It's hot and I give in: it's time for makeup fixer | Sali Hugues

I'm writing this during a heatwave and while I can only hope the weather will have cooled by the time it's posted, it has forced me to review a product for which I have always been quite pretentious.

Makeup setting sprays have finally found my limit and that limit, it seems, is over 30 C in the shade. I'll put my hands up and agree that for those of us who want to wear makeup or have to wear it for work, there's a lot to be said for locking it in tight before it melts right in the face like a Calippo on a solar panel.

I have to give credit where it's due and say that if you're in the market for a setting spray (whether because of the temperature, sebaceous glands or menopause), go straight to an Urban Decay stockist and add All Nighter, £27, to your basket, because there's no reason to look anywhere else. It's simply the best.

This thing is so exceptionally good at his job that he not only kept my makeup on my face throughout the birthday party. friend's birthday party in a stuffy balcony apartment, he went above and beyond keeping it perfectly chilled for the train journey home.

And it's also idiot-proof. Once you've finished your makeup, all you have to do is hold the bottle about a school ruler's distance from your face and mist in an "X" motion. You then let it dry for a few moments and you're done.

Even when the outside temperature drops, the make-up fixing spray remains useful for misting your eye brush before dipping it in any shimmery shadow, as it densely packs powder and lays it down without smudging your cheeks or clothes.

Until this summer, I would continue to fix the spray in the house only for this purpose. My former reluctance to use it for its intended purpose stems mainly from its ability to dry out the skin (all versions that work well contain a lot of alcohol, although high humidity helps offset this) and the matte look it gives, which I personally find unflattering. I got around the second of these drawbacks by using the newer, brighter vitamin C version of the original All Nighter spray. inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.EmbedBlockElement" class="dcr-10khgmf"/>

Urban Decay also makes another incarnation - Ultra Matte, for skins very oily skinned - but in any case, when applied only in extremis or for a special occasion (a wedding, perhaps), rather than as part of a daily routine, I think any of his setting sprays can be used without tearing or smearing.