Few skincare products are as touch-and-go as a face mist. While the best of them can transform dull, dehydrated skin in seconds, there are also plenty that are about as beneficial as a plant mister.
But don’t let those that fall into the latter category put you off. Done right, face mists can play a huge role in your skincare routine. Whether you’re looking for an extra dose of hydration or something to prep and prime your skin pre-make-up, there are plenty of options out there packed with the same ingredients you would expect from a moisturiser or serum. And, of course, there’s cooling benefits to be had, too – something we’re definitely in need of with temperatures as they are.
The very best face mists will effectively tackle dehydration, dryness and irritation, with some formulas even boasting anti-ageing or anti-acne benefits. The tricky part? Finding the right formula for you. So we’ve been busy researching the most popular brands, rifling through ingredients lists and, most importantly, testing as part of our day-to-day skincare. Scroll on for our top picks, and stock up before the height of summer rush.
How we tested
To separate the duds from the delights, we got to misting – morning to night, under and over make-up – to find a lightweight formula ideal for regular touch-ups. It needed to be powerful enough to fight winter dryness but not so greasy that it would sabotage our dewiness once the weather hotted up. Face mists are designed for frequent use by nature, but we were wary of how many tend to be heavily fragranced and irritating to sensitive skin, so we’ve highlighted only the most soothing products. On top of this, our best picks are versatile and able to slot into any stage of your beauty routine.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Chloe James began writing for The Independent in 2018, garnering experience across skincare, haircare and make-up. Specifically, she’s covered the best toners for oily skin, the best niacinamide serums and The Ordinary’s best products for acne – so she’s well-versed on key beauty brands and the most effective ingredients for healthy skin. Below, see her pick of the best face mists, with selections both new and established, from Clinique to Glow Hub.
La Roche-Posay cicaplast B5 soothing repair spray
Best: Overall
Key ingredients: Madecassoside (often referred to as cica), glycerin, provitamin B5, copper, zinc, manganese
Skin type: All
Cruelty-free and vegan: Not confirmed vegan or cruelty-free as parent company – L'Oreal – sells in China where animal testing is mandatory
Why we love it
- Soothes damaged skin barriers and irritation
- Minimises skin tightness from drying cleansers, toners etc.
- Works to hydrate and promote cell renewal
This face mist is capable of bringing our skin back from the brink after we’ve thrown an absolute glut of skincare actives at it. With our cicaplast spray in-hand, we’re able to proceed with damage control and see relatively quick, soothing results. We tend to use three to five pumps down from the forehead to neck and can immediately start to feel the formula calming and rebalancing our skin. It’s a life-saver when used on sensitive sun burn and works well with other serums and moisturisers. Plus, if you’ve a cleanser that leaves your skin a touch too ‘squeaky’ clean, the cicaplast spray works to alleviate that drawn feeling, leaving your face fresh and ready for the products incoming. And, for those that don’t know, cica – aka, the skincare industry’s buzzword of late – is rich in vitamins, fatty acids and antioxidants, and boosts the skin’s resilience and comfort. It’s a triple threat, and definitely gets our seal of approval.
Buy now £12.00, Amazon.co.uk
WBCo prep mist coconut facial spray
Best: For scent
Key ingredients: Water, aloe vera, glycerin, fragrance
Skin type: All (take care with peppermint iteration, as it features witch hazel)
Vegan and cruelty-free: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Bright summery scent in the coconut (also available in watermelon and peppermint)
- Absorbs quickly
- Dual functionality
- Refillable
Take note
- More than £10 without skin actives
We can’t even begin to explain how good this smells. It’s basically a summer holiday with limitless pina coladas bottled up into one 30ml glass container.
The product itself is just as soothing as the scent – it mists evenly and absorbs in a matter of seconds, leaving you dewy rather than wet. As it’s formulated with aloe vera, it’s perfect for calming angry skin and didn’t irritate any breakouts or trigger excess oiliness, even when used throughout the day. It’s also multifunctional, as it’s designed to activate the brand’s soap brows cake (£15, Westbarnco.com) to ease the process of sculpting those stubborn hairs. A great all-rounder that’s slightly addictive.
Buy now £15.00, Westbarnco.com
Clinique moisture surge face spray
Best: For tired skin
Key ingredients: Glycerin, antioxidant fermented yeast, aloe vera, caffeine
Skin type: All
Cruelty free and vegan: Not confirmed vegan or cruelty-free, as brand retails in China where animal testing is mandatory
Why we love it
- Fragrance-free for sensitive skin
- Caffeine works to reduce puffiness
- Probiotic fermented yeast can improve skin texture
Take note
- Expensive for minimal ingredients
The moisture surge range has been the jewel in Clinique’s crown for years, so we were excited to give its spray counterpart a whirl. Thankfully it didn’t disappoint, providing surprisingly intense hydration for such a fine mist.
It sprays evenly on to skin and doesn’t leave any sticky residue. Those with dry or dehydrated skin will benefit most, but even our tester’s oily complexion saw a marked improvement, showing a healthy, non-greasy glow when used to prime skin and refresh make-up every few hours.
Buy now £26.10, Boots.com
Sunday Riley pink drink firming resurfacing essence
Best: For active ingredients
Key ingredients: Enzymes, amino acids, yeast ferment, glycerin, mineral-rich algae, honey, ceramides, peptides, green tea and floral, fruit and vegetable extracts
Skin type: All bar those with fungal acne
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Packed full of hydrating, moisturising, soothing and anti-ageing ingredients
- No artificial fragrance
- Minimises appearance of redness
Take note
- Alcohol can be drying
- Very expensive
Like everything from Sunday Riley, this spray feels like a luxurious treat. The price tag does reflect that, but thankfully it has a powerful ingredient list to back it up.
This includes acetyl tetrapeptide-9 and acetyl tetrapeptide-11, which might sound like scientific jargon but are basically peptides that help promote firmer skin, as well as a cocktail of various ceramides, antioxidants and vitamin extracts that combine to calm irritated complexions. Our tester found it refreshing and hydrating, but where it made the biggest difference was easing redness. After several weeks of use, it seemed to even out patches of rough skin too.
Buy now £42.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Avène thermal spring water spray for sensitive skin
Best: For hot weather
Key ingredients: Anti-inflammatory thermal spring water
Skin type: All
Cruelty-free and vegan: Vegan but not cruelty-free
Why we love it
- Instantly cooling in clammy conditioners
- Thermal water can benefit eczema and rosacea sufferers
Take note
- £10 for two ingredients, one of which is the nitrogen required to propel the liquid from the cannister
- Run through it quite quickly on a hot day/holiday
Yes, admittedly this is just water, but hear us out. This is Avène thermal spring water, which has been clinically proven to reduce skin sensitivity in those of all ages, and you won’t find a mist more refreshing or gentle on easily irritated skin. While it has plenty of uses, we used it to ease redness (a godsend after long walks in the winter cold), prep skin before make-up, as a substitute for a toner, and to refresh our complexion over the course of the day. It may not be as moisturising as other entries on this list, but it’s definitely the most soothing. Think: no preservatives or unintelligible ingredients. Plus, it’s a godsend in hot weather.
Buy now £10.00, Boots.com
Dr Barbara Sturm hydrating face mist
Best: For reactive skin
Key ingredients: Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, provitamin B5, aloe vera, antioxidant probiotic ferments (lactobacillus/portulaca oleracea ferment extract and leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate), soothing prickly pear, protective broccoli
Skin type: All
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Fragrance-free formula with heaps of soothing/skin barrier repair components
- Gives complexion a longer lasting youthful dew
- Three types of humectant (drawing moisture from the air) for a boost of hydration
Take note
- Not great value for money at 50ml
This isn’t the most affordable face mist in the world, but it’s formulated by world-renowned aesthetic doctor and the brand’s namesake, Dr Barbara Sturm. Specifically, it contains her optimal formulation of hyaluronic acid molecules, which ensures the skin can take advantage of deeper hydration. Hyaluronic acid is one of science’s favourite ingredients for long-lasting hydration, and this makes it ideal for misting on before applying serum or moisturiser. This extended the dewy stage of our skincare (which is usually pretty short with oily skin) and visibly reduced the redness of an active breakout. At 50ml per bottle, we would have expected slightly more product for the price, but we were more than impressed with what we got.
Buy now £80.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Tata Harper hydrating floral essence
Best: For boosting radiance
Key ingredients: Aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, rose, lavender, rice, witch hazel, centella asiatica, willow bark (a natural source of salicylic acid), essential oils
Skin type: All bar sensitive
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Oil-free for shine-prone complexions
- Helps to clarify skin with willow bark and witch hazel
Take note
- Scent is slightly unpleasant
- Ultra-luxe price point
This mist is as intensely nourishing as you’d expect from such a pricey product. Thanks to sources of natural hyaluronic acid, it locks in moisture and boosts the radiance of your complexion with repeated use. It’s oil-free, so doesn’t leave a greasy residue and managed to not irritate our tester’s ongoing breakout. While it works well underneath and on top of make-up, we liked this best as part of our skincare routine, as it helped relieve tightness after exfoliating and cleansing. Like everything from Tata Harper, it’s 100 per cent organic and, although it does have a mildly off-putting scent, this disappears in seconds.
Buy now £104.00, Spacenk.com
Glow Hub calm and soothe serum mist
Best: Budget buy
Key ingredients: Hemp seed oil, jojoba oil-derivative (jojoba wax peg-120 esters), hyaluronic acid, fragrance
Skin type: All bar acne-prone and sensitive
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Dries down quickly
- No greasy or shiny residue
Take note
- Mixed reviews regarding its calming qualities (we saw no issues, but on paper it could cause irritation)
You’d be hard pressed to find a skincare brand much cuter than Glow Hub right now. Aesthetics aside, this mist is designed to calm your skin. The ingredients list is basically a rundown of skincare’s most soothing ingredients, including hempseed oil, jojoba extract and hyaluronic acid. It does feature a handful of dyes, preservatives and fragrance which might not be suited to those with acne-prone or sensitive skin, but it will help to hydrate and balance.
Not only does this make quick work of tempering angry skin but it has a lovely scent. It dries surprisingly quickly considering it applies as more of a spray than a mist and it sits comfortably with no residue, despite its thickness. We used it pre-moisturiser, and throughout the day, to freshen up.
Buy now £9.00, Sephora.co.uk
De Mamiel multi-active hydramist toner
Best: For protection against environmental agressors
Key ingredients: Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, salicylic acid, ectoin, fatty acid, provitamin b5, fermented yeast extract, vitamin E, 7x essential oils, enzymes, rice protein
Skin type: All bar sensitive skin (may be suitable, but a patch test is recommended)
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Longer-lasting hydration and doesn't need to be reapplied
- Supports skin renewal and turnover
Take note
- Not compatible with make-up
- Essential oils aren't suitable for all skin types
A product that took the place of De Mamiel’s dewy facial mist, the multi-active hydramist toner keeps all the rose, hyaluronic acid and salicylic acid components from its predecessor while adding ectoin, and chamomile (to name a few). Made from a blend of herbal extracts, essential oils, phytonutrients and a healthy dose of hyaluronic acid, we were drawn in by this product’s promise of being a “serum in a mist”. While it does apply like a mist, it feels like something more intensive and serum-like is happening to your skin. Although refreshing, we didn’t feel the need to reapply it too often. The hydration is long-lasting and had a nice plumping effect that continued to improve over the course of two weeks. We recommend using it either on a make-up-free day or as a finishing mist, as it didn’t sit well directly beneath foundation or concealer.
Buy now £72.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk
The verdict: Best face mists
Ultimately, La Roche-Posay’s cicaplast face mist was our favourite formula owing to its hydrating and revitalising qualities, and quickly became a staple in our skincare routine. The WBCo. prep mist coconut facial spray had a nostalgic summer scent, which we loved, while Sunday Riley’s pink drink mist had an incredible roster of ingredients, despite its higher price point. Consider us spritzed and freshened up for the foreseeable.
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