gimmicky and never look as
good on the skin as they sound in theory. I recommend sticking
to translucent or natural skintone shades.
