5 Makeup Fixing Sprays - Review & Comparison

Have you been catching up with the makeup setting sprays? They have become a major RAGE nowadays. Alternative methods of makeup setting have been around for a while. I remember some family brides in the mid-90s getting HAIR SPRAY-ed on their faces to make the makeup last through their bridal turmoil experience.
Ugh. *shudders*
They're literal "fumes" that make you gag. That's what I feel, always... even without any allergies to fragrance/mists, the hair sprays are a nightmare for me. Most of them are. Getting sprayed squarely a whole lot on your face must have been nothing less than a torture. I do understand that the makeup pro's must have been trying to stick everything together for the bride since there used to be tonnes of makeup layers on them... that 'invasive' lighting that they had to be under for hours at a stretch.
Having makeup fixing sprays penetrating the Pakistani market is nothing short of a blessing. In every summer blog post you'll read here, it will mention at least once that my skin responds to the heat by making insane amounts of sweatbuds :-D I don't know if it is my "cool" factor or my "hotness", but I need to make my makeup weather-proof. Yes, just like those plastic paint ads you see during commercial breaks. I got my first makeup setting spray - Urban Decay All-Nighter - as a part of my wedding makeup haul. Since then, I have tried different sprays that are reviewed & comparison for you <3

I have an assortment of sprays for comparison:

Makeup Revolution Pro-Fix Oil Control Fixing Spray
Stageline Makeup Fixer
Makeup Revolution Pro-Fix Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray
Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray
Red & Black Mineral Makeup Fix

Let me succintly describe my experience using each of these for y'all.

Makeup Revolution Pro Fix Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray retails in Pakistan at Reforma.PK and Daraz.PK for PKR 850. Internationally, it retails at GBP 8.00 on Makeup Revolution Store, so thankfully, we are not charged a huge premium for this! The spray is claimed to have professional quality makeup-fixing capabilities that can be used by salon professionals & regular joes like you & I. It's claimed to be top-notch in keeping your makeup intact up to 8 hours... even in extreme weather conditions like wind, cold, heat & humidity. Mind you, they did not mention 'oil control', so I will evaluate the product performance based on company claims only. What better time to check the validity of makeup-fixing claims than during the Pakistani summers :D This was added in my makeup arsenal in the beginning of Spring/Summer '15 when launched by Makeup Revolution Pakistan. For reference, my skin transitions from normal/combination to outrageously oily in the hot weather. Moreover, I sweat profusely with my body's thermostat being super efficient :-/ The resultant of this is - blush fading super quickly, foundation slipping off the face, frequent blotting of sweat causing makeup smudging and the likes. Ideally, I avoid makeup layers in the intense summer days/nights. Still, I wanted to see if this can be my aide when it comes to rocking some makeup when needed for a semi-formal/formal event(s). The product itself comes in a 100ml sleek white plastic spray bottle. Mine has not taken a fall, but it appears to be sturdy and compact. It is easier to pop it in your handbag for touchups, if you wish so. The first trial of the Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray by Makeup Revolution was done when I moisturized my skin with Clinique and wore a powder blush lightly. Without foundation, the blushes fade quicker, right? To test it out, I spritz the spray a few times by keeping the bottle a foot and a half away from my face while my eyes were closed. It was a fine mist that was dispensed evenly in each spritz. It gives you control in covering the facial areas evenly. There was no aerosol like we find in body and hair sprays, just a vaporized mist like rose water. The fragrance was almost negligible to me, so nothing that would bother or linger. The face felt moist, but not tacky. Then, I went my merry way to the office. After 8:30 AM, I checked my face in the mirror around 1:00 PM - the blush had faded a little, but still very much visible. The next I checked around 5:00 PM, it had almost diffused into my skin, but the cheeks did not look blank. The next few attempts to test the product involved - using full face of primer, foundation, setting powder, blush, highlighter & eye makeup. It stayed 90% fresh through outdoor humidity for 6-7 hours. Naturally, it could not curb or control the sweating, but the aftermath was no longer makeup-ocalyptic :) The runniest of mascaras and the messiest of liquid eyeliners stayed put unless I smudged them by rubbing my eyes. It did not control oil - neither does it claim to, but after you blot or gently wipe the oiliness away with blot-sheets or tissues, the makeup remains intact! It's a fair deal. I have tried it with different foundations and it does a solid job in curbing the 'slip & fade' issue. The transferability is reduced, but not eliminated completely in most cases - that is because it is inevitable with all formulations I have tried till date. The compact powder and sprays control it to a certain degree, but that's that. I love how I pop it in my bag easily for the travel and it will last anyone for 8-12 months with the average dispensation being two/three pumps only.

GRADE: A

Does the Makeup Revolution Makeup Fixing Spray leave you wishing for an Oil-Control version? Well, they thought so, too! Folks at Makeup Revolution International formulated another version of makeup setting spray - Pro-Fix Oil Control Makeup Fixing Spray Makeup - designed specifically to cater to combination/oily skinned beauties. It retails in Pakistan at Reforma.PK and Daraz.PK for PKR 850 - the same price as Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray. The 100 ml plastic packaging is also identical, so I always have to peek at its name for knowing if I picked the intended one :-) The Makeup Revolution Pakistan claims to deliver a 'just-applied' look for up to 12 hours with this setting spray along with a 'natural matte' look to the makeup. It also promises to add on the benefits of its sister-spray by incorporating the ingredients that make your face & eye makeup last without fading & smudging. The testing phase with this began with applying it over my L'Oreal Revitalift SPF20. This day cream is moisturizing, but leaves a greasy cast on my skin during such weather conditions. Immediately after I sprayed the fine mist twice/thrice over my face, it toned down the greaseball look into a moisture-matte one. It was not tacky. Neither did it feel like a film of thin plastic over my face. As the day went by, the first peeks of shine & oil began after 2-3 hours in mildly air-conditioned place. By the end of day (8 hours), my face was shiny as usual. Next time, I tried it with The Body Shop All-in-One Face Base which ironically is the only powder foundation that does nothing for sebum control. It stayed fresh and did not oxidize for nearly 4-5 hours. The oiliness usually peeks through after 1-2 hours without spray. With Oil-Control Spray, the problematic shiny-ness appeared well after 3-4 hours. At all times, my face does not remain flat-matte. There is certain soft-focus natural finish which I prefer and this one helped me retain that longer than usual. The 12-hour claim was not validated, but it does help keep my facial makeup fresh for almost 6+ hours at a stretch - experimented with full-faced formal makeup which remained thankfully intact through outdoor humidity.

Between the two, I find it hard to pick my favorite. They are used on an almost-daily basis. If I have to recommend one - gun-to-my-head - I would go for Makeup Revolution Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray. Why not all this fixing awesomeness PLUS oil-control benefits? Umm... No, because I felt the longevity and freshness of my makeup was more pronounced with Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray. That is the core purpose behind my usage of sprays. Oil is something that no spray can totally control beyond a couple of hours. It all comes down to good setting powders and industry-strength matte foundations preceded by some solid skin care. If you'd rather have couple of hours peace and above average fixing properties, you can opt for the Oil-Control version by Makeup Revolution.

GRADE: B+

Red & Black Mineral Makeup Fix was an impulse purchase from one of the assorted cosmetic nooks of Al-Fatah, Lahore for around PKR 700. At that time, Urban Decay All-Nighter was the expensive buy of mine and I was on the lookout for a substitute, if possible. Red & Black comes with a translucent white plastic bottle with a pump. The seemingly simple packaging turned out to be faulty as it stayed horizontally flat in a drawer while I was in the process of moving & sorting my makeup. It leaked a little and developed a tacky smear on its side. Interestingly enough, it stayed like that for a month and only leaked a little. I was clueless as to what made it leak... and then how did it stop by itself. Thankfully, there was no damage to my drawers (...and that is how I understood how my Mom would always stuff old magazines or plastic sheets as drawer liners :-D). I have not been able to gather much information on the Red & Black as a brand. When I researched online, it was frustrating and a tad shady. The only association I was able to make was that this brand belongs to China, some way. It made me a little wary and I toyed with the idea of returning the product altogether. However, this stayed and I experimented with it. With the Red & Black makeup spray, the mist sprayed in one pump is enough to cover the whole face. It was not "fine". I felt the droplets were significantly bigger than what I had been used to of. Worse, the droplets dried to be tacky. Moving my facial muscles felt like I have a dry-stretchy skin. Not the best feeling, I tell you! I salvaged what I had put on by trying to apply powder - nope, not the best choice ;/ I ended up washing my face. Another time I dabbled into it, I kept my base simple, so that the eventual facewashing wouldn't make my effort & makeup go down the drain - LITERALLY. Immediately after spraying a pump or two, I used the RT Core Collection powder brush in stippling motion to buff it in my skin. The same technique was tried with Beauty Blender too. That spreads the product evenly and it doesn't become overly tacky. You have to be quick in it, though. This dries up pretty fast. I did not notice overt shine till an hour or two, but the experience was not pleasant. I felt like my skin was being messed with as the natural oils mixed with this tack-fest. It had no particular smell, but the vapors did tingle the eyes - sometimes. The suffocated & heavy feel faded a little, but my makeup stayed okay. I never made it beyond the 2-3 hour mark as I would always end up washing my face and felt better. It was a makeup-fixing nightmare which I wish I hadn't invited on myself. Steer clear of it, loves! -_-

GRADE: F

Stageline Makeup Fixer is a product that made a debut in my life as an SA pestered me into buying it. It was not unpleasant, but I was half-convinced of something working good for PKR 600 only. Especially when Red & Black had me bad -_- Anyhow, I brought home this budget beauty and I would refer you all to check out the Coastal Scents REVEALED 1 & 2 Eyeshadow Palettes Review and Swatches to be blown away by how this upped the amp of my eyeshadows' intensity. It comes packaged in a short thick metallic 125 ML bottle with a plastic pump & a transparent lid. It is compact, yet I would not trust it in my bag as the lid comes off easily and there is no *second* lid as with Urban Decay. I did carry it a few times, but straight up in a makeup bag. As the product performance claims go, the Stageline Professional introduces it as an "alternative" to setting powder to let the makeup stay put on your face and not transfer due to sweat/heat/humidity. It also claims to keep makeup look 'untouched' all day. The first thing I noticed during my experience is that the pump dispenser does not spray uniformly. Sometimes, it would spray too much and not distribute it evenly - much like the physics of a squirt water-gun. At other times, it would work okay as a fine mist. My trick is to test a couple of times on my arm to see what 'state' is it in and then shake it well to use over my face. It does have the stickiness to it if you dispense too much. However, it is not as uncomfortable as with Red & Black. If I vapors are too much and I don't do the buffing technique, the tacky feeling remains for a while. Simply buff it in and you would be good to go. It has a certain chemical fragrance, but it does not irritate my skin. Through the year, I have had more than satisfactory experience with Stageline, overall. In detail, it has not done anything significant about transferability of the foundation. Neither did it become an alternative to compact powder. I still needed to fool-proof my application with powder. Despite that, it did not only made my makeup stay good all day, but also played its part in making the eyeshadows more vibrant for me. Due to its mild tackiness, it somehow helps the makeup adhere to it. The best way to use it in layering. For example, I prime my lids and undereye area and spray the makeup fixer lightly onto Beauty Blender and help layer & buff the corrector & foundation first - followed by the concealer. If your eyes are sensitive, it is best not to attempt this, but I do "set" it with spritz on the brush/sponge and buffing a little. Sometimes I spray before applying brush and keep my skin a little moist when to make the blush color payoff more pigmented and with longer lasting power. It is relatively difficult to blend, so I use a very light hand with blushes that are easily blended. Moreover, for that 100-watt glow on my face, again - use it as a base when you are applying the powder/cream highlighter. Everything stays in place till you take it off. I recommend something heavy-duty to cleanse your skin since I feel it hold onto makeup (foundation) a little too closely. It does not budge easily :-) With its dips and turns, I still find it a decent spray that you can use and enjoy in Pakistani weather.

GRADE: B

Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray is one of the much-revered makeup fixing sprays in the market. It retails in two sizes - 30ML for $14 and 120ML for $30. When I bought this in my mega Wedding Haul, I thought quite a lot of whether or not this is something I should splurge on. My reception and dinners would be in Summer heat and I wanted to look well-put-together since I would be dousing myself into this much makeup for the first time in my life. Well, I took the leap of faith and brought this baby home in full-size. The company offers detailed description & claims for this one, y'all. One, this is exclusively developed by Skindinavia in a collaboration with Urban Decay since the former know their trade when it comes to makeup fixing. The All-Nighter spray claims to get the party going by offering you 16-hour smudge-proof budge-proof makeup in all sorts of weather conditions. It claims that your skin would look like an awesome version of yourself with smooth texture and vibrant color payoff of the cosmetics used. Coming onto the packaging, it is a strong & sturdy plastic bottle that has dual lids. I have popped it in my luggage for international travel and kept with me on frequent trips otherwise too. The full size is not as travel friendly, but no complaints for spillage or the bottle damage. The whole bottle had a luxe feel to it even though it is not the one with the most ML, but the bottle is certainly the biggest. It dispenses the fine mist with negligible fragrance which sets itself without tackiness in 30 or so seconds. For my full face, I need a pump or two only from an arm's length. Initially, I had no idea what to expect when you put this on and could not, honestly, tell the difference. I thought it would curb my sebum/shine, but nope, that was not significant either. I would still religiously put this on every time I would apply makeup. My face would stay fresh almost 6-8 hours, but again, I took it a "normal" since every makeup item you use claims awesome lasting powers and "matte" formulations. Now that I have tried different sprays and gotten wiser about these, I realize that All-Nighter does its job with a subtle elegance. To be honest, there was not much difference in smoothness - primarily because my face is *Masha'Allah* even in texture unless I have angry hormonal breakouts. The transferability is not avoidable - even while wearing this and I did find light foundation stains on the neckline of my shirts while wearing the spray. May be I used to skip spraying diligently on my neck? Anyhow, with All-Nighter, you can put blind trust. It sets your makeup so well that sometimes even becomes hard to rectify your makeup mistakes. Last time I wore it, I was in a rush and couldn't blend my foundation properly. When I saw my face in the compact mirror on my way over to the event I was supposed to attend, the streaks were pretty prominent and no amount of finger-scrubbing would help even it out to perfection. One factor could be my primer and foundation tendencies to not budge & blend. Plus, the magic of All Nighter. It lives up to most of its claims, but the price.... the price, however, is steep enough to "SET" you too :-P not just the makeup.

GRADE: A-

After writing this review, I took another week to try each of these again and see if something needs an update. Incidently, everything reiterated my experience that I have penned down for you. So, let's get all comparative & competitive now - if I had to recommend sprays out of these, they would be:

Sets Your Makeup In Stone - Urban Decay All Nighter Spray
Best Bang For Your Buck - Makeup Revolution Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray
Keeps Oil At Bay Beyond Two Hours - None
Makes Eyeshadows Pop & Last - Stageline Makeup Fixer
Turns Your Skin Smooth Before Makeup - Makeup Revolution Oil Control Makeup Fixing Spray
You Must Avoid At All Costs - Red & Black Makeup Fix

Now, here's a bonus myth-buster and an honorary mention of something that is widely misunderstood as your friendly neighbourhood setting spray - MAC FIX+

MAC Fix+ has all the indications of being a makeup fixing spray - the name being the foremost - yet it is NOT a hardcore makeup fixer. It is mistaken to be one, though. In the sweltering heat of Pakistan, MAC Fix+ does not make your makeup last any longer or help in controlling oil. So, what is that MAC Fix+ do? Well, it does a whole lot! It is a multi-purpose product and I have discussed it lovingly in my Favorites posts. You can spritz the fine mist before makeup application for smoother makeup application. It can be used in between makeup steps or at the end for finishing it. That will not only remove the cakey powdery feel, but also impart a certain dewy finish. You can't compare that dewy-ness to that of a highlighter or illuminator, but more like a moisturized well-put-together look. It is an awesome product. However, you need to keep your ground-work the best. Your base/powder needs to match your skin and applied properly because I noticed if my foundation is a tad too dark/light for my skin or the application is streaky/uneven, the use of MAC Fix+ will make me grey-ish. In addition to this, I love how I can spray it on my eyeshadow brush to make the color payoff more intense and use at intervals to freshen up my face - although I feel the latter is purely vain on my part :P I love it to the core. Just a couple of days ago, I noticed that mine has almost finished. I am on the prowl for its replacement. This might be the only MAKEUP product I have used up and need a replacement of :-/ If you are a makeup enthusiast or an artist, you at least need the travel size MAC Fix + in your makeup arsenal.

That is one lengthy post... well, I am forever thankful to those who read these posts past my mistakes and glitches. More so, they find time to go through my words I write in the hopes of helping at least one person :-) Thank you, thank you all <3

I would love to hear your experiences and recommendations on makeup setting sprays. Until next time,

Cheers,

Bia

Disclaimer: This post may contain PR Samples shared for review. The opinions expressed are, however, unbiased and honest as per my personal experience.