The Urban Decay Spring 2017 Collection – First Impressions

Yay! All Nighter is my favorite Urban Decay setting spray, and it got a new outfit.

FOR YEARS, I’ve been not-so-silently ranting about the white bottle because it gets so dirty so easily.

FINALLY! It has a practical outfit.

UD’s All Nighter, Chill and De-Slick settings sprays all get new packaging in the Urban Decay Spring 2017 Collection, which is all about skin.

Ready, set, spray!

For their spring collection, which is coming out soon, UD didn’t focus on makeup this time. They focused on skin. Along with the repackaged setting sprays, which are $31 each, they also gave their B6 prep spray a new outfit (also $31) and added some new skin perfecting items, namely a $31 prep spray called Quick Fix ($31) and five new $34 Complexion Primers.

Make a prep-prime-set cocktail

You can use any of these sprays and products separately, of course, and I’ve used many of them before, but UD’s idea is to use some of them in tandem, like in a makeup prepping, priming, setting cocktail.

First, you prep your skin for makeup with either B6 or the Quick Fix spray (which are the sprays in the neon green bottles, then prime your skin with one of the five Complexion Primers (or, sometimes I’ll target different areas of my skin with different primers), and then set your makeup with one of the three setting sprays when you’re done.

What do the two different prep sprays do — B6 and Quick Fix?

The B6 prep spray’s special power is oil absorption, and Quick Fix excels at moisturizing and brightening.

Quick Fix is noticeably more moisturizing than B6, by the way, so if you have dry winter skin like I do, I think it’s the one you’ll want to try first.

The primers

Regarding the primers, if you want completely perfected skin — like, if you want the most Instagram-like skin — try Optical Illusion, whereas if you’re more concerned about reducing oil, try De-Slick.

Alternately, if firming and moisturizing are your priorities, there’s Bright and Tight. For blurring and color correcting, there’s the one called Self-Adjusting. And if you’re most concerned about protecting and smoothing your skin, the best one to try is Urban Defense, which is the only primer of the five that contains broad spectrum SPF (20).

The setting sprays

Mainly, the setting sprays extend the wear time of your makeup, and each one has a different finish. For a matte skin look, there’s De-Slick. For dewy skin, there’s Chill. And if you just want your makeup to generally last longer without a focus on changing or enhancing the finish, try All Nighter.

My overall first impressions

Yesterday I prepped my skin with the Quick Fix prep spray, which I used on my bare skin, then primed using the Optical Illusion Complexion Primer on my cheeks, nose and around my mouth. Then I applied the De-Slick Complexion Primer on my forehead, which is my main oily area.

After I finished doing my makeup, I set everything with All Nighter, and I must say — my makeup really did look fresh after eight hours.

I was wearing a full face of makeup, too, because I recorded a video, so that means foundation, powder and blush, but there was no fading whatsoever at the end of the day.

I think that most of the heavy lifting was due to the Complexion Primers and Setting Spray… I’m actually not completely convinced that Quick Fix prep spray is necessary, though. I think I could have skipped it and gotten the same results.

But I will keep the idea of a skin prepping, priming and setting cocktail in mind for the next time I have something to go to like a long event.

Like I mentioned a minute ago, you can totally use these products individually. I’ve been using All Nighter and Chill all by themselves for years, but when you need your makeup to not budge for a really long time, I think the extra steps are worth it.

Some closing thoughts

• The first thing I noticed about the B6 Prep Spray is that it’s been kind of drying for me. I’ll test it a few more times, but so far, I dunno…
• The Urban Defense Complexion Primer feels nice and light and has that smooth silicone-like consistency that reminds me a lot of Smashbox Photo Finish, if you’re familiar with that. I use it sometimes when I want intense pore-blurring.
• The Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer feels VERY thin and runny — similar to Hourglass Veil — so hopefully it works that well, too. I haven’t really used it yet.
• I LOVE the Chill Setting Spray and have been using it for years when I want my skin to look dewy. It really helps my makeup last longer.
• I’ve also used the De-Slick Setting Spray before, and I like how matte-fying effect, but I still prefer Chill’s dewy finish.

I’ll be using these to prep, prime and set my skin over the next few weeks, so I’ll let you know which ones end up really working well for me. I hope I find something that I don’t have a lot of experience with that ends up rocking my world.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen