Powder puffs. (The Roving Eye).

DUSTING powder, one of grandma's old favorites for adding a rosy glow, has become a trendy beauty item.

Several cosmetics companies have added the stuff to their lines as women discover new uses for an old product. They come in retro-looking tins with big powder puffs, or in simple bottles, to be shaken onto brushes.

And in a new wave twist, dusting powder is no longer confined to softening or scenting the skin. It's now being used to create whole looks, from glittery shimmer to healthy glow. It can be used on the body or on bed sheets and comes in different grains, with or without color and in scents ranging from gardenia to soy.

"Dusting powder is very big right now," said Rebecca Clark, owner of an eponymous bath and beauty products store in L.A. The appeal of this "girly girl" item is its retro appeal, according to Clark, who has doubled the stock of dusting powder at her shop.

"The powder puff is going back to a more innocent age... a Donna Reed kind of thing," she said. "My mom and my grandmother used powder for years, but the phenomenon that's happening now is young, hip women buying it."

Make-up artist Joanna Schlip, of the Cloutier Agency in Santa Monica, said she has for years been mixing dusting powder with oils or lotions to create a dewy or glowing look. Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and other actresses have helped popularize the look, she said.

Schlip uses dusting powder on a regular basis for both faces and bodies. Among the performers she has dusted: Lara Flynn Boyle of "The Practice" and Kim Cattrall of "Sex and the City" fame.

"The bottom line is people want their skin to look healthy," Schlip said.