Editor’s Picks: 16 of the Best Face Mists to Hydrate, Calm and Refresh Your Skin

As a beauty editor, I’ve tested and evaluated face mists from a range of brands. These are my top picks for every preference:

Best Splurge

• Allies of Skin Molecular Saviour Probiotics Treatment Mist

Best Budget

• Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Adaptogens and Coconut Water

Best Calming

• Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray
• Pai Century Flower Lotus & Hyaluronic Acid Barrier Defense Mist
• Caudalie Grape Water
• Avène Eau Thermale Thermal Spring Water

Best Hydrating

• Éminence Organic Skin Care Stone Crop Hydrating Mist
• Youth To The People Adaptogen Soothe + Hydrate Activated Mist

Best for Oily and Acne-Prone Skin

• Dermalogica Clear Start Micro-Pore Mist

Best for Antioxidant Protection

• NIOD Superoxide Dismutase Saccharide Mist

Best for Setting Makeup

• Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist

Best Clean Beauty

• OSEA Sea Minerals Mist
• Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Essence
• Herbivore Rose Hibiscus Coconut Water Hydrating Face Mist

Best K-Beauty

• Peach & Lily Glass Skin Veil Mist
• Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner

For more details on each formula, read on.

Looking for one mist that does it all? Allies of Skin Molecular Saviour Probiotics Treatment Mist is for you. This multitasking mist may be an investment, but it could replace your need for a separate hydrating serum, niacinamide serum and/or moisturizer.

With a 5% concentration of niacinamide, it offers all the ingredient’s benefits, from refining pores to controlling oil to lightening discolourations. It also has a higher molecular weight than most sprays, so it creates a dewy veil of hydration that clings to skin instead of evaporating. Plus, it has barrier-strengthening probiotics, protective antioxidants and antibacterial colloidal silver. 

• Pros: Hydrating, brightening, minimizes pores, controls oil
• Cons: Pricey

Space NK reviewer: “I was so impressed by this mist’s ingredients that I knew I had to try it. I mean, niacinamide, probiotics, antioxidants, and it’s hydrating?! I’m sold. I prefer to spritz it twice into my palms and pat it in so I don’t waste a single drop. Since using this mist I have noticed a huge difference in the tone and texture of my skin and I feel so much more hydrated! I’m obsessed.”

It’s hard to believe that the price point for Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Adaptogens and Coconut Water is so low, when it’s loaded with many of the same ingredients that are found in pricier products.

You’re getting plenty of dewy humectants, including aloe, hyaluronic acid and coconut water. Then, there’s multitasking niacinamide (which helps brighten and minimize pores, among many other benefits). The “adaptogens” are a blend of plant extracts that are said to help skin adapt to stress. Bonus: Unlike the brand’s other face mists, this one is fragrance-free and dye-free.

• Pros: Affordable, hydrating, refreshing
• Cons: May not be hydrating enough for some people

Sephora reviewer: “This is the only facial mist from this brand that I like. Great ingredients with no fragrance. I am on my second bottle of this. It helps keep my dry skin hydrated and makes serums go on easier. This is perfect before hyaluronic acid serum. The price of this for 8 ounces makes this a great buy to me.”

For sensitive and “stressed-out” skin, there’s no simpler solution than Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray. This soothing, purifying and repairing mist is 100% natural, with just two ingredients: salt and hypochlorous acid. 

The latter is found naturally in white blood cells, and works to boost your skin’s immunity in order to stimulate healing and reduce redness. It’s both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, so you can use this whenever your skin gets irritated, inflamed, broken out, or sun damaged.

• Pros: Calming, reduces redness, antibacterial
• Cons: Smells like chlorine

Tower 28 reviewer: “I bought this spray to try to help with my angry, red, irritated skin. It’s not a cure-all for acne, but what has changed is my skin is now soooooo soft, plump, smooth, glowy and hydrated. My redness and irritation is reduced... and any zits I have heal so much faster than they normally would.”

If your skin is prone to flare-ups, Pai Century Flower Lotus & Hyaluronic Acid Barrier Defense Mist can help. This soothing mist actually strengthens your skin’s barrier function with regular use. 

The all-natural formula recently got an upgrade, and now contains ingredients like hyaluronic acid and inulin for deeper hydration and barrier support. They’re in a base of “living water”—a nutrient-dense liquid extracted from the lotus plant that retains its trace elements, minerals and salts. They work together to soothe and protect dry, irritated and redness-prone skin.

• Pros: Soothing, hydrating, barrier-repairing
• Cons: Pricey

Credo Beauty reviewer: “I wasn’t too sure whether this product did much when I first got it, but when I started experiencing terrible rash-like breakouts due to pregnancy, this helped soothe and calm my skin immediately. Overnight I could see a difference in my skin when I wouldn’t use it vs when I did. I love everything Pai.”

You might think Caudalie Grape Water is just plain water in a can, but think again. This product dispenses a fine, weightless mist—but the liquid is actually derived from grapes.

As the brand’s signature ingredient, grapes are high in naturally-occurring potassium, magnesium, copper and polysaccharides. They work to calm sensitivity, hydrate and strengthen your skin barrier, with zero stickiness.

• Pros: Soothing, hydrating, reduces redness, affordable
• Cons: May not be hydrating enough for some people

Sephora reviewer: “This is a MUST for rosacea skin. I have tried hundreds of products for my sensitive skin. This is SO soothing! I wash my face, pat dry, and spray this before doing anything else to my skin. The redness dissipates immediately—I mean, I can actually see it dissipate as I spray it—it’s amazing. HIGHLY recommend if you have sensitive skin. This and SPF are the two products I can’t be without.”