Benefit setting spray review: Does the new porefessional super setter really smooth your skin?

Promising to blur pores and lock your make-up for 16 hours, does it deliver? We put it to the test

The new launch is the brand’s first-ever setting spray and is set to rival big players including Urban Decay and Charlotte Tilbury (The Independent/Benefit)

Benefit Cosmetics is perhaps best known for having the brow game sussed, offering an extensive roster of products to shape and fill your furrows, not to mention its line-up of other cult complexion favourites so-called “Benebabes” can’t live without (hula bronzer, we’re looking at you).

So, when we heard the brand was about to enter an entirely new category, we knew we had to find out more.

The latest offering in its porefessional range – which already includes three primers, a mattifying gel and shine-vanishing powder – Benefit has launched its very first setting spray: The porefessional super setter.

Like the other products in the range, Benefit’s setting spray is tipped to be “pore-blurring” and aims to lock your make-up in place for up to 16 hours. The beauty brand makes some other pretty bold claims about the product’s abilities, stating it visibly reduces shine and leaves your skin feeling smooth, refreshed and hydrated.

But, that’s not all. Benefit also says the setting spray gives instant results, is waterproof, smudge-proof, sweatproof and feels weightless on the skin.

This launch is a bold move from Benefit, which has built up quite the beauty fanbase since its inception in 1976. Setting sprays are a tricky art to master and this one faces some fierce competition from existing products like Urban Decay’s all nighter, which has been dubbed the holy grail of all make-up protectors and is currently the UK’s number one best-selling premium setting spray.

So, how does Benefit’s offering fare? We managed to get our hands on the latest launch to see if it lives up to our expectations, judging packaging, finish, staying power and price point, to decide if it’s a worthy addition to your make-up bag.

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Benefit the porefessional super setter: £26, Lookfantastic

(Benefit)

Like most make-up fans, setting spray has become a staple in our beauty arsenal for its ability to increase the lifespan of our look. And now, in the midst of a pandemic they have arguably never been more important, as our painstakingly executed make-up is forced to withstand everything from wearing a face covering to sitting under the warm glow of a computer screen all day and battling typically grim British weather for socially-distanced winter walks.

So when Benefit’s first-ever setting spray landed on our doorstep, we put it straight to work to find out if it lived up to its claims of delivering a long-lasting look. On first impressions, the packaging isn’t particularly luxe but instead gives us what we’ve come to expect from Benefit; a built for purpose bottle that features the brand’s signature retro-inspired design in a charming shade of pastel green.

When it came to application, the spray pump took us by surprise. Unlike some other setting sprays, it feels much firmer and helps the product deliver on its claims of being “all mist, no mess”. A long push down on the pump releases a super-fine mist, with no drops or spots and it didn’t feel sticky on our skin at all. For those that struggle with mascara smudging, this is a particularly good selling point, as we didn’t experience any of the excess “wetness” you can sometimes feel immediately after, prompting a panic check for panda eyes. 

It does contain perfume, which could be irritating for some sensitive skin types but we did not experience any kind of reaction and instead found the subtle, powdery scent a welcome change from those that often have a strong synthetic smell.

As for its USP of being able to “instantly blur pores”, our complexion did appear much smoother after application but don’t expect to look like a walking talking FaceTune filter. Our skin also felt really soft to the touch, almost as though we had applied a dusting of loose powder, but without any of the associated creasing.

Now, let’s get down to business: did it keep our make-up locked in place for 16 hours? While we didn’t quite make it the whole hog (the cleanser was calling by 10pm), we can confirm that our make-up hardly budged all day. We tested this spray under everyday conditions, wearing a face covering while out shopping, for a long walk and cooking a hearty meal over a hot stove and, while we did experience minor separation around the nose, there was no transference onto our mask, no visible smudging and our skin stayed looking fresh and feeling soft throughout the day.

At £26 for 120ml, this is comparable with other setting sprays on the beauty market. The super-fine mist spreads generously and evenly over your face with just a couple of pumps, so it should last you a long time and we struggled to find anything we disliked. We think it’s well worth investing in and would be a particularly great option for anyone who wants the benefits of wearing a face powder but can find them drying.

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