Product Review - Benefit's Realness of Concealness

To say sorry for the lack of posting would be an understatement. So I'm just gonna get on with giving you guys what you've all been waiting for and what you all come here to see...!

I got hold of Benefit's Realness of Concealness kit a while ago and I must say I'm very impressed. It makes a great addition to my personal and professional kit and I'm always grabbing at least one of the products it offers. This kit is perfect for any of you on a budget, those of you who like to try products in miniature form before committing to the larger versions or those of you who like to have a few back-up pieces in your handbags for that night out/morning after. Benefit describe this product as their:

Portable mini kit containing Benefit's top selling concealers and enhancers. It's your solution for beauty dilemmas on-the-go.

The kit contains small versions of the following Benefit products:

Ooh La Lift - "instant under-eye brightening boost"

Lip Plump Primer - "for full sexy lips"

High Beam - "luminescent complexion highlighter"

Lemon Aid - "colour-correcting eyelid primer"

Boi-ing in Shade 02 - "industrial-strength concealer"

Ooh La Lift - instant brightener for under the eyes?

This is a cute little pearlescent pink highlighter fluid that comes in a bottle much like a lip gloss with the same kind of applicator. There are several tips to using this product in order to get the most out of it:

1. Less is more - don't go crazy with it or it will interfere with the rest of your makeup that goes on top next. This isn't a concealer but a highlighter for under the eyes and you should only need what comes out on the brush to do both eyes.

2. Apply it to the shadowy areas underneath your eyes. Don't go outside of this area or the effect will be undone. What you're trying to achieve is lifting the darker area of skin to make the skin appear lighter and therefore less sunken. I like to apply three dots along each circle and blend in by patting along in an upwards motion.

As I said, it won't conceal the circles so don't expect them to disappear, but the light-reflecting particles in the liquid will lighten the area making you appear less tired. Combined with concealer it works a treat.

I love this eye brightener, but the one thing that prevents me from getting it out everyday is the fact that after a long day it does interfere with the concealer I place on top causing it to crease and fade. 3/5

Lip Plump Primer - fuller, sexy lips?

I love this primer. Just like Ooh La Lift it comes in a lip gloss-style bottle, is of a creamy consistency and a slightly taupe shade. Don't be put off as to how brown it is in colour. It's merely to neutralise the colour of your lips to stop it interfering with the shade of lipstick you'd put on top. It won't affect the colour of your lipstick!

The great thing about lip primer is that it fills in all of the lines and generally, like a face primer, provides a smoother, more refined surface for lipstick to glide onto. As a result your lips will appear a little fuller (please don't expect a surgery-style collagen pout though).

But the effect I love most from this primer is that you get the colour you see on the lipstick bullet and you also get more mileage from your lipstick as primer helps to lock it down (much like eye primer for eyeshadow) 4/5

High Beam - luminescence in a bottle?

This highlighter in it's larger version comes in a bottle you'd be forgiven for thinking is a nail varnish bottle! A highlighting fluid that's slightly pink in tone - Benefit offers Moon Beam which is yellowy in colour for olive and darker skins - this highlights all of the areas of the face that you want to catch the light to give you that fresh, well-rested radiance.

This product it great along the cheek bones, above the brown bones, on the centre of the chin, above the Cupid's Bow and down the centre of the nose. It perks up tired, dehydrated skin - ideal for when you've been naughty and had one too many the night before. I like to use it a lot as it offers that subtle shimmer that gives you that glow as if coming from within! This is by far my favourite product in the whole kit - 5/5

Lemon Aid - colour-correcting eyelid primer?

You'll find this is the creamy yellow base that sits in the palette next to Boi-ing in the box. I really wanted to like this primer and don't get me wrong, I use it when the circumstance is right (e.g. dark, shadowy eyelids that need a bit of a pick-me-up). But if your lids are only mildly red/purply then all this primer does is leave an obvious, unnatural yellow tinge to the eyelid. I'd rather leave my eyelids natural or use a concealer to be honest.

The other unfortunate outcome with this product is that it creases and fades after several hours' wear so you may as well have left your eyelids untouched in the first place. This is therefore not a staple of mine, although I welcome anyone who disagrees to let me know their application tips in the comments box below : ) I give this little number only 2/5

Boi-ing - industrial-strength concealing?

Boi-ing is a cream concealer which as you may have guessed from their product description, is quite pigmented and does well for concealing even the most gruesome of blemishes. However I haven't tried this on my own face as - and this is my only other qualm with the kit - it's not the right shade.

That's right, all kits come with only the 02 shade of Boi-ing so it's not great for anyone with pale skin as 02 is much too dark. A bit of a down-er if you're wanting the sample-size version of this before deciding on the larger version!

I have however tried it on others and it does seem to cover up well. I'd still like to test for longevity though which is something I'm also unsure of having not yet tested it on my own skin. 4/5

Overall...

As a whole, the kit scores 18/25 which isn't too bad. At £23.50 it's really one of those decisions you weigh up on the basis of whether:

• You think it's a wise investment to test all of the products in sample sizes before picking up your favourites in larger sizes
• OR you feel that it's a waste of cash considering factors like Boi-ing may be no use to you or that you'd rather just buy what you need, e.g. highlighter fluid and not have excess products floating around.

I personally feel that this kit is still a worthwhile investment even if you are only going to use it for personal makeup application. It's just a case of being resourceful with the products. If Boi-ing isn't the right shade concealer for you, why not use it to contour your cheekbones and lightly apply it beneath cheekbones and blend in creating a subtle, softly-bronzed look for the summer? If High Beam's not the right shade of highlighter for you why not swap it with a friend for a sample-size of their lipstick, etc? There's always ways round these dilemmas : )

New Favourite - Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara

It was love at first stroke - for my mascara of course!!

I got a free sample in Glamour magazine - "Little Bit BADgal" and have been using it for over 2 months now...

The wand is absolutely massive, wider than any other mascara wand I've seen/used before! It was a bit intimidating at first in fact because I didn't think I'd be able to control the application too well and might poke myself in the eye! But the moment I used it I thought it was AMAZING! It was actually very easy to use from the word go, I had no problems with control or application at all.

Yeah, it retails a little on the pricier side, but it doesn't clump, flake, smudge or run and well for me, it just seems like it was made for my eyelashes, haha! The thicker wand means that you can get right to the base of the lashes and coat the lashes quickly and effectively. The bristles are great because the mascara doesn't seem to cling to them in the same way that some mascara wands do which in turn cause clumping and unwanted excess product coating the lashes!

I'm VERY impressed with this product, I haven't had a sample that's encouraged me to eventually buy the product in a long time! But I'll be definitely buying the full-size version of this beauty as soon as my sample runs out!

If you don't have curly/long lashes this stuff's a godsend and if you do, well you'll just have lovely, luscious lashes that blow the boys away when you wink or blink! : )

You can find Benefit's BADgal Lash mascara at any Benefit counter near you or here.

Edit: You can now see images to go with this post - as you'll see the brush is huuuuge! : )

Popping my Benefit cherry...

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - I LOVED the sunshine, I made the most of it on Sunday in the pub garden - true bliss! Oh and I also had a very interesting haul weekend. I swung by the Benefit counter at my House of Fraser on Saturday as I normally do to look at what they have to offer.

I've heard hit and miss things about Benefit's collection, but their counter always gets me looking due to their quirky product names and even cuter packaging and branding! Some people don't like it at all but I think it's very vintage - what's not to love?!

The only thing that's really ever put me off is their pricing - some of their products are two times more expensive than their more established counterparts and I've found that interesting since Benefit have been around for a fraction of the time in the UK. Still I gave them a shot for the first time the other day and I must say I'm impressed! Here's what I bought...

Hello Flawless!

This is Benefit's brand new hot-off-the-counter product so you may not have heard of it yet but go along to your local Benefit counter and give it a go! It is also my favourite buy from my Benefit haul so I have to tell you about this one first :-)

Hello Flawless! is a cover-up powder that really does do what it says on the tin... or box! As I was in the market for a new foundation I thought I'd give it a go. The cover up powder comes in 7 shades so there's a shade suitable for everyone, I'm "Me Vain? Champagne" and each powder comes in a compact with a mirror, sponge and small brush.

The great thing about it is it also has SPF 15 which is something I've been on the hunt for for a while. My current foundation's been letting me down recently and the other downside is that it doesn't contain any SPF in it for that extra mile of protection. More and more of us are being made aware of the damaging effect the sun's rays can have on our skins and after seeing many demonstrations of the damage on television I think it's too late to be ignorant.

The only trouble is my current SPF protection cream that I put on before foundation is a little too greasy and heavy for my liking. It cancels out all of the effort that I go to in eliminating oil on my skin and not to mention the smell - I can't really describe it other than think of the unpleasant greasy smell you can get from some sun lotions, but instead sits on the face all day right under your nose. Bleh. So having the advantage of an all-in-one SPF & foundation is a God-send!

The cover up powder provides 3 forms of coverage:

1) Sheer coverage - for those of you who like your coverage light and just want a quick dusting, use the brush provided and sweep onto your face in upward and outward motions starting from the centre of the face.

2) For concealing spots or dark circles use the sponge and dab the powder onto any, as Benefit call them, "boo boos" :-) Keep building up for ideal coverage.

3) For full coverage use the sponge to apply the powder as you would with the brush.

Because I have a few blemishes and ruddyness in my skin I prefer to use the sponge for concealing and also all-over coverage. I was so impressed as I swept it on, I dabbed it onto a couple of recent blemishes I had and in no time at all and with very little product they disappeared. To finish off my face I swept the rest of the powder across my cheeks and forehead very quickly and easily and I found I was done. SO much quicker than my liquid foundation!

Putting this on seems virtually effortless, it seems so quick and easy and the great thing about it is that the powder doesn't look powdery on the face - it doesn't cake up even where I've layered it on in the blemishy areas! I'm so impressed with the match to my skin colour, there's no clear line/tide marks so it doesn't look as if I'm wearing a mask of foundation. It just looks natural and I love that because it's a powder it keeps the oil at bay for most of the day.

The ultimate test now will be waiting to see if it causes breakouts. It's not non-comedogenic so I'm waiting to see if I get some spots as a result of using it. After only two days of use it's hard to tell at this stage but if it doesn't cause problems I will most definitely be buying this product in future!

The powder retails at £24.50 which I know is a little on the not-so-very budget side but trust me give it a go at least, it's very, very good!

Coralista

This is a blush that I think has been one of their best-selling products for a while now. It comes in a very cute leopard print box with its own small wooden blush brush. The blush, as you can probably guess from the name, is a coral, pinky colour - perfect for someone like me who has a natural pinky blush to my skin anyway.

When I first used the blush on myself I noticed it actually has a scent - it smells a little like raspberries! I think quite a few of Benefit's products are scented, as I tried a bronzing powder of theirs which smells like roses. So it might not be recommended for those of you with sensitive skins who might react to scented products.

This blush is very good however, you can build it up as you apply to take it to the level that you like. I'm new to blush so I'm always a little timid with it as there's a fine line between looking like an English rose and a clown! I'll certainly be adding this to my beauty routine more often as it gives the right level of warmth to the skin :-)

Coralista is £22.50.

Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner

I've never tried a cream eyeshadow before so decided to get hold of this when the MUA tried some on me to bring out the bluey greens in my eyes. I bought the shade Birthday Suit which is a lovely nude brown or as Benefit describe, a brushed chrome colour.

This stuff is very creamy and shimmery and feels very smooth as it goes on. I was a little worried that cream shadows might feel a little thick and heavy but not this one. It blends great and you can build it up from a sheer sweep of colour to a deeper wash of colour, or use it for contouring in the crease of your eye for added depths!

It mixes nicely with other eyeshadows so don't worry about blending. Plus it can double up as a fantastic eyeliner if you take an angled eyeshadow brush, run the edge of it through the cream shadow and then glide along the lash line for added wow!

I like this shade so much because it seems to be so versatile - it's most definitely a shade to be worn in the day, to work, or when built up and/or combined with other colours is perfect for a night on the tiles!

You can find this cream eyeshadow/liner for £13.00 from your local Benefit counter or on the Benefit website.

Image Sources
All images courtesy of Benefit