Does a Spray Make a Big Difference? Urban Decay Makeup Setting Sprays Review

So, I fully admit that I've been very skeptical of the Setting Sprays that seem to be popping up everywhere over the last few years. I've finally decided to actually try them out and decide for myself if they're worth taking an extra 5-10 seconds every morning to spray on my face.

Urban Decay has 3 sprays, which were recently somewhat reformulated. I've been using them over the past 6 weeks or so, and let me tell you it's been quite the scientific experiment! I have notes galore, I've been spraying on half of my face or the full face, trying with different primers to see if it made a difference and tallying up oil control sheets, etc. Basically, I've been dramatically over thinking it.

Here are my findings.

All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
Yes, this definitely helps things last a lot longer than they would have otherwise. I don't have a wild and crazy social life (I have a 2 year old!), but it definitely did help my makeup last over 14 hours and look perfect the entire time. I could really tell that it worked when I sprayed it on half of my face. By the time I was ready to go to sleep I looked fresh and perfect on half, with mostly gone foundation and smeared blush on the other.


De-Slick Oil Control Makeup Setting Spray
I'm definitely oily in my t-zone, and I do sometimes resort to using Milk of Magnesia as a primer to help mattify my face. Nothing else compares to how much oil that Milk of Magnesia can get rid of, though I did have hopes that this would be a good alternative for days I was expecting less shine (like in the winter).

It definitely does get rid of some of the shine (you could see a huge difference between the left and right sides of my face on days I did half and half), but it doesn't totally get rid of all my shine. I have combination skin, but I'm not super oily. It definitely isn't enough alone, but I thought it was a good product to use in combination with powder or if the Milk of Magnesia even wasn't quite enough for you. It also did a good job of increasing the wear of my makeup, though it isn't quite the All Nighter. It's about 90% All Nighter's lengthening ability and the de-oily strength was about 50% of milk of magnesia for me. If that comparison helps.


Chill Cooling and Hydrating Makeup Setting Spray
Here's the bit where I fully admit that I have no idea what the purpose of this spray is. That's likely because I'm trying it out in Michigan. In the winter.

Yes, it does feel a little cool when I spray it on, but I don't really notice that lasting for more than a few minutes. It does lengthen my makeup, but about the same as De-Slick. The All Nighter is definitely the best at that. I think this one I need to try out again in the humidity of a hot July summer.


Overall, I do think the couple of seconds spent spraying is worth it. The All Nighter is my Makeup Setting Spray of Choice, though if oil or heat are an issue you can sacrifice a little staying power for other added benefits. Are you spraying your face? What one are you using?



Urban Decay