The 3 Best Setting Sprays of 2025
Anastasia Beverly Hills Impeccable 24HR Blurring Matte Setting Spray smelled like perfume and was not transfer-proof after drying.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray left our skin feeling dry after a full day of wear, and it even caused a breakout for one tester.
One tester with sensitive and oily skin tried Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Mattifying Setting Spray for three days and loved how effectively it mattified her skin and held onto makeup. But it also led to a breakout.
Dermablend Last & Lock Water Resistant Setting Spray went on too wet and took too long to dry. Worse yet, our testers found that their makeup usually shifted by the end of the day.
E.L.F. Cosmetics Power Grip Dewy Setting Spray was a good-enough formula marred by an uncooperative spray nozzle. One tester pointed out that “it’s not very strong or effective, so you have to pump it a lot to get an adequate amount of product.” It also lost points for a slightly chemical smell.
Applying Fenty You Mist Makeup-Extending Setting Spray was hit or miss, with one tester noting, “Big droplets! I had to spray so much to get it all over my face” —which resulted in makeup looking patchy.
Kryolan Professional Make-Up Fixing Spray has a great reputation in the theater community, but our testers didn’t like it for everyday use: It reeked of alcohol and made our eyes sting.
Although it has several long-time users on Wirecutter’s staff, MAC Fix+ Setting Spray didn’t keep our makeup from smearing or transferring in our towel-botting test.
Our testers generally disliked Makeup By Mario Surreal Skin Soft Setting Spray. “My makeup was absorbed into the skin by the end of the day and pretty much disappeared,” one tester said.
Similarly, Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix didn’t keep testers’ makeup from smudging — or wearing away completely.
During testing, Maybelline New York Facestudio Lasting Fix Makeup Setting Spray emitted huge droplets, and left one tester’s face feeling and looking dry and tight.
We dismissed Milani Make It Last Natural Finish Setting Spray because it smelled like perfume, sprayed huge droplets rather than a fine mist, and took more than 10 minutes to dry.
Testers dismissed Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Setting Spray because it took too long to dry, and we noticed significant transfer during our initial testing.
We liked the long, fine mist of Morphe Continuous Setting Mist, but our testers hated how sticky it made their faces feel.
While Nyx Professional Makeup Dewy Finish Setting Spray kept one tester’s makeup mostly intact during a vigorous workout, we eliminated it because it triggered a rosacea flare-up for another tester. Nyx Professional Makeup Matte Finish Setting Spray’s application had our testers divided (one deemed it too wet), but everybody agreed that by day’s end, their makeup had migrated or was gone completely.
Pacifica Vegan Collagen Hydrating Setting Mist has a chemical smell, and it made one of our tester’s skin feel itchy minutes after application.
We genuinely loved Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish Sublime Perfection Longwear Blurring Setting Spray, but other setting sprays work just as well or better — and cost far less.
We had high hopes for Skindinavia’s The Makeup Finishing Spray, which is manufactured by the same company that developed the original Urban Decay All Nighter formulation. Testers liked the elegant feel and application, but their makeup faded throughout the day.
Our testers loved the application of Tirtir Mask Fit Waterproof Setting Spray, but it left skin looking too shiny by day’s end.
The Urban Decay All Nighter Matte Setting Spray felt too heavy on testers’ faces — even when it was sprayed from 6 to 8 inches away, per the instructions. The instructions also suggest 10 pumps per application, which caused the liquid to drip off our faces, taking our makeup along with it. While we could overlook Urban Decay All Nighter Glow Setting Spray’s slight chemical tang, we couldn’t get past the fact that our makeup transferred and smeared just as much as it did with the slow-drying Wet n Wild spray.
Not only did the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Natural Finish Setting Spray smell bad, it also took longer than 10 minutes to dry completely.
We also ruled out a number of other setting sprays from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Catrice, Charlotte Tilbury, Clinique, CoverGirl, Danessa Myricks, E.L.F., Essence, Hard Candy, Hourglass, Huda Beauty, Kopari, Kosas, L.A. Girl, L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme, Laura Mercier, Milk, Morphe, NARS, Neutrogena, One/Size, Pat McGrath, Pixi Beauty, Refy, Revolution Beauty, Tarte, Vieve Invisiveil Sephora Collection, Tirtir, and Wet n Wild. We chose not to test them for a variety of reasons, including insufficient or unfavorable reviews or concerns related to value.
This guide was edited by Rory Evans and Jennifer G. Sullivan.
