e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set review | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

12 February, 2014

e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set review

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So today I'm going to be reviewing something kind of boring. Boring, but useful. I've really got your attention now, right? When I posted about the e.l.f. 50% off sale yesterday it occurred to me that I have a bunch of e.l.f. stuff in my collection that I never reviewed simply because I didn't think it was interesting enough. At the same time, I get a lot of search hits on my website for the few e.l.f. products that I *have* reviewed, so clearly people do care about their products enough to seek out information about them. Today I'll be talking about e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set, which comes in the most uninteresting-looking bottle ever:

e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & and Set review

It's black. And square. And it scratches easily. So it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but perhaps there's more to it than meets the eye. First, some basic info:


Product description: Wish you could have a product for your makeup like Hairspray is for your hair? Well…keep your makeup staying in place all day with a radiance boosting invisible hold with our new Makeup Mist & Set. The invigorating mist moisturizes and soothes the skin with key ingredients Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber and Vitamins A, C & E. The lightweight, comfortable and alcohol free formula improves makeup wearability and prevents color from running or fading.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), AMP-Acrylates/Allyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice, Green Tea (Camelia Sinensis) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vc), Tocophryl Acetate (Ve) Retinyl Acytate (Va), Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben.


Now let's talk about setting sprays in general. If you're not accustomed to using setting sprays, you may be wondering... well.. why bother? The "hairspray for your face" concept is probably the main reason one would use a setting spray. You don't want your makeup smearing off your face before the end of the day, right? Nobody wants that. (Well, I don't want that.) So having something that gives your makeup a bit of "hold" is good. There are also a few other reasons one might use a setting spray:

  • To help loose/mineral makeup adhere (either spritz your brush lightly with this first, or spritz onto another surface and dip after you've picked up pigment with your brush)
  • To take away that cakey appearance you might get if you've applied too much powder (just hold it a foot or so away from your face and mist - but make sure to shield your eyes!)
  • To foil eyeshadows (mist the brush then pick up the pigments)

So what makes the e.l.f. mist special? Honestly... nothing. Except for the price tag. The regular retail price of e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set is $3 for 2.02oz (60ml). That works out to about $1.49 per ounce. In comparison, MAC Fix+ setting spray is $21 for 3.4oz, or about $6.18 per ounce. That's not even taking into account the fact that e.l.f. often has 50% off sales on their website, which essentially makes it 75¢ per ounce. That is CHEAP, my friends. I chose to do a price comparison with Fix+ because it seems that e.l.f. Mist & Set often gets compared to it. Are they dupes? I'm not really sure, because I don't own Fix+. What I can tell you is that the ingredients lists are pretty similar, though not identical. (You can find the ingredients for Fix+ here, if you're curious.)

Now for the big question... does it really work?

Based on my experiences, yes. My regular makeup seems to last longer on the days that I've used e.l.f. Mist & Set. As a bonus, it's not very sticky and doesn't have a strong or offensive scent. My only complaint about this product is that the mist comes out REALLY wet. The instructions say to hold the bottle 12-16 inches away from your face when misting, but even when I do that I sometimes feel like my face is being attacked by kiddie squirt guns. So I would caution you to shield your eyes when using this product if you've already put on eye makeup. If you happen to have an old bottle lying around with a better mister on it, you could also decant the product into that.


Bottom line: e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set is a good entry into the world of setting sprays, especially for people on a tight budget. I have found it useful for helping my makeup last longer and applying loose pigments. If you can afford to buy a setting spray with a better mister bottle, I might consider that instead. You can always refill the bottle with e.l.f. Mist & Set when it runs out.

Where to buy: You can find e.l.f. in a variety of drugstores and of course on their website. They are having a 50% off sitewide sale until 11:59pm PST TONIGHT, so if you're interested in trying this now's a good time.


Have you tried e.l.f. Mist & Set? What are your favorite setting sprays?


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.

24 comments:

  1. Hey Rebecca, I use Fix+ everyday and never even thought to give the e.l.f. brand setting spray a try. Now that I know it works for you I may give it a try. I am really interested in the Model in a Bottle setting spray. I have heard really great things about it. Thanks for sharing hun!

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  2. I've tried this setting spray when I was trying to find a good one, and I remember really hating the smell. Like it was bad. Does it still smell that way?


    I think the best sprays are the Skindinavia / Urban Decay. They seem to make a really big difference for me.


    The price on this is so tempting though.

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  3. I heard good things about that one too! If you can snag e.l.f. during one of the 50% off sales it's only $1.50 so it might be worth a gamble? I'd be curious to hear how it compares to Fix+ from someone who uses it regularly.

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  4. It doesn't really have much of a scent at all to my nose. I just gave it a deep sniff and I guess it has a faint hairspray-ish smell, but nothing bad enough to put me off using it. What did it smell like when you tried it?

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  5. It smelt like that really awful perfume you find at the pharmacy that is like a knock off scent of real ones. That's a weird comparison, but it's what I thought of. I remember other people complaining about it too. Maybe they changed it.

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  6. Hmm, interesting. I don't get a perfumey scent from this at all so maybe they did change it! It just smells very vaguely of chemicals to me. I bought this bottle around the end of November, for reference. I wonder what other people who have bought this recently think of the scent...

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  7. This spray really does help my makeup stay on longer, and I've noticed it actually making my skin have less dry, flaky places (especially in the winter!), which is awesome. Mine doesn't seem to have much of a smell...if any, it smells like cucumber to me, but it's extremely slight. It is a bit aggravating to apply, though. Loved your likening of it to a squirt gun! I always get such a shocked face after I apply it--even though I know it's about to be uhh...quite refreshing hah.

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  8. I've tried the UD oil slick spray before, did not like it. I think I will stay with my setting powder for now :)

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  9. Charlotte MacDonald-GauntFebruary 12, 2014 at 9:36 PM

    Sounds like a great budget friendly option :o) Xx

    Makeup by Candlelight

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  10. Nice post .. I have never tried their mist but always curious about it ☺

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  11. Awesome, glad to hear that it doesn't stink for someone else! Haha. I only use the e.l.f. mist for makeup, but sometimes I use other mists in bare skin and they definitely help keep my face from getting flaky so I hear you there.

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  12. Sometimes I use setting powder AND a spray! Madness, I know! I haven't tried the UD spray so I'm not sure how it would compare, but generally speaking I enjoy spraying myself in the face. :)

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  13. It is! Worth a try the next time the UK site has a big sale. :)

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  14. I didn't know many people consider this a dupe of mac fix+ but this is a good budget-friendly alternative! ELF always have sale, that's true! HAHA :)

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  15. Thanks for the review! Will have to give this a try!

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  16. Thanks for the review! I don't have a setting spray, I have a setting powder. I thought it would make my face look even more cakey because I wear powder foundation, but it really doesn't. Might switch to a setting spray just to compare the two.


    http://www.lavieenmay.blogspot.com

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  17. The next time that I order the makeup remover wipes, I will grab this and do a comparison. I will let you know what I think!

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  18. I bought this spray when I heard about the 50% off sale they were having, so I'm excited to see how well it works! I currently use the NYX matte setting spray, and it's okay, but i don't really see a difference with my makeup lasting longer. Hopefully this one works better! :)

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  19. It's worth a shot! And honestly, sometimes I use setting powder AND spray. If I overapply the powder (which is easy to do) my makeup can look a bit cakey, but with a quick mist of the spray it doesn't look as bad.

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  20. Yay, hope it works for you! I I'm guessing you picked up some other fun goodies as well? haven't tried the NYX spray so I'm not sure how they compare.

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  21. Seems to be a nice product! Great review Rebecca.

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  22. It's a great deal but not worth it when it comes to a facial mist. ELF setting spray is made in China, which makes this product a health risk especially when using on your face. Look for US made sprays!

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