Sigh. It's officially summer. The elements are out to destroy our makeup at all hours of the day with storms, sunlight, and humidity so intense you can practically swim in the air around you. For my fellow beauty lovers, that can only mean one thing: It's time to bust out the setting spray.
But let's face it: Constant spritzing can cost you if you're picky. Luxury setting sprays can leave a dent in your bank account, but affordable sprays might not get the job done right.
So, are either of these risks worth the struggle? Does the high-end really out-perform the drugstore, or is that all utter baloney? I pitted the cheapest setting spray against the most expensive in the ultimate sweat battle.
The first setting spray I tested was the $50 Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Super fancy.
At $49 for 3.4 ounces, this was the highest-priced setting spray Sephora had in stock.
The product's description on Sephora reads as follows: "A natural, innovative toning mist that sets makeup, provides an instant burst of radiance, and tightens the appearance of pores, featuring the same bestselling formula with a new, improved pump to finely and evenly distribute the lightweight mist."
Basically, this sets your makeup and tones your skin at the same time.
Right off the bat, I could see why this stuff is so expensive.
Caudalie's packaging is glass — far fancier and far heavier than I'm used to. And the bottle's nozzle creates a mist so fine, you can barely feel it on your face.
i'm not going to lie, the scent of this one is overwhelming — and I'm never picky about how my products smell. Don't get me wrong, the floral, minty smell is a refreshing one, but you get a hefty whiff just by removing the bottle cap. I'm pretty sure it's to mask the scent caused by this spray's high alcohol content.
In this full face of makeup set by the Caudalie spray, I spent a laid-back day running errands around my Brooklyn neighborhood. No touch-ups.
For this test, I only used products I use frequently and am intensely familiar with. I'm wearing a medium-coverage foundation from Beauty Pie, the Kat Von D Shade + Light contour palette on my cheeks and eyes, Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, and Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Hawkind.
And no, I did not realize how many Kat Von D products I wear daily until I wrote that sentence.
The second I stepped out of the house, I knew I was sweat-bound. The weather was extremely humid, plus I had to lug heavy grocery bags up and down stairs multiple times.
I wondered when my contour was going to melt away, but I somehow made it out of the sun and back home with relatively little budge.
The contour powder on my eyes began to crease mid-day, but I'll credit that to the fact that I wasn't wearing any eyelid primer.
Some of my foundation faded around my nose and cheeks, but all in all, this is not a bad look by any means.
But that wasn't the end of it. I still had one more "errand" left — a trip to the gym.
And, much to my surprise, a LOT of my makeup survived my 30-minute cardio session. Color me impressed.
The medium-coverage foundation melted away, especially on my cheeks and forehead. But my eyeliner remained flawless, my lipstick only budged near the center of the lip, and my contour is still clearly visible.
Let me make this clear: I sweat A LOT. I felt myself dripping through this workout, so this could have gone a lot worse.
The other setting spray I chose was literally the cheapest one I could find: the LA Girl Pro Setting HD Matte Finish Spray for $5.
This 1-ounce spray goes for $5 at most drugstores and online retailers. It is literally 10 times cheaper than the Caudalie.
Its product description reads as follows: "The lightweight, non-sticky formula sets makeup for all day wear. The ultra-fine mist is refreshing and dries quickly setting makeup to help you stay beautiful longer. Paraben and fragrance free."
Unlike Caudalie, this spray doesn't boast any additional benefits or bell and whistles. It's just there to do its job and go home.
The LA Girl experience is the complete opposite of Caudalie's — and not in a good way.
Although this plastic-packaged spray claims to have ultra-fine mist, its basic nozzle sprays out product with the force of a firehose. This made my face feel WET after application, and I took minutes to dry down.
The scent of this one is also VERY overwhelming, but in a worse way. That's because this spray has the very distinct and very intense odor of alcohol. Based on the formula, it appears to contain less alcohol than Caudalie's — but you can still smell it from a mile away.
I wore the exact same makeup, this time set with LA Girl, for a different yet equally grueling day full of crowded trains, hot lights, and more.
This Monday in the office was a busier-than-average day for me as I found myself running back and forth between departments all day. I also had to take a 40-minute train ride there and back — which meant standing among a lot of other really sweaty people… underneath hot concrete.
Conveniently, I was enlisted to model some swimsuits in our studio that's full of searing hot lights and no windows.
Needless to say, it gets a little muggy in there.
But my makeup persisted through the photo shoot AND a messy pizza lunch — but my skin felt oiler than it did during my first test.
I did have to touch up my lipstick up post-pizza, but I figured it was fair in this case.
PLOT TWIST: A massive storm hit the city on my way home and presented me with the greatest challenge of all — an umbrella-less walk in the pouring rain.
My makeup held up through the rain much like it did through my workout — so well, in fact, that it wouldn't come off when I washed my face.
I had to scrub my eyes incessantly to get this eyeliner off, and that didn't happen with test number one.
But, despite my initial impression, LA Girl performed above my expectations.
I honestly wasn't crazy about either of these sprays, but if I had to choose in a very strange life-or-death scenario, I'd suck it up and pay the big bucks for Caudalie.
Would I be stoked to be paying $50 for it? God, no. But I'm luxurious sometimes, and I certainly reaped more benefits from it than I did from LA Girl's. Let me break it down for you:
Caudalie pros: Legitimate makeup preservation, normal skin, refreshing mist, more product, easy makeup removal.
Caudalie cons: Ludicrous price tag, intense (albeit nice) fragrance.
LA Girl pros: Legitimate makeup preservation, cheap-as-hell price tag.
LA Girl cons: Distinct and strong alcohol odor, uneven product distribution, oily skin, less product, stubborn makeup removal.
And that's why I'm just going to stick to my beloved Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray.
It's not crazy-expensive, doesn't have an odor, keeps my makeup put all day and night, doesn't have any effect on my skin whatsoever, and will actually let me take my makeup off. Isn't that all you could ask for?
($31, Urban Decay)
So let it be known: You don't need absurd amounts of money to get that makeup to last through the summer heat.
But how much you spend can make a big difference.
Want more? Visit our Eyeliner Addict Facebook page and like us for more breaking beauty news!
