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8.4/ 10BeautyScore

MAC Fix+ Setting Spray: The $30 Bottle That's Been In Every Makeup Artist's Kit Since 1996

MAC Fix+ is one of the most iconic products in beauty history. After 30 years, does it still deserve its cult status? Our editor tested it against newer setting sprays.

Jessica Thompson

Jessica Thompson

Senior Beauty Editor · October 8, 2024

MAC Fix+ launched in 1996 as a "makeup setting spray" — a category that barely existed at the time. Thirty years later, it's still one of the bestselling products in MAC's lineup, and the setting spray category it helped create is now worth billions of dollars.

What It Is

MAC Fix+ is a water-based setting spray that sets makeup, adds a dewy finish, and extends wear time. The formula contains green tea, chamomile, and cucumber extracts. It comes in a 100ml bottle with a fine-mist spray nozzle and retails at $30.

The Formula

The formula is simple by modern standards — water, glycerin, and botanical extracts. It doesn't have the film-forming polymers that newer setting sprays use for longer wear. What it does have is a formula that's been refined over 30 years and that genuinely works.

Performance

Fix+ does three things well: it melts powder products into the skin for a more natural finish, it adds a subtle dewy glow to any makeup look, and it refreshes makeup mid-day. It doesn't provide the same level of wear extension as newer setting sprays, but it's the best product on the market for the "melting powder" technique.

The Verdict

MAC Fix+ earns an 8.4. It's not the most technologically advanced setting spray, but it does what it does better than almost anything else. For makeup artists and anyone who wants a dewy, natural-looking finish, it's still essential.

About the reviewer

Jessica Thompson

Jessica Thompson

Senior Beauty Editor

Jessica Thompson spent 12 years as a working makeup artist before deciding she'd rather write about products than carry seven brushes in her purse. Based in Brooklyn, she covers everything from drugst...

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