Mist and set your makeup for all day staying power

Photo credit: e.l.f. website

I am so excited that I finally got my hands on e.l.f.'s Makeup Mist & Set. I've been wanting to try it for a long time, but it was always sold out online. Now that they have expanded the product selection at Target, I was able to pick this bad boy up really easily, and best of all it's only $3 (no shipping!). If any of you are avid consumers of the beauty community like I am, you have more than likely heard about makeup setting products like Model in a Bottle, Skindinavia, and the various ones from Urban Decay, Make Up For Ever, and others. And, if you are like me, the concept grabbed your attention. We all know primers help you get better makeup application, making it look more flawless and last longer. But we also know, they don't necessarily last all day long. Enter finishing sprays. It's a product you mist on your face after you are done with your makeup application. The product will help your makeup look like second skin, and magically (I say magically because I'm not entirely sure how they work) set it in place, making it humidity and heat resistant. Yes, you read that right. Your makeup will withstand its kryptonite. It will not melt away. Does this get your tongue wagging yet? Are you reaching for your keys as you read, or opening a new Internet tab to shop?

Well, let me tell you about my experience. But be warned, it may just enable you to pull the trigger on a new purchase.

Like many of you, I like to test out products (whenever possible) before I take the plunge and make a purchase for a high end brand. I'd wanted to try Model in a Bottle, but as far as I know, it is only available online, and it's $21 plus shipping, for a full-sized bottle. Well, what if I was dissatisfied? There was no way to test it. So I started looking around for other options. At that time, Urban Decay had recently come out with their product, but they didn't yet have the travel-sized one. However, Make Up For Ever had a travel version I could test out (remember: this was before e.l.f. released theirs) and it was only $8. I could handle that (a full-size version is $27). So, seeing as this is the first setting spray that I'd used (and loved), e.l.f. had a lot to live up to. My review is based on my experience with my e.l.f. Makeup Mist and Set, and is viewed through the eyes of a gal who swears by Make Up For Ever's Mist & Fix.

Let me start by saying, I'm totally psyched with the results. It really does work. It's been hot and humid around here lately, and I put on my makeup and braved the weather, and when I got home after several hours out running errands, my makeup looked like I'd just applied it. It had not budged. It had not faded. And, most importantly, it had not gotten all cakey and gross. It looked like it had when I walked out the door. So, performance-wise, e.l.f. can stand side-by-side with Make Up For Ever (and Urban Decay -- I once used my friend's when I forgot to use my Mist & Fix and after a long night out drinking in the Florida humidity for her birthday, my makeup still looked fresh by the end of the night, even though I wasn't holding up so well that evening). I was impressed. I know e.l.f. makes comparable products to the high end brands, but I think this is the first product that came this close in performance. Kudos to you, e.l.f.

Here are some other things that I like about it:

• It's nice and compact, so it's easy to take with you. The bottle is 2 oz (perfect travel-size)
• The $3 price tag. I could buy 3 for close to the same price as one Make Up For Ever travel Mist & Fix. That's one for the house, one for my travel bag, and one for my purse (if I forget to mist before I leave the house)
• I can use it if I forget to use primer and my makeup will still look great. I especially like to do this when I use tinted moisturizer because I don't like to use primer before my tinted moisturizer. I feel like the primer will block the moisturizer from properly absorbing into my skin. 
• It helps your makeup look like second skin. Looking too powdery? No problem, mist and you're fixed.
• It has aloe, green tea extracts, cucumber, and vitamins A, C, and E, making it nice and soothing for your skin

Unfortunately, I have just a few complaints (minor ones):

• It only comes in the 2 oz size, which make sense considering the price, but I'd like the option of having a full-size bottle at home and a small one to travel with. My solution to this? Buy a few and combine them into one larger spray bottle. Doing that, still saves you a bundle. The full-size Make Up For Ever is 4.22 oz and $27. Model in a Bottle is only 2 oz and $21. Urban Decay's full size is 4 oz and $29. I could buy a 4 oz spray bottle and two e.l.f. Mist & Sets and still come out spending less than $15. Sounds like a plan to me. 
• It has an odd scent. I can't quit put my finger on it. It is not a strong scent and it certainly isn't overpowering, lingering, or enough to keep me from using it. But it surprised me because I was expecting more of a fresh scent. If I had to describe the scent, it smells like aloe with a hint of glue (kids glue, not toxic glue fumes). Again, its only a fleeting scent, but I notice it, and then its gone. I hadn't experienced that scent in my previous foray into setting sprays. 

Other than that, I have no ill words about this product. The price is right, and so is the performance. If you want to save a bundle then I'd definitely say give this product a shot. Not only will it cost you less, but with a reduced need for touchups (or no need even), you'll get more mileage out of your makeup. What do you guys think of setting sprays?