How to avoid Meltdown Makeup: Urban Decay "All Nighter" Setting Spray

Makeup-wise, one thing that bugs me most about the hot and humid tropics is that after the shortest time my makeup (face, eyes, lips) looks worn out, whipped out and ‘meltdown’. This is the case no matter what amounts of makeup I wear; both light basic daytime makeup and meticulously applied evening makeup quickly don’t look so put together anymore as I would like. Even with the least activity, the temperature and level of humidity make me look like I’ve spent a long night in a club, wildly dancing like there’s no tomorrow. Luckily there's a very easy solution this...

PREPPING & SETTING BASICS

In makeup, there’s quite some tips and tricks to prep and set your makeup to make it look neat and tidy and last longer. Basic rule is to apply your makeup on a freshly cleaned face; after all, when painting a wall you also need to get rid of grease and dirt first in order get the smoothest, even and lasting result. Products that make your makeup last longer can roughly be divided in three categories:

• Primers: gel or cream bases that you apply after cleansing, but before your applying your makeup. There’s full face primers but also products specifically designed to prime your lip or eye makeup before applying.
• Setting Powders: Loose or compact powders that you apply with a brush throughout your makeup routine, to ‘set’ fluid or creamy products like foundation or concealer.
• Setting Sprays: Sprays and mists that you use after you've applied all your makeup and completed your entire look, that you now want to ‘lock down’.

You can use a product from one of these categories or mix of different products, according to your preference or specific need. In this article I will review a setting spray, as these products are generally easiest and fastest to use.

SETTING SPRAYS

Setting or finishing sprays are designed to preserve applied makeup for longer periods of time. Once associated with the entertainment industry (image the challenge of keeping your makeup last and look fresh when doing a Vegas cabaret routine while wearing a wig and an acrylic sequined dress on a stage while exposed to steaming hot showlights), setting sprays are nowadays available to a wide public and quickly gained in popularity. The sprays and mists of today are very easy to use and, more importantly, due to advanced product technology you won't feel the product on your face like glue or a mask. Matter of fact, a good setting spray you don't feel at all after applying. 

There are large differences though between the products available. I noticed that in Singapore not as many products are available as back home in Europe. What is widely available are moisturing and refreshing skin mists (Shue Uemura, Kanebo, , that Beauty Sales Advisors will try to sell to you as a setting spray. It's true that these mists give you a dewy and 'refreshed' look when applied on makeup, but this won't last too long. Moreover, these sprays tend to distribute too much product that you actually feel laying on your face. 

The makeup setting sprays I found available in Singapore are the following:

• MAC Prep + Prime "Fix+". Price: 100ml - 30 SGD.
• Urban Decay "All Nighter". Prices: 118ml - 48 SGD / Purse Spray 30ml - 22 SGD. 
• Makeup Forever "Mist & Fix. Prices: 125ml - 48 SGD / Purse Spray 30ml - 21 SGD.

I've tested all three:

MAC's "Fix+" is called 'fix' but leans more towards the previously mentioned moisturizing sprays. It sets makeup to a small degree, but serves primarily to create a natural finish and rehydrate your makeup to take away a powdery or dried up look. Moreover, the spray distribution wasn't optimal to me; when pressing the spray dispenser,either huge drops of product come out, OR most of the product disappears in the air. 

Makeup Forever's "Mist & Fix" is specifcally designed to set makeup and keep it in place. When using it however, it feels more wet than misty on my face, and a somewhat sticky feeling lasts quite some time.

Urban Decay's "All Nighter" is by far my favorite, and is even across categories one of the best products I've ever tried...

CAN'T DO WITHOUT: Urban Decay “All Nighter” Makeup Setting Spray

Product promise: “Is makeup meltdown ruining your midnight mojo? Mist on this weightless spray to give your makeup serious staying power. All Nighter keeps your makeup looking gorgeously just-applied for up to 16 hours – without melting, cracking, fading or settling into fine lines.”

The Test: I tested this product on a night out with the ladies. We had dinner and drinks in Clubstreet and spent our time between some hot and humid terraces outside for pre-dinner drinks, inside in blazing aircon for dinner and dancing around in people-packed bars for some cocktails afterwards.

Usually my make-up starts to look way less fresh (i.e. shine on forehead, chin and around nose; some make-up stains around my eyes) after about 1,5-2 hours already, but when I checked my face in the bathroom throughout the night my make-up stayed in place, looked very well put together and kept looking fresh for at least the 6 hours that I tested it! Love it! According to the product description, it should last even up to 16 hours.    

The Product: Apart from the awesome result, the product is very pleasant and easy to use. The spray diffuser delivers a micro fine mist and although quite some mist comes out with one spray, it doesn’t feel that way on your face. Some other similar sprays I’ve been trying, felt very wet on the face and made me fear that my applied make up would be sprayed off with the product instead of holding it. Not with this one! The Urban Decay spray dries up very fast, and doesn’t leave a sticky feeling. In fact you don’t actually feel or see that you have used the product at all. As said, similar products can leave a bit of a shine or add a dewy effect, but “All Nighter” is invisible. The clinically tested formula is suitable for all skin types and features patented Temperature Control Technology. What this means is that it actually lowers the temperature of your makeup to keep foundation, eyeshadow, blush and concealer in place – even in hot and humid or cold and windy conditions. The result? Smoother-looking skin and vibrant makeup that lasts all day (or all night).

How to use: So easy!! After applying your makeup, shake the bottle well and hold 20-25cm (08”-10”) away from your face. Mist your face around 2-4 times, in an “X” and “T” formation. The product dries up fast and you won’t even feel that you have used the product – except when you look in the mirror throughout the day and night, and feel all fresh and happy with your makeup.

Where to get it: You can buy Urban Decay’s “All Nighter” spray at Sephora. Find stores here.

The spray is available as a full size product of 118ml (48 SGD), or as a travel size/purse size product of 30ml (22 SGD).

Interested to learn more about setting sprays? This video by Wayne Gosse is very informative and honest. Allthough most of the products he reviews are not available in Singapore, it does give a good impression of the products around and how they vary in their attributes and promises.