It’s easy to see the benefits of a facial mist in summer. All those cooling, refreshing droplets landing on a humidity-vexed face to immediately restore calm. Facial sprays are less front-of-mind in winter, but a moisturising mist can also be a godsend in colder months, when faces are likely to be parched.
Followers of east-Asian skincare methods (almost all of them aimed at layering on as much plumping, glassy-looking hydration as is humanly possible) deploy mists year-round and so, naturally, Korean and Japanese brands make the best. I’m a longtime lover of Laneige’s Cream Mist (£14.25). It’s a sort of liquefied day cream, containing lots of glycerin and calming inulin, and it soothes and comforts my dry, dehydrated and prone-to-tightness face.
Everyone I give this to seems to become addicted – it can easily be sandwiched between cleansing and serum application, can be spritzed over makeup throughout the day to hydrate and refresh, or used after a night-time retinoid to mitigate any drying effects. This last use for it is particularly welcome: the touch-free application prevents any active ingredients from being wiped off.
Dr Jart’s Ceramidin Cream Mist (from £14.40), is similar, though its inclusion of five forms of ceramide make it the ideal choice for very dry skins, eczema or rosacea sufferers, touch-sensitive skins or anyone with a compromised skin barrier, perhaps from illness or medication. Light and milky, it can be used through day or night to leave skin glowing and looking generally happier.
Curél also taps the undisputed benefits of ceramides with its Deep Moisture Spray (£19.50): unlike the others, it propels from a fine aerosol can rather than a pump bottle, which helps keep the mist invisible, and cool for those beset by menopausal hot flushes. It’s a terrific product – instantly soothing and plumping.
Violette FR is French, but its Boum Moum Milk (£45), is clearly inspired by Korean mists. This one contains moisturising squalane and sunflower seed oil, as well as glycerin, and consequently has a little more slip and sheen on the skin – lovers of a matte finish will want to pass. But as someone who instinctively prefers a dewy look, I love it, and the smaller bottle (though pricey in comparison with the others) is convenient to carry around. None of these should affect your makeup, but – contrary to myth – they won’t set it either. Think of them as a drink, not a dam.
Photographer’s assistant: Harry Brayne. Model: Mami Akol. Manicurist: Sarah Cherry. Gloves: Somerville Scarves
