After I’ve had my fair share of bumping into friends and acquaintances while looking like I just jumped out of bed, I’ve made it a habit to put on light makeup on a daily basis whenever I head out of the house. Regardless of what’s in store for me for the day, it assured me that I’d look presentable at all times. Sadly, with my combination skin, my makeup would sometimes run and fade throughout the day. If not, certain parts of my face would look greasy and that’s definitely not a cool look to sport.
As a self-proclaimed beauty junkie, I watch makeup gurus on YouTube religiously and I’ve always watched them hype about Urban Decay’s makeup setting sprays. We all know that UD products are tagged with an extravagant price, so I wasn’t about to spend that kind of money.
When I came across NYX’s Matte Finish Makeup Setting Spray, I was ecstatic as I was hopeful that it could be a dupe for the much-coveted UD sprays. On their website, it claims that this setting spray is lightweight and comfortable, while it works hard to make sure your makeup stays put. It also claims that the spray will help your makeup look fresh with that “just-applied” look from day to night.
The instructions on the product says to shake the bottle thoroughly and spray onto the face from a 6 inch distance. So, that’s what I did after I applied my makeup as usual. The first thing I noticed was that the pump on the bottle was too harsh for a facial spray. Instead of a fine and gentle dispersion, a lot of the product was released from the pump and a few water droplets were visible on my face. Even though I didn’t like that about the product, it wasn’t really a problem for me as I could just spray the product from a further distance from my face. If you’re sensitive to scents, you’ll be glad to know that the product has no smell whatsoever, which is a relief to me.
As for its performance, it definitely didn’t keep my face matte, nor did my face look matte several minutes after I sprayed on the product. Nevertheless, the product did what it claimed to do. My makeup did not budge or move throughout the day, even after 12 hours of wear. I was impressed with how the spray helped my eyeliner, blush and bronzer maintain its colour on my face without fading.
The only problem I had with the product is that my face appeared a little more greasy and oily compared to the times when I didn’t use any setting spray on my face. Despite that, a few blots with a tissue paper was all I had needed to fix it and I didn’t need any extra finishing powder to mattify my face.
Overall, it’s a good product and I recommend it to those with drier skin who want their makeup to stay all day long. If you have oilier or combination skin like mine, you would have to blot your face once or twice throughout the day to avoid looking greasy. For the affordable price, I think it’s worth the purchase!
