I’m not a big fan of makeup sprays. It feels weird to spray something on my face, after I’ve just finished doing my makeup. I’m a bit afraid it’ll ruin everything, and that I’ll have to start again, but will less time to do everything properly. And won’t some of the product end up in my eyes and mouth, even if I keep them super shut? Yet, as a combination skinned gal, I can hardly resist anything that promises to absorb excess sebum and control shine on my t-zone. So, when I had the chance to try a small sample of Urban Decay De Slick Makeup Setting Spray, I went for it. Did I regret it?
What’s In Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray?
FILM FORMERS
Makeup sprays are similar to setting sprays (but they’re safe to use on the face). Like hairsprays, they use film-forming agents (in this case, PVP and Menthyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer) that form a protective layer on the skin. This protective layers seals makeup in, preventing it from fading throughout the day. Menthyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer goes a step further. It also helps absorb excess oil and mattify skin. Too bad there’s not too much of it in this formula.
ALCOHOL DENAT
Wait, isn’t Alcohol Denat bad for skin? It depends on how you use it. Alone, yes. Alcohol denat can dry out and irritate your skin, especially if it’s sensitive. But add moisturising ingredients to the mix and they counteract its nasty side effects.
Does this makeup setting spray have any moisturising ingredients? Not really. But hopefully, your skincare has already done that job (never apply makeup without doing your skincare base first!). But what does it do here, anyway? The same thing it does in all spray products: it makes the texture dry quickly on your skin.
Related: What Does Alcohol-Free Really Mean (Hint: It’s NOT What You Think)
The Rest Of The Formula & Ingredients
NOTE: The colours indicate the effectiveness of an ingredient. It is ILLEGAL to put toxic and harmful ingredients in skincare products.
- Green: It’s effective, proven to work, and helps the product do the best possible job for your skin.
- Yellow: There’s not much proof it works (at least, yet).
- Red: What is this doing here?!
- Aqua / Water: The base of most skincare products. Just good old H₂O to dissolve other ingredients.
- Dimethicone PEG-7 Phosphate: A silicone-based emulsifier that makes the texture smooth and helps water and oil mix.
- PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate: Gives a silky feel to products and helps them spread easily. Can be mildly comedogenic for some skin types.
- Polyhydroxystearic Acid: Helps stabilize formulas and improve texture.
- Dipropylene Glycol: A lightweight solvent that helps ingredients penetrate better and keeps the formula from drying out.
- Isononyl Isononanoate: An emollient that makes skin feel soft and smooth. Non-greasy, lightweight, and generally safe.
- Ethylhexyl Isononanoate: Another silky-feeling emollient. Adds slip and softness without being heavy.
- Caprylyl Glycol: A moisturizing agent with some preservative powers.
- Sodium Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate: A gentle cleansing and conditioning ingredient derived from coconut. Rarely irritating, but can be a concern for those with coconut allergies.
- Glycereth-5 Lactate: A humectant that pulls moisture into the skin and keeps it hydrated. Well-tolerated.
- Sodium Hydroxide: Used to adjust the pH of the formula.
- Phenylpropanol: A preservative and fragrance ingredient. Usually fine but may cause irritation for sensitive skin types.
- Parfum / Fragrance: Gives the product its scent. Common allergen. If your skin reacts to fragrance, this could be a trigger.
- Propanediol: A lightweight moisturizer and solvent. Generally non-irritating and a good alternative to propylene glycol.
- Methyl Diisopropyl Propionamide: Provides a cooling sensation (like menthol but gentler). Can be irritating on broken or reactive skin.
- Poloxamer 407: A cleansing and emulsifying agent.
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder: Soothing, calming, and hydrating.
- Maltodextrin: A sugar-derived stabilizer that can also help with delivery of other ingredients.
- Hexyl Cinnamal: A fragrance compound that smells floral. Known allergen that can trigger sensitivities.
- Linalool: Another fragrance component. Can oxidize over time and cause irritation or allergic reactions.
- Citronellol: A floral-scented fragrance compound. Also a potential allergen.
- Limonene: Citrusy fragrance ingredient. Can be irritating, especially when oxidized.
- Benzyl Alcohol: A preservative and fragrance. Can be irritating in high concentrations, but usually well-tolerated in small amounts.
- Tocopherol: Vitamin E Antioxidant that helps nourish and protect skin.
- Potassium Sorbate: A gentle preservative. Rarely causes issues.
- Sodium Benzoate: Preservative used in both skincare and food.
- BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene): An antioxidant that prevents the formula from going rancid.
Texture
This setting spray goes on like a super fine mist. No giant droplets or sticky film here. It feels light and refreshing the second it hits your skin. It feels slightly sticky for a few minutes, until it is fully dried. Once it sets, you won’t even notice it’s there… which is exactly what you want from a setting spray. No greasiness, no weird residue – just that barely-there finish that locks your makeup in place without messing with how it looks or feels.
Fragrance
It does have a scent, but nothing overpowering. It’s got that clean, slightly fresh/alcohol-ish smell you get from a lot of long-wear makeup products. It disappears pretty quickly, though, so unless you’ve got a super sensitive nose (or skin), it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker. If your skin tends to freak out over fragrance, just know it’s in there, but for most people, it’s a quick “spritz and forget” situation.
How To Use It
Apply your foundation first. Then, shake the bottle well and, holding it 10″ away from your face, spray it on in an “X” and “T” formation. Needless to say, shut your eyes before spraying it on. You don’t want this stuff in your eyes!
Packaging
Sleek black bottle with that signature Urban Decay vibe: minimal, slightly edgy, and feels more high-end than most setting sprays. The spray nozzle is solid: it gives you a fine, even mist instead of drenching your face in random blobs (which, let’s be honest, ruins everything). Travel-friendly, doesn’t leak, and easy to toss in a makeup bag. Nothing fancy, but it does the job without annoying you.
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Performance & Personal Opinion
Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray looks like a hairspray and feels like a hairspray, but it’s NOT a hairspray. Here’s what makes it different:
- Texture: Makeup setting sprays have less fluid, more lightweight textures that helps them create an uniform layer on your skin.
- Ingredients ratio: Hairsprays contain a higher amount of film-forming agents to create a rigid barrier that keeps hair in place. That’d be too uncomfortable on the skin. Instead, makeup setting sprays contain fewer firm-forming agents and more emollients (like Polyhydroxystearic Acid) that help make skin soft and smooth.
- Irritation: Unlike skin, hair is dead. That means hairsprays are more likely to contain ingredients that are fine on hair but don’t agree with your skin.
Bottom line: DON’T use hairspray on your skin! It may be cheaper, but it’s not safe. And it doesn’t even work that well.
Unfortunately, Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray doesn’t work too well either. Sure, it creates a uniform film on the skin, but that doesn’t extend the lasting power of my makeup that much (but hey, at least it doesn’t ruin it like I feared). This setting spray kept my t-zone sebum and shine free for two hours longer than usual. Not bad, but my t.-zone is only slightly shiny so De-Slick didn’t have much work to do.
My fear is that if your skin is very oily this won’t do much at all. You’d need to use it together with other oil-controlling products, which kinda defeats the purpose. I’d rather much stick to a primer that keeps oil production under control and your makeup put for longer. You can check out my fave makeup primers for oily skin here.
But you know what’s the most disappointing thing of all? The much touted temperature-control technology is nonsense. There’s nothing in here that can lower the temperature of your makeup. Unless that’s just a fancy way of saying that the water in the product provides a refreshing feeling when you apply it.
Related: What Are The Best Primers For Oily Skin?
What I Like About Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray
- The mist is super fine – no aggressive splashes or dripping beads
- Feels light on the skin and dries down without leaving a weird film
- Doesn’t mess up your makeup or make it patchy
- Keeps mild shine at bay for a couple of extra hours
- Feels refreshing on application (even if that’s just the water doing the work)
What I Don’t Like About Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray
- Slightly sticky at first, takes a minute or two to dry completely
- Doesn’t actually extend the wear of makeup much
- The whole “temperature-control technology” thing is pure marketing fluff
- If your skin’s super oily, this probably won’t cut it on its own
- You’ll still need a proper primer or other oil-controlling products to really stay matte, so what’s the point?
Who Should Use This?
If you’ve got combo or slightly oily skin and just want a bit of extra shine control without layering on heavy powders, this could work for you. It’s decent for keeping things looking fresh during a night out or a long day, if you’re not expecting miracles.
But if you’ve got full-on oily skin? You’ll probably be disappointed. This isn’t strong enough to handle major grease on its own. You’ll need to pair it with a good primer, powder, blotting sheets – the whole lineup. And at that point… you might as well just skip this and use something that actually does the heavy lifting.
Does Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray Live Up To Its Claims?
| CLAIM | TRUE? |
|---|---|
| Meet your most powerful oil-control ally. | There are plenty of oil-controlling products out there that work better than this. |
| De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray mists on weightlessly to make your makeup stay put as it controls oil, deflects surface shine and keeps oily skin looking beautifully matte. | It feels a little tacky for a couple of minutes. After that, it helps keep oil at bay and skin matte for a couple of hours more than normal. |
| High-tech ingredients help keep foundation, shadow and blush from smudging, sliding or fading. | It helps your makeup stay put a couple of hours longer. |
| You got it, this baby actually lowers the temperature of your makeup to help it stay put and keep oily skin looking smooth, but never shiny. | It can’t lower the temperature of your makeup. |
Price & Availability
$33.00/£26.00 at Look Fantastic and Sephora
Do You Need It?
Not really. If you have oily skin, there are better primers around.
Aqua / Water, Alcohol Denat., PVP, Dimethicone PEG-7 Phosphate, PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Dipropylene Glycol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Glycereth-5 Lactate, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenylpropanol, Parfum / Fragrance, Propanediol, Methyl Diisopropyl Propionamide, Poloxamer 407, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Maltodextrin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, BHT.
About Gio
Hi, I’m Gio. I’m a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is skin coach and writer on a mission to help you achieve your best skin day ever – every day. I bust skincare myths and debunk marketing jargon to help you figure out what’s worth the splurge and what’s best left on the shelf – using science, not hype. I also offer skincare consultations to help you create the best skincare routine for your unique needs.
