Battle Of The Setting Sprays
For some reason, I own a load of setting sprays, even though I rarely use them - mainly due to the fact I use Revlon Colorstay as my everyday foundation and it lasts all day even without a primer or setting spray! So I thought I would try them all out with a foundation that I know only lasts a few hours on my skin usually, to see how effective my collection of setting sprays are! I tried all of these out with my usual primer (The Body Shop Tea Tree Primer) and the new Ordinary Colors Coverage Foundation. I have combination skin which gets oily in my t-zone throughout the day.
Elf Illuminating Mist & Set - 60ml - £5.00
Claims: - hydrate, nourish and brighten the complexion, prevents colour fading and running and extends wear-ability, natural glow on the skin, lightweight, comfortable formula.
There are 2 other varieties of E.l.f setting sprays, in the form of "matte" which is also £5.00 and their original "Mist and Set" which is £4.50. I've owned this setting spray for a while and it is one I repeatedly reach for, because most of my setting sprays are mattifying - so if I have a matte foundation that is looking a bit flat, I reach for this one to give it some life. I don't think it extends make up wear at all, but it doesn't make it melt off my face any quicker either. It adds a subtle glow / dewiness to the foundation without making it look oily. It has quite a powerful mist so you don't need to spray it too many times to cover your entire face. I think for the price, this is a great setting spray!
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - 110ml - £23.50 (full sized)
Claims: - Make your make up look "freshly applied" after 16 hours of wear.
This is an absolute cult favourite setting spray and I can see why. I purchased the travel sized (30ml for £10) version of this setting spray (before the packaging changed recently) as I wanted to see how good it was before splurging on the full sized product. I can't say that their 16 hour claim is realistic but I was actually pleasantly surprised by this! It has a fresh scent, which doesn't smell chemically and it has a nice fine mist, without squirting you in the face! I found that it didn't adjust the look of my foundation at all and it did make my foundation last a lot longer than without it. And when the foundation did start to break down, it was nowhere near as oily as it usually gets by the end of the day. This is definitely worth the price in my opinion!
NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray - 60ml - £7.00
Claims: - fresh make up look that lasts, lightweight and comfortable, shine free finish
This setting spray has quite a strong chemical scent when you initially spray it onto your face but the scent does disappear when the spray dries down. It has a nice mist and I did find that it extended the foundation wear by about 2 extra hours before it started to break down and my oils came through. It definitely did not keep my make up matte all day, but in comparison to some of the other setting sprays I've tried, this is not a bad one. After spraying, it didn't change the look of the foundation at all. This is a good drugstore setting spray that is a reasonable price but I would reach for the Urban Decay setting spray over this one if I need my make up to stay in place all day.
Essence Instant Matt Setting Spray - 50ml - £3.00
Claims: - light, transparent spray, sets make up in place, mattifies the skin, prolongs make up wear, oil-free, non-sticky.
This is by far the most affordable setting spray I've come across, although do bare in mind that it is a 50ml bottle which is the smallest size. First off, I definitely agree with the claims that it is non-sticky and lightweight and that it mattifies the skin. After the spray dried on my foundation, it felt immediately matte. It has a really nice mist which does cover your face so you don't need to use a lot. It does have quite a strong chemical scent but the scent doesn't linger after it has dried. I felt like it didn't keep my make up in place for as long as the Urban Decay All Nighter but it definitely helped to keep my oils at bay and extend the wear of this foundation. It's great value for money!
Make Up Revolution Oil Control Fixing Spray - 100ml - £5.00
Claims: - Protect your make up in heat, humidity, cold and windy conditions and make your make up last up to 8 hours.
I found that this setting spray has a very strong, strange, chemically scent and it has a nice mist but it left my face feeling wet after spraying it - it didn't sink into my foundation as quickly as the other setting sprays. This definitely did not achieve what it claimed to in making the foundation last up to 8 hours. It didn't extend my foundation wear at all (past the 4 hours it lasts on it's own) and it did not keep my oils at bay. Although this is the largest bottle of setting spray and it is for one of the lowest prices, I would not recommend this setting spray at all for anyone with oily / combination skin.
Maybelline Super Stay 24H Setting Spray- 75ml - £6.99
Claims: - Extends both wear and freshness for a flawless look that lasts.
So the bottle I have of this was a limited edition packaging around Christmas time, but the product is the same inside the bottle. I found that this setting spray has a very powerful mist and again, it has a chemically scent. I didn't find that this made my make up last any longer than usual, but it didn't change the look of my foundation. Again, it did leave my face feeling quite wet after I had sprayed it and it took a few minutes to dry. I have read lots of reviews on this saying that it leaves white splotches on your face - as long as you shake the bottle well before use, it doesn't do this.
L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist - 100ml - £8.99
Claims: - Sets and extends make up wear for "just-applied look", anti-fade, anti-melt and anti-crack.
I've seen a lot of people complaining about the build up of what looks like white powder in the bottom of the bottle and this setting spray leaving white dots on their face. I have noticed, after the bottle is sat upright for a while it does build up white stuff at the bottom of the bottle, however, once shaken properly, this disappears and it has never left white dots on my face. I'm not sure if I had a dodgy bottle but the spray top does leak if I leave the spray lying down. So when I have applied this setting spray, it does smell very chemically and it did seem to change the appearance of my make up and it did not extend the wear time at all. I think it may have actually made the foundation break down more quickly than without it.
Mac Prep and Prime Fix+ - 100ml - £18.00
Claims: - Soothe, refresh and hydrate skin and finish make up
I wasn't actually sure whether this product is meant to be a setting spray or not. I had a look on Mac's website and it claims you can use it before make up to hydrate your skin and / or to finish make up. It doesn't claim to make your make up last any longer. Again, I bought the travel sized version of this (30ml for £10) to see if it is any good. I predominately use this to spray onto my eyeshadow brush to make metallic or foiled eyeshadows more intense and it works beautifully for that. For this blog post, I tried this spray before and after my make up, as suggested in the description on Mac's website. It did leave a nice smooth base for the foundation and my skin felt very hydrated. I did also feel like it made the foundation look smoother when sprayed afterwards. It did not make the foundation last any longer, but as I mentioned, it doesn't claim to do that.
So overall, having testing all of the setting sprays listed above with the Ordinary Colors Coverage Foundation, I've found that drugstore setting sprays are really nothing in comparison to high end. The best setting spray by far out of the bunch is the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. My favourites from the drugstore are definitely the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray and the Elf Illuminating Mist & Set. Also, the Mac Prep & Prime Fix+ is amazing for eyeshadows and does work well as a primer. The Essence Instant Matt Setting Spray is also pretty good for the price. I personally would not recommend the other setting sprays based on my experiences with them.
Let me know in the comments section what your favourite setting sprays are and if you've had different results from any of the setting sprays I've talked about here!
Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x
Elf Illuminating Mist & Set - 60ml - £5.00
Claims: - hydrate, nourish and brighten the complexion, prevents colour fading and running and extends wear-ability, natural glow on the skin, lightweight, comfortable formula.
There are 2 other varieties of E.l.f setting sprays, in the form of "matte" which is also £5.00 and their original "Mist and Set" which is £4.50. I've owned this setting spray for a while and it is one I repeatedly reach for, because most of my setting sprays are mattifying - so if I have a matte foundation that is looking a bit flat, I reach for this one to give it some life. I don't think it extends make up wear at all, but it doesn't make it melt off my face any quicker either. It adds a subtle glow / dewiness to the foundation without making it look oily. It has quite a powerful mist so you don't need to spray it too many times to cover your entire face. I think for the price, this is a great setting spray!
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - 110ml - £23.50 (full sized)
Claims: - Make your make up look "freshly applied" after 16 hours of wear.
This is an absolute cult favourite setting spray and I can see why. I purchased the travel sized (30ml for £10) version of this setting spray (before the packaging changed recently) as I wanted to see how good it was before splurging on the full sized product. I can't say that their 16 hour claim is realistic but I was actually pleasantly surprised by this! It has a fresh scent, which doesn't smell chemically and it has a nice fine mist, without squirting you in the face! I found that it didn't adjust the look of my foundation at all and it did make my foundation last a lot longer than without it. And when the foundation did start to break down, it was nowhere near as oily as it usually gets by the end of the day. This is definitely worth the price in my opinion!
NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray - 60ml - £7.00
Claims: - fresh make up look that lasts, lightweight and comfortable, shine free finish
This setting spray has quite a strong chemical scent when you initially spray it onto your face but the scent does disappear when the spray dries down. It has a nice mist and I did find that it extended the foundation wear by about 2 extra hours before it started to break down and my oils came through. It definitely did not keep my make up matte all day, but in comparison to some of the other setting sprays I've tried, this is not a bad one. After spraying, it didn't change the look of the foundation at all. This is a good drugstore setting spray that is a reasonable price but I would reach for the Urban Decay setting spray over this one if I need my make up to stay in place all day.
Essence Instant Matt Setting Spray - 50ml - £3.00
Claims: - light, transparent spray, sets make up in place, mattifies the skin, prolongs make up wear, oil-free, non-sticky.
This is by far the most affordable setting spray I've come across, although do bare in mind that it is a 50ml bottle which is the smallest size. First off, I definitely agree with the claims that it is non-sticky and lightweight and that it mattifies the skin. After the spray dried on my foundation, it felt immediately matte. It has a really nice mist which does cover your face so you don't need to use a lot. It does have quite a strong chemical scent but the scent doesn't linger after it has dried. I felt like it didn't keep my make up in place for as long as the Urban Decay All Nighter but it definitely helped to keep my oils at bay and extend the wear of this foundation. It's great value for money!
Make Up Revolution Oil Control Fixing Spray - 100ml - £5.00
Claims: - Protect your make up in heat, humidity, cold and windy conditions and make your make up last up to 8 hours.
I found that this setting spray has a very strong, strange, chemically scent and it has a nice mist but it left my face feeling wet after spraying it - it didn't sink into my foundation as quickly as the other setting sprays. This definitely did not achieve what it claimed to in making the foundation last up to 8 hours. It didn't extend my foundation wear at all (past the 4 hours it lasts on it's own) and it did not keep my oils at bay. Although this is the largest bottle of setting spray and it is for one of the lowest prices, I would not recommend this setting spray at all for anyone with oily / combination skin.
Maybelline Super Stay 24H Setting Spray- 75ml - £6.99
Claims: - Extends both wear and freshness for a flawless look that lasts.
So the bottle I have of this was a limited edition packaging around Christmas time, but the product is the same inside the bottle. I found that this setting spray has a very powerful mist and again, it has a chemically scent. I didn't find that this made my make up last any longer than usual, but it didn't change the look of my foundation. Again, it did leave my face feeling quite wet after I had sprayed it and it took a few minutes to dry. I have read lots of reviews on this saying that it leaves white splotches on your face - as long as you shake the bottle well before use, it doesn't do this.
L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist - 100ml - £8.99
Claims: - Sets and extends make up wear for "just-applied look", anti-fade, anti-melt and anti-crack.
I've seen a lot of people complaining about the build up of what looks like white powder in the bottom of the bottle and this setting spray leaving white dots on their face. I have noticed, after the bottle is sat upright for a while it does build up white stuff at the bottom of the bottle, however, once shaken properly, this disappears and it has never left white dots on my face. I'm not sure if I had a dodgy bottle but the spray top does leak if I leave the spray lying down. So when I have applied this setting spray, it does smell very chemically and it did seem to change the appearance of my make up and it did not extend the wear time at all. I think it may have actually made the foundation break down more quickly than without it.
Mac Prep and Prime Fix+ - 100ml - £18.00
Claims: - Soothe, refresh and hydrate skin and finish make up
I wasn't actually sure whether this product is meant to be a setting spray or not. I had a look on Mac's website and it claims you can use it before make up to hydrate your skin and / or to finish make up. It doesn't claim to make your make up last any longer. Again, I bought the travel sized version of this (30ml for £10) to see if it is any good. I predominately use this to spray onto my eyeshadow brush to make metallic or foiled eyeshadows more intense and it works beautifully for that. For this blog post, I tried this spray before and after my make up, as suggested in the description on Mac's website. It did leave a nice smooth base for the foundation and my skin felt very hydrated. I did also feel like it made the foundation look smoother when sprayed afterwards. It did not make the foundation last any longer, but as I mentioned, it doesn't claim to do that.
So overall, having testing all of the setting sprays listed above with the Ordinary Colors Coverage Foundation, I've found that drugstore setting sprays are really nothing in comparison to high end. The best setting spray by far out of the bunch is the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. My favourites from the drugstore are definitely the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray and the Elf Illuminating Mist & Set. Also, the Mac Prep & Prime Fix+ is amazing for eyeshadows and does work well as a primer. The Essence Instant Matt Setting Spray is also pretty good for the price. I personally would not recommend the other setting sprays based on my experiences with them.
Let me know in the comments section what your favourite setting sprays are and if you've had different results from any of the setting sprays I've talked about here!
Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x
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