Whether it's to refresh skin or calm senses, facial mists can be a great addition to your beauty arsenal – these are the ones worth spritzing
A deskside essential for many, face mists are ideal for a refreshing spritz during the mid-afternoon slump. While some people might consider them an overpriced water, many facial mists do so much more than just revive your mind and slightly dampen your face thanks to skincare ingredients including hyaluronic acid, vitamin E and C and witch hazel. Hyaluronic acid formulas work to moisturise the skin over makeup for a hit of hydration without making your mascara run, while many of the sprays also work to set your makeup if you don't have a setting spray to hand.
Quite the multitaskers, these mists of many talents can also be applied pre-facial oil for extra hydration or mixed into moisturiser if you want your cream to be a bit lighter - ideal for hot days.
Here are the mists we can't stop spraying.
Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist
, £20 for 30ml
It makes sense to start our edit of the best facial mists with this classic buy; there's nothing quite as refreshing as returning from a sweaty spin class and dousing your face in this spray, made from Hungarian thermal waters. It feels like a cold drink of water for your face and the subtle scent helps with the hydrating feel too, thanks to a combination of orange blossom, rose and sage water. The regal name is because this spritz is based on the world’s first recorded perfume, created for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary in the 14th century - if it's good enough for royalty it's good enough for us.
Decorte Comfort Day Mist Set and Protect, £28 for 60ml
The newest face mist on the block (launching on July 1) not only looks incredibly chic on your dressing table but also packs a powerful punch, softening, soothing and moisturising the skin with ingredients including mallow, Chinese skullcap and witch hazel. Courtesy of luxe Japanese brand Decorte , it controls sebum production, resists perspiration and prevents makeup from shifting too, all in a lightweight formula that creates a soft, even veil on the skin that guards against pollution, dust and grime.
Kiehl’s Men's Oil Eliminator Refreshing Shine Control Spray Toner, £16.50 for 125ml
This says it’s for men, but that hasn’t stopped us spritzing liberally. It instantly cools the skin and neutralises oil to reduce shine and give a more matte appearance. It has menthol in the mix to naturally cool the face.
Balance Me Hyaluronic Plumping Mist, £14.40 for 30ml
Editors have gone wild for this hyaluronic acid face mist - and with good reason. It does a bit of everything, from the chamomile water that soothes sensitive skin to the pineapple extract which helps to brighten uneven tone; plus it works whether you’re dry or oily or somewhere in between. A fabulous all-rounder that really plumps and refreshes your skin.
Aurelia Probiotic Skincare Brightening Botanical Facial Mist, £42 for 100ml
Brighten up your complexion with this lightweight mist, infused with volcanic water to purify the skin, magnesium salts to detoxify and quartz crystal water to energise. Fragrance-wise it's scented with geranium, cedarwood and magnolia for a pleasant botanical scent that transports you outside if only in the mind.
The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Face Mist, £6 for 100ml
No matter what you need from a hydrating face spray, chances are this does it. It can be used to wet makeup brushes, set makeup, refresh skin and help draw out the pigment or makeup, making it more vivid. It has rosewater in the mix to boost hydration plus vitamin E to protect the skin.
Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist Intense Deluxe Edition, £49 for 200ml
Jurlique's iconic mist has been given a 2020 upgrade, with the formula now made from four different rose extracts mingling together to awaken your senses - ideal if you're getting fatigued sitting at your desk or working from home. Either spray it straight onto your face, or mist onto clean hands and press into skin. it can be used as the last step in your cleansing routine, to set your makeup and give you a dewy finish or refresh your face when it's feeling dehydrated. We sprayed it on mid-afternoon and are happy to report it didn’t disrupt our base, nor leave an unpleasant sticky residue.
Lucia Magnani Refreshing Energising Tonic, £90 for 150ml
For a touch of luxury you can't go wrong with this high-end spritz which has all the concentrated benefits fo a serum in a handy spray form. Vitamin E, alpha-lipoic acid and vitamin C comes together in this tonic which does so much more than just refresh, promising to regulate the natural metabolism of skin cells too - even the packaging is a delight to behold. The whole collection from Lucia Magnani combines science and nature resulting in glowing, radiant skin.
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Miracle Hydrating Mist, £21 for 100ml
This fine mist - an antioxidant superfruit blend - comes in a flight-friendly 100ml plastic bottle and is virtually fragrance-free. We would wager it can be liberally squirted without annoying your fellow passengers. It feels calming on the skin and definitely makes dull skin look instantly perkier, although it does make your face feel a little sticky after a couple of sprays. We prefer to use it underneath a facial oil. The pump spray delivers just enough product so you don’t feel like you are stepping into a shower as can happen with an aerosol face mist. Plus it’s at the pricier end of the scale so you don’t want to waste a single droplet.
Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray, £13 for 300ml
Avene's Thermal Spring Water is the basis of everything in the range but this is not just ‘water in a can’, this is ‘French, clinically-proven healing water in a can.’ Still cynical? Us too, despite our appreciation for their sensitive-skin friendly products. However, our skin has been incredibly dry since the recent weather change, feeling tight and rough to the touch, so whereas we’d usually save this spray for the beach or hot weather, we put it to use in our working day. Spraying just one side of our face to test it, we found our skin was indeed smoother and felt ‘comforted,’ to borrow their term, compared to the incredibly dry skin on the other side. It’s refreshing, obviously, and when we reluctantly used it over a face full of makeup there were no touch-ups needed - the mist is so fine (hold it far away from your face) that it really does just soothe the skin.
Pai Lotus and Orange Blossom BioAffinity Toner
, £30 for 50ml
Pai are transparent when it comes to their ingredients and labelling, making picking products for sensitive skin a lot easier. This facial mist is for use after cleansing to tone the skin, so spritz liberally over your face and neck to freshen up before moisturiser. Perfect for dry and sensitive skin, it is alcohol-free (a massive plus for those with redness/easily irritated skin) and smells divine - the orange blossom really revives the senses.
Aveda Botanical Kinetics Toning Mist
, £14.50 for 150ml
While we love a deskside mist, this Aveda toning mist is a great addition to your evening routine, just spritz the product all over your face and neck after cleansing. Once it had soaked in it leaves skin feeling rehydrated without any extra residue. It can also be used over a full face of makeup and we can confirm that it doesn't even disturb mascara - it just gives the face a subtle, uplifting refresh.
Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Essence
, £63 for 50ml
100 per cent natural, this spritz not only smells totally divine but is packed with floral extracts, moisture-boosting hyaluronic acid, free-radical fighting vitamin C and antioxidant Witch Hazel, so it not only feeds the skin but locks in moisture and protects your face at the same time. If you just use it to refresh your makeup throughout the day, then it's perhaps not worth the extravagance, however, if you see it as a facial treatment or a natural cell-preserving coat of armour then it may well be worth every penny.
Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray, £24 for 125ml
This spray can be used either before or after makeup application (both, if you like!) and we saw lovely results from spraying it over the top of our makeup. It brought out the pigment in our bronzer as well as keeping our face hydrated throughout the day. It's pleasingly lightly scented - as refreshing as you'd expect, however the mist isn't the finest we tried, so we recommend bringing it closer to your face than the recommended 30 cm for full effect.
Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Perfecting Water Moisture Mist
, £31 for 200ml
As you'd expect from a product entitled ‘Moisture Mist’, this spray promises to provide a surge of hydration which, in turn, helps the absorption of key ingredients, moisturisers and serums into the skin. And we're happy to report it does just that. It acts as a sort of turbo-boost for your other products, leaving skin feeling noticeably more hydrated as a result. A quick spritz mid-afternoon will definitely pep you up.
Caudalie Beauty Elixir
, £32 for 100ml
This mist is inspired by the ‘elixir of youth’ used by Queen Isabella of Hungary, and apparently these days Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham are fans. It’s quite the multitasker; it prepares skin for moisturiser, sets makeup and refreshes the complexion throughout the day. For the record, it also smells AMAZING - it’s like one big hit of a botanical garden. It’s also quite literally minty fresh; it smells of mint and has a wonderfully cooling sensation when spritzed over a slightly sweaty visage. It mists on very finely so you don’t receive an unwelcome squirt in the eye and dries in milliseconds, leaving skin really smooth. For £32, you might hope for a bit more detectable dewiness, but it made our face feel zingy and fresh, which is the main benefit of using an effective facial mist.”
De Mamiel Botaniques Dewy Facial Mist, £52 for 100ml
Dubbed a ‘serum in a mist,’ this particular spritz immediately piqued our interest due to its potential to provide more than just a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Easy to apply with a great nozzle that delivers effective distribution, it spread evenly, finely and most importantly, swiftly over parched skin to act as a moisturising undercoat for our day cream and SPF. The blend of essential oils (chosen specifically for their calming properties), antioxidants (chosen for their anti-inflammatory and protective abilities) and hydrating skin goodies made for the perfect fit for dry/temperamental T-zone skin type and the blissful scent made for a lovely way to add a dose of serenity to an otherwise, chaotic start to the day.