March 29, 2017

Yay or Nay: Makeup Setting Mist

Yesterday, I was chatting how makeup setting mist can be a lifesaver when used in conjunction with highlighter. Highlighter can be so damn clingy and it accentuates everything! Dry skin, pores, uneven skin surface, you name it and highlighter can cling horribly. Powder is the same especially for drier skin! Misting yourself after highlighter can refine the finish and you can depowder, smooth, and soften the appearance of it with a little makeup setting mist.

Sure, there’s good and bad things about makeup setting mists.

Do you use them?

Yay or nay for you?

For me….

Nay.

I rarely use them. I mist myself crazily with my favorite hydrating facial sprays but when it comes to makeup setting mists I tend to avoid using them! Sure, I own them and sure, I use them but it’s actually quite rare. I don’t really see the point of makeup setting mist and I feel like I’m smearing my makeup when I use them. For example, after applying foundation, blush, etc…and proceeding to mist myself I end up feeling like my blush becomes a lot more intense. Obviously, damping anything that’s powder will intensify the color. I feel like a dewy clown after misting myself with a makeup setting spray after applying makeup. Not to mention, after spending so much time to put my makeup on why would I want to drench my face?!

I just feel like I’m smearing my makeup and making things look worst instead of better when I use a setting mist.

So, it’s more of a nay for me than a yay.

What about you?

Do you always set with a mist?

Or do you just apply your makeup and go?

Do share!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • yelena

    so I’m not much of a makeup setting mist kinda girl, but there’s something about mac fix + that I love, except I don’t use it as a finishing spray.
    I use it more as a primer I guess. .. after I’ve applied my face and eye cream, I let those dry down then I spray some mac fix + (sometimes I do this first to wake up in the mornings).

    something about using mac fix + gives me a smooth canvas to work with and I actually feel like I need less make up (face make up like foundation, etc) because it acts like a sort of primer to prep my skin and make the texture nice n smooth.

    anyone else use this in that way? I think I read it in a beauty blog and tried it out and fell in love!

    • Isabella Muse

      I kinda of use it like this. My normal facial mist is a little too hydrating for daily use, so I mist on fix+ before anything else in the morning! After I apply my moisturizer, eye cream, etc and follow up with makeup!

  • Emily

    Nay here too. I don’t feel like they help me. The only thing that makes a huge difference for me is my primer.

  • Dani

    It’s a must for me! I have the oiliest skin of anyone I know. If I don’t use a setting spray, my makeup will be eaten alive in 2 hours. I use a mattifying primer and long wear foundation too. Oh, and a matte powder. I swear oily skin is a curse!

  • Kimmwc03

    Yay for me. I use Fix + daily and I have used the Smashbox primer water and the Laura Geller and UD ones in the past and loved them.

  • Dora

    I am pretty much addicted to Mac Fix +, but is that technically a setting spray? It feels so hydrating! Which is why I’m addicted. I also think it just makes my makeup look better — and doesn’t smear it. Although just had to check my compact mirror to check. : ) I also really love the Tatcha Dewy Mist — but that is definitely not a setting spray. (About to reorder but it’s so damn expensive! Waiting for the spring Sephora sale.) I tried the L’Oreal Infallible (hated the scent) and one other (Coola, maybe? — it stung a bit) — but I didn’t get it and I hate the idea of “hair spray” for my face.

    • Randi MacDonald

      Mac Fix + contains glycerin so its very hydrating. I’ve read there are some copy cat recipes out there if you want to try making your own version.

  • Michelle

    I live with the So Fla humidity… there isn’t much call for makeup setting mist!

    • Jeanine Mcauliffe

      I live in Florida too and setting is a must! I’m not sweating off this makeup I spent an hour plus putting on. I’m hooked to the Boscia spray

  • Caroline

    I use setting spray every day! On the rare occasions when I forget it, I swear my makeup breaks down SO much faster. Urban Decay All Nighter is my fave, but drugstore ones work, too!

  • Sarah

    I adore setting mists, if I forget to add it as my final step I feel like my nose gets way too greasy and then I have to fish for the blotting sheets in my purse. Plus, it keeps my makeup in place all day, so I look as fresh as I did running out the door when I’m coming home from work. I dig them. 😀

  • Nicole

    I have extremely dry skin, so whenever I use powders on my face it looks very powdery (pardon the redundance), and I usually prefer the way my makeup looks as I wear it throughout the day, as my skin gets a little oily. I find that a setting spray gives me the same benefit instantly. Hope I made sense

    • Tara

      You made perfect sense! If I skip it as a last step my make up literally disintegrates from an inflammatory disorder. I’ve never tried it as a setting spray. I may just try that

  • Dani

    I use setting sprays because I use exclusively powder products and I feel like it just help solidify everything. Otherwise I just feel like the powder is just flying off my face as soon as I step outside! Lately I’ve been using Fix+ just because I have a bottle I need to go through before I can open the coconut one I recently treated myself to, but I also really like the UD All Nighter, because I love the fine mist it gives!

  • Tabitha

    I work at a ocean front restaurant in NC where the sun literally sits about 3 inches from my face for 12+ hours a day & Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray keeps my makeup from going ridiculous & embarrassing on me. I use it for double duty because I got tired or looking for that perfect primer/foundation duo that doesn’t oxidize in the intense sun. A quick spray before i apply my foundation(Urban Decay Naked) & then again after I’ve finished all makeup. I do understand Muse saying you feel as though it kind of swamps up your makeup after putting all that effort in just to have it altered in the end but maybe because I use this a primer too it just kind of works wonders? Who knows, I know it works for my funky skin lol.. but it really does work quite well even in the blistering sun.

    • Isabella Muse

      forget the setting spray make sure you’re loading up on SPF!

    • Betty

      Same I work long hours, front/center with the public. So MU needs to last without touchups. UD setting spray has been a life saver and use it everyday.

    • Maggie

      That’s a great tip. I would have never thought of using all nighter as a primer

  • Diana

    I love setting sprays! It takes away the powdery look and makes everything last. I don’t think it smears makeup at all, I was worried about that and compared 2 sides (sprayed and not sprayed) several times and have not found any smearing. I love Hard Candy one.

  • Codename Duchess

    Nay. I have oily skin, and most setting sprays either make my skin look dewy (not a good look for me! I can look slick all by myself!) or contain tons of alcohol which I try to avoid.

  • Chris

    That would be a nay for me and setting sprays. I have a sample of the Urban Decay one and I’m afraid I would accidentally inhale it while I sprayed my face. I have normal skin now but had oily skin as a teen.

  • Elise

    Yay! I work very long days and my makeup has to last. Fix+ is great for setting makeup, but does not have staying power. I do like Fix+ for refreshing. Skindinavia is a great formula that definitely makes makeup last, but the sprayer component is lacking. I just purchased the UD All Nighter because it gets high marks for both the sprayer component and the formula.

  • Sarah

    I do, but I think they work best after setting your makeup with powder. I don’t understand how people can get away with not setting their makeup with powder and not have it melt off. I find that setting spray can counteract the matte look of powder and make your finish look a bit more natural, without your foundation sliding off your face or getting all over your clothes.

  • Kikifish

    Depends…i love the facial mists as well but setting sprays. :/ i usually only use the setting spray if i know ill need it to keep my eyes and foundation intact for the day. Typically i like to apply the spray after eyes and foundation but before blush, highlight, bronze.

  • kjh

    Most have allergens or sensitizers for me. Smashbox primer water felt like acid on my lids and left red with minimal swelling for a day, until I put on cortisone cream. Finding one without aloe, Benzyl salicylate, chem sunscreen, alcohol, etc. is a challenge. Kind of like Caudalie. I think the Smashbox issue may have been one of the citrus oils….but I hope not! Sometimes I try dyi, but have never committed to it. Being retired and having 2 jobs, I’m only away from home for one meal a week. So I can fix it…or forget it, without a need for good staying power.

    • Tara

      Farmacy Skin Dew is my favorite. I believe it is all natural and by far the best I have tried.

  • breyerchic04

    I like them. I don’t use them all the time, but anytime I want my makeup to be super “plasticy” and smooth I use my normal skincare, primer, foundation and concealer, powder, and then Urban Decay All Nighter. It works well, if I leave powder over my concealer without spray it looks too dry on my undereye. A bamboo fan is what keeps the spray from messing up my makeup.

  • Kim

    Hello, ladies! All of you gave great comments BUTTTTTTTT no one talked about having large pores! I am down here in SOutheast Texas near Galveston …. which means crazy weather patterns! EIther dry or VERY humid!!

    BY the way, I’m getting close to being 60 yrs old & have very few wrinkles…still got the large pores….

    Please give me some magical suggestions!!! 😉

    • Sheree

      Age 54 here, the Clinique Pep Start is great for smoothing out large pores. Some days I use it with a bit of powder and nothing else. I also do foundation, then Urban Decay All-NIghter spray, then powder over. The All-NIghter gives a bit of a sheen that I don’t care for on its own.

      • Isabella Muse

        I can’t speak for anyone else reading your comment but I read it but haven’t had a second to reply yet. Apologies for the delay, I’m multitasking today as it is a busy work day for me.

        • Kim

          Ok! Thank you!!! I do wear Tarte Cream Powder foundation which is amazing!

  • Iris

    I’ve never used one before. I’ve seldom used foundation, just only a bit of powder, so it seems an unnecessary step for me personally.

  • Randi MacDonald

    I never use them, my skin is kinda dry and I’ve always felt they were very gimmacky.

  • Dominique !

    I live for the Avon one. I had Skindinavia, UD, L’Oreal, Caudalie, Lise Watier, Nyx, Hard Candy, L.A Girl, Maybelline, MAC, MUFE, Clarins (and I could go on).

    I have very oily skin, and it’s the only one that TRULY sets my face.

    I stock up like crazy when it’s on sale!

  • bella

    I use the UD all nighter every day. I am not sure if it makes my makeup last all day, but I still am hopeful. After reading all the comments, I am going to check out the
    Avon one.

  • Brenda Cremer

    Like it says, it’s a setting spray. If I don’t use it my makeup fades and I have to reapply during the day or evening. I am over 55 with an oily T zone and I am starting to get fine lines around my eyes, I believe the spray stops makeup from settling into the lines as well. I have tried a multitude of high and low end sprays and really haven’t found any really major differences between them. All I know is this is my final step and I don’t go out the door without it.