I Got Sprayed By a Fire Hose and This Setting Spray Kept My Makeup In Place

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I was dreading the fire department's visit all day, and I was determined to focus on herding the 20-some soaking-wet and giggling incoming kindergarteners in my care back into the gym without any slips (or smudged eyeliner).

Back in the summer of 2016, I was a makeup-obsessed teenager who insisted on wearing a full face in the scorching July sun to volunteer for my town's week-long program educating children about safety. It was the era of carved-out brows, full-face looks and lots of under-eye baking, and I leaned into it throughout the entire sweaty week.

Every year on the last day of the program, the fire department brought their trucks and sprayed all the children with the fire hose — a cool respite from the hot, humid weather and the stuffy gym. With encouraging cheers from the energetic five-year-olds, the firefighters would then let the hose loose on the teenage volunteers (on a rather higher setting, might I add). Thanks to my ride-or-die setting spray — Urban Decay's All Nighter Waterproof Makeup Setting Spray — my makeup had already withstood the sweltering sun, but I doubted its waterproof claim, especially against a literal fire hose.

I successfully stuck to the sidelines for the morning's water fight, but when the firefighters returned for the afternoon group, my luck was up. I accepted my makeup's fate and joined the other volunteers as the firefighters sprayed us and then let each five-year-old have a chance at wielding the hose. Once they finished drenching us, I sought refuge in the bathroom and mentally prepared myself for the melted face I was bound to see in the mirror.

To my surprise, my makeup — the winged eyeliner, waterproof mascara, brow gel, foundation and concealer — was completely intact, juxtaposing my soaking hair and drenched outfit. The spray had somehow worked a miracle.

Yes, the hype around the much-beloved formula is real: My makeup has stood strong throughout 12-hour days, late nights out and, impressively, fire hose showers. Urban Decay claims that the spray even has a wear time of up to 16 hours — and it does all that while still remaining lightweight and wearable for such long periods of time.

This spray deserves its own little crown, but for now, it will remain a must-have staple in my makeup bag and my secret ingredient to a long-lasting look.

Urban Decay All Nighter Waterproof Makeup Setting Spray, $36, available here

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