Table of Contents
Whether you’re going full glam or applying the everyday essentials, the best setting sprays help you avoid a midday makeup meltdown. These multitasking mists don’t just lock everything in place—they also nourish your skin with soothing ingredients like niacinamide, glycerin, and green tea extract. The secret? Film-forming polymers create a weightless shield over your makeup. No more end-of-day sweat streaks or leaving half your face on your friend’s shirt after a hug. Ahead, the best editor- and makeup artist-approved setting sprays for makeup that goes the distance.
Our Top Setting Sprays
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Overall: Urban Decay All Nighter Waterproof Setting Spray
Why it’s worth it: Urban Decay’s newly reformulated All Nighter Waterproof Makeup Setting Spray just leveled up, big time. The industry favorite now claims up to 24 hours of wear (versus the old 16-hour wear time), with a finer, featherlight mist that melts powders and creams together seamlessly. This spritz is makeup artist-approved and a tried-and-true Allure editor favorite. Take it from Glazer, who calls the product “a soft, scentless, and lightweight setting spray that keeps your makeup looking perfect for any occasion.” Sweatproof and waterproof, you can dance the night away without worrying about your foundation melting off or your eye shadow or concealer creasing.
Tester feedback from Allure senior news editor Nicola Dall’Asen
“I’m certain I’m not the only one who was first introduced to setting spray via Urban Decay’s All Nighter, and I’m even more certain I’m not the only one who still swears by it more than a decade later. That’s because, as you can see by the results of my five-hour wear test through a muggy city summer evening, this stuff contains some kind of magic that makes makeup near-invincible. Whether I’m wearing a drag-level full beat or just a little bit here and there, I can (and almost always do) count on All Nighter to keep my makeup fresh at all times.”—Nicola Dall’Asen, senior news editor
- Key ingredients: Power Set film formers, glycerin
- Finish: natural
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: no
Best Alcohol-Free: MAC Fix+
Why it’s worth it: If alcohol-based formulas are too drying or sensitizing for your skin, MAC’s Fix+ is here to mist without irritation. This alcohol-free mister is a tried-and-true favorite amongst editors and makeup artists because it grips everything in place while replenishing moisture with soothing green tea, chamomile, and cucumber extracts. “Fix+ takes away the ‘powdery’ look and allows my clients’ makeup to look like their skin again,” says Shervonne Kitto, a makeup artist based in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Tester feedback from Allure beauty closet associate Edward Horgan
“Can you really call yourself a makeup lover without using Fix+? I use it in between multiple steps in my routine to help different products melt together in order to have a perfectly blended base. It’s the ultimate fixing tool and there’s a reason it’s been a staple in artists’ kits and my own for years now.”—Edward Horgan, beauty closet associate
- Ingredients: green tea extract, chamomile extract, cucumber extract
- Finish: natural
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: no
Best Hydrating: Clinique Set The Day Makeup Setting Spray
Why it’s worth it: Think of Clinique’s alcohol-free Set The Day Makeup Setting Spray as a moisturizer in mist form, plus some extra benefits. With glycerin, aloe water, and a boost of antioxidants (hi, vitamin E and caffeine), it delivers a refreshing hit of hydration while day-proofing makeup against sweat, humidity, and smudging. And, since it’s fragrance-free, it won’t feel like you’re dousing your face in perfume. Keep it on hand for an afternoon pick-me-up or post-workout reset.
“As a combo-skin girl, my makeup tends to slide off by the end of the day—but this spritz keeps everything put. I use it in the morning, and sometimes for a mid-day refresh or extra hold. By the time I get home, my makeup’s still in place, and my skin isn’t looking as greasy.” —Lily Wohlner, commerce writer
- Key ingredients: glycerin, aloe water, vitamin E, caffeine
- Finish: natural
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best Long-Lasting: L’Oréal Paris Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist Spray
Why it’s worth it: Quick English lesson: Infallible is an adjective that means “never failing; always effective,” and L’Oréal Paris’s Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist Spray stays true to that definition. With just three seconds of misting over your makeup, you get 36 hours (!) of budge-free coverage that feels like nothing on the skin. This affordable drugstore formula won’t settle into fine lines or leave behind any white cast, so you can be confident your look is the main event.
“When I came across this product on TikTok, I was instantly convinced that this would be my new favorite setting spray. I ran through tubes of the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Matte foundation in college because there’s something about that Infallible formula that locks in my makeup for the long run. Since those days are long gone, getting my hands on the spray was the best decision I made going into the summer because my makeup did not budge at all.”—Bianca Richards, social media manager
- Key ingredients: alcohol, copolymers
- Finish: natural
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: no
Best Waterproof: One/Size On ‘Til Dawn Setting Spray
Why it’s worth it: For a look that truly lasts until the end of the day, our editors recommend the One/Size On ‘Til Dawn Setting Spray. Its ultra-light mist and 16-hour-long formula, which features the brightening benefits of antioxidant-rich green tea extract alongside sebum-balancing polymers, is among your best bets if you’re all about a grease-free, matte finish. Witch hazel also appears in this mist to enhance its oil-balancing benefits. Beyond this spray’s ingredients list, On ‘Til Dawn is an editor-favorite for its weightless feel—it gusts out of its aerosol can like a hairspray and instantly dries down without the crunchy, tacky feel of one.
Need further proof of its abilities? “Beyoncé’s makeup artist Rokael credited this exact setting spray for keeping the makeup perfect during a moment of rain during a Renaissance tour show—talk about the ultimate test,” Ashlee Glazer, a makeup artist based in New York City, says.
Tester feedback: “This is hairspray for your face in the best way possible. It literally locks in your makeup for hours and hours—no budging, no creasing at all. I sprayed it on my minimal-WFH makeup in the morning and at the end of the day, I looked the same (just added some lip balm).”—Angela Trakoshis, former shopping market editor
- Key ingredients: green tea extract, witch hazel extract, synthetic ester
- Finish: matte
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: no
Best Dewy Finish: Tirtir Mask Fit Makeup Fixer
Titir
Mask Fit Makeup Fixer
Why it’s worth it: This Korea-born setting spray is the best of both worlds, reducing excess shine and greasiness while delivering a soft-focus glow (think radiant, not oily!). Packed with micro-fine powders, soothing Centella Asiatica, and oil-controlling green apple polyphenols, Tirtir’s Mask Fit Makeup Fixer is sweat-proof and transfer-proof, like it was tailor-made for us to withstand the NYC humidity. We also love the wide-angle mist, which evenly blankets your whole face without clumping or leaving patchy spots.
Tester feedback from Allure commerce editor Sarah Han
“This is the dewy setting spray of my combination skin dreams. I get serious glow but my T-zone doesn’t get as oily throughout the day, as it would with other dewy setting sprays I’ve tried in the past. It’s truly the best of both worlds. I usually scoff at ‘soft-blurring’ claims, but I do actually think my skin looks smoother and my pores don’t look more noticeable as they’d normally do later in the day without setting spray. I also can’t resist respritzing a few times throughout the day for some freshening up—the EOD selfie is after two spaced-out applications (one early afternoon, one late).” —Sarah Han, commerce editor
- Key ingredients: Centella asiatica, green apple polyphenols
- Finish: radiant
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best Matte Finish: Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Matte Setting Spray
Why it’s worth it: Milk Makeup’s Pore Eclipse Matte Setting Spray (a 2024 Best of Beauty Winner) sets makeup without drying out your skin or precious foundation. In addition to staving off smudging, caking, and fading, this mattifying mist softens the look of pores with niacinamide, reduces shine with lentil extract, and evens texture using bakuchiol. One caveat is that its spray nozzle does clog every now and then, but a quick rinse under warm water will do just the trick to remove any buildup.
“This setting spray ensures my makeup stays put, no matter how sweltering my environment is. It kept my concealer from moving during my most recent concert experience, as I jumped and danced for hours.”—Jesa Marie Calaor, senior beauty editor
- Key ingredients: niacinamide, lentil extract, bakuchiol, witch hazel
- Finish: matte
- Waterproof: no
- Fragrance-free: yes
Best Fixing Spray: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray
Why it’s worth it: Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray has a pore-blurring finish that’s won over Allure editors with every spritz. Beyond that, it scores major points for its multitasking formula as a setting and fixing spray. According to New York City-based makeup artist Natalie Dresher, you can think of fixing sprays as “a setting spray times ten” in terms of their long-wearing hold. This spray’s pore-blurring effect comes from a combination of film-forming polymers and aromatic resin, which create a soft-matte veil over your makeup to seal it in place for up to 16 hours. Bonus: Skin-loving ingredients like aloe vera and green tea extracts to cool your face and calm redness and irritation.
“The fine mist on this setting spray is simply unmatched: It seems to float through the air before landing gently on your skin. But despite the delicate feel, once the formula coats your face, I can guarantee your makeup is locked in. Recently, I applied around 9 a.m., and when I got out of a particularly sweaty dance class 11 hours later, a friend commented, ’Wow, how does your makeup look so good right now?’ I swear, I didn’t pay her to say that.”—Kara McGrath, content director
- Key ingredients: polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, a film-former), green tea extract, aromatic resin, aloe vera
- Finish: demi-matte
- Waterproof: yes
- Fragrance-free: no
Best for Textured Skin: Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Mattifying Setting Spray
Why it’s worth it: We all want a little extra coverage when our skin’s not playing nice, but sometimes foundation only makes bumps, texture, or breakouts look more obvious. Enter Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Balm Setting Spray: an app-like filter in a bottle. It blurs and smooths imperfections, so your base looks seamless. Our trick is we treat it like a setting powder. Mist between layers of foundation and concealer, let it sit for a minute, then press it in with a sponge for targeted blurring. A few final sprays on top, and your look is locked. The formula is stacked with sweat-absorbing upsalite, pore-refining marine water and silica, hydrating glycerin, and soothing niacinamide, which, when all mixed together, creates a one-stop shop for a good skin day.
Tester feedback from Allure contributing commerce editor Deanna Pai
“When Danessa Myricks says ‘blurring,’ she means business. As soon as I spritzed this over my foundation (Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation), my skin looked airbrushed even though I’m dealing with a rip-roaring case of pregnancy acne. I also have pores so large they’re practically majestic, but they were nowhere to be found. Even by the afternoon, my forehead, nose, and chin hadn’t devolved in the usual oil slick that they typically become—and what’s more, my foundation still looked just as natural (if not more so) than it did when I applied it. Miracle! Worker!”—Deanna Pai, contibuting commerce editor
- Key ingredients: upsalite, marine water, silica, glycerin, niacinamide
- Finish: matte
- Waterproof: no
- Fragrance-free: yes
Frequently Asked Questions
How does setting spray work?
Los Angeles-based cosmetic chemist Victoria Vohland explained to Allure that setting sprays create a barrier to prevent makeup from slipping, using primarily a mixture of water, alcohol, and film formers. “A film former is a chemical put into cosmetics to offer long-wear benefits,” she said.
