FLOWER Beauty

For some reason it has taken me years to fully embrace this brand even though everything I have purchased has lived up to its better-than-drugstore cosmetics advertising. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that my first Flower Cosmetics purchase consisted of a lipstick in a package like the one shown — and it was sealed so the only way to tell the color was through the bottom — which by some fluke did not match what was in the package. (What was supposed to be a warm pink was instead a dusty nude that did not show up on my lips at all.) More recently, I decided to re-explore Flower cosmetics, at which point I noticed that now the lipsticks are shipping with see-through caps. (What's pictured here is the old style packaging.)

In my area, Flower Cosmetics are only available at Walmart — and the Walmart cosmetics associates don't know they carry it! (Flower Cosmetics has been around for at least six years now I think!)

Flower lipsticks have good staying power and come in a nice selection of colors that will flatter many individuals. Are they moisturizing? Not especially. But when you want to choice between "lasting" and "conditioning" there will be trade-offs!

For those who say these lippies are drying, it's never ideal to expect a lipstick to double as a lip conditioner. For flake-free lips you need to either eat fish or take fish oil (Omega-3) supplements and apply a quality lip balm every single night after you take off your makeup. (I swear by Cococare Cocoa Butter Lip Balm above Burt's Bees and all the rest I've tried over the years.)

In my experience, generic lip balms and even well-known brands like Chapstick aren't going to stop the flaking if you're prone to dry lips. Only a few of the balms on the market will actually heal as opposed to just giving temporary relief to dry, chapped lips. Once you find a good one, the key is to apply it every single night before you go to bed without layering it over/under anything else. By following this regimen now for over 15 years, I haven't had chapped lips for years and that's true even though I moved to a high desert location that is ultra dry — below 20 percent humidity! — year-around. (The other cardinal rule to avoid chapped lips is never, never lick them.)

When it comes to lip color it's often necessary to chose. Do you want the buttery feel with the knowledge that it will wear off in a short amount of time? Or do you want the waxier lip color with the knowledge that it will wear longer than a lip balm? I like Flower Cosmetics because their lipsticks strike a decent balance.

Dupe for Charlotte tilsbury great glow

This review will be comparing a number of drugstore makeup setting sprays to each other. There are plenty of reviews on the internet comparing each of the drugstore sprays to high end sprays so you could easily search for that if needed. I'll be focusing on the DEWY versions of Milani (Make it Last), NYX (Professional), LA Girl (Pro HD Finish), and Flower Beauty (Seal the Deal). I've added Wet N Wild but I haven't used it for long so I'll edit the review at a later point. For me, Flower Beauty was the best.
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Testing conditions:
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I live in the Northeast where the winters are cold and windy and the summers are hot and humid. I have a long commute to work, part of which includes a 20 minute walk in all kinds of weather conditions. I work in an office setting so my makeup has to last from one extreme to the next. In other words, these products have been put to the test.
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Spray & Bottle (they're all plastic):
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Flower Beauty's spray bottle is amazing. By far the best of all. The spray comes out in an extremely fine mist, it never clogs, and the nozzle responds to different pressure as you're pressing down on it. The other bottles only spray if you press all the way down, if that makes sense. This is the only one out of all the products where you have quite a bit of control with the finest mist.
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Milani's product comes in a semi-translucent bottle, which is nice because you can see how much product is left. There are reviewers who say the Milani bottle and spray is the best, but I've used multiple bottles of it and have found that it's not nearly as good as Flower's and it starts off good but clogs up and spritz's big pellets towards the end. The bottle is NOT a screw top--you can't open it up, reuse the bottle, or get any of the remaining product out. Out of all of the products, Milani's is the only product that is a sealed, non-screw top.
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I would note that all the other products come in a pretty standard spray bottle, the kind that you get in a travel kit. They are sprays that work evenly, but they're still sprays, not mists. But, if you've ever tried the ELF setting spray that comes in that square-shape bottle, these are all world's better than that. The ELF thing spits at you, none of these do that so you don't need to worry.
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Staying power:
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The staying power of all the products are pretty on par with each other. Out of all the products, Milani looks the best for the longest amount of time. That being said, the difference was very slight and for me, not worth the extra price per ounce and the bottle.
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Dewy Look:
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In terms of leaving me the dewy-est, NYX wins, hands-down. It gives me a very nice sheen that is visible. Second best is Milani, but I can't tell if it's the product itself or if it's because it lasts the longest so it ends up looking the best by the end of the day. Flower's sheen is nice but subtle. It's probably not the shiniest because the mist is so fine. The rest of the products I would say leave me natural looking but not dewy. Let's put it this way, the rest are setting sprays that do NOT make me look flat, matte, or dry but they don't particularly leave me dewy.
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Overview:
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My favorite out of the bunch is the Flower Beauty Seal the Deal Hydrating setting spray. It's the most expensive per bottle but the cheapest per fluid ounce--you get a lot of it. The spray itself is superior to all the rest. The only con is that it's hard to find (only in Walmart or online) and never goes on sale. Out of the remainders, I would say they do not differ too much from each other. The second best is Milani and per bottle, it's only a little cheaper than Flower Beauty but you get a lot less product. If you're looking at paying the least per bottle then NYX, LA Girl, and Wet n Wild are pretty much on par with each other by price but I think NYX is the best out of those three. I'm ranking LA Girl the lowest but it doesn't actually mean it's the worst. I would say that it really doesn't differ much from NYX or Milani by very much and I've seen both the NYX and the LA Girl get sold in a 0.5 fl oz mini bottles for around $3 so they're good travel products or a good trial size with minimal financial investment.
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Overall Ranking:
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1. Flower (best value, best spray, hard to find)
2. Milani (fair value, best staying power)
3. NYX (most dewy look)
4. Wet n Wild (excellent value, good overall)
5. LA Girl (inexpensive per bottle, good but not special)
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Prices (based on Walmart)
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Flower = $9.98 for 3.4 fl oz (100ml) (2.96 per fl oz)
Milani = $8.97 for 2.03 fl oz (60ml) (4.42 per fl oz)
NYX = $5.59 for 1 fl oz (30ml)
Wet n Wild = $4.68 for 1.52 fl oz (45ml) (3.08 per fl oz)
LA Girl = $4.99 for 1 fl oz (30ml)

I have unrelenting oily lids that keep me searching for the best eyeliner & mascara. My first impression was that this was gonna replace my Tarte 3-in-1 Lights Camera Go mascara because it was so similar in offering volume, length & maintaining a curl... But sadly it couldn't hold up to my oil & it smudged underneath my eyes after 1 hr.

I really, really like these. I have most of the colors. I generally use the lipstick with the gloss is in the center but it could be used other ways and it gives a nice glowy affect. I don’t have much to say except try them out. They are about 10.00 online or Ulta but 8.00 at Walmart. Well, worth it.