benefit

The Benefit Brow Contour Pro 4-in-1 Defining & Highlighting Brow Pencils Will Take You From “No” Brows to “WHOA!” Brows in Seconds

October 11th, 2018 by Karen 9 Comments

I gotta say, I wasn’t sure what to do with these Benefit Brow Contour Pro 4-in-1 Defining & Highlighting Brow Pencils at first… Do I fill in my brows with them? Or do I furiously take organic chemistry notes? — because back in college those four-color click pens were all the rage in my science classes, and we used to joke that the faster you clicked your pen, the more desperate you were to get into med school, ha ha!

So, about these, I appreciate that Benefit calls them “Pro” because I feel like you gotta be a professional brow person to really appreciate them.

Why?

Because they’re 1) very pigmented and 2) very soft, which can be either a lethal or a pleasant combination, depending on your level of brow game. Like, if you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with severe, blocky brows.

“Define & highlight your brows with this 4-in-1 contour pencil. Our multi-tasking brow pencil features a lighter brow shade, deeper brow shade, edge definer and arch highlighter to create clean, shaped brows with depth & dimension. Turn shapeless, flat brows into defined, contoured brows in an instant. Available in 5 shades for a wide range of hair colors and skin tones!”

Easy brow contouring

4-in-1 brow pencil

Blendable formula

24-hour longwear and waterproof

— benefitcosmetics.com

[Continue reading…]

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation Has Potent Pore-Pleasing Power

June 19th, 2018 by Karen 6 Comments

Things that make me happy:

Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake
Lifting heavy weights
Cats (obvs)
Sleeping in
Hearing Connor say her name for the first time (“Cah-nah”)
The happy heart eyes on these Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation bottles

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation ($29, 12 shades)

I like this lightweight matte liquid foundation primarily for its pore-blurring prowess and SPF 15, and as long as I only blend the tiniest amount on my combo dry/oily skin — literally, just a few drops! If I use any more than two or three drops on each cheek, and yes, YOU KNOW I COUNTED THEM, it looks pretty obvious.

“Hello YOU! This lightweight foundation evens out skintone and blurs imperfections with soft-focus optical blurring spheres. With a natural-matte finish and light-to-medium coverage, it looks like skin and feels like nothing at all. Happy looks good on you!”

— benefitcosmetics.com

Use a few drops, a few gentle taps with your fingers or a damp beautyblender (don’t rub, lest it pill up), and poof! — homegirl be like WHAT PORES? Of course, my pores aren’t completely vanquished, because this is light-medium coverage makeup, not magic (although, one could make the case that makeup IS a form of magic, but that’s another discussion for another time), but still, the difference is significant enough to make me go DAYUM! — I see you Benefit. I see you. 😉

benefit hello happy swatches — For reference, I’m a MAC NC42, and I wear shade 6 (I could probably also go with 7 as well).

[Continue reading…]

Prospecting Ain’t Easy: Benefit Gold Rush Blush Takes Work

March 28th, 2018 by Karen 24 Comments

benefit gold rush blush pacaging — The newest boxed blush by Benefit

Girl, I used to wear shoes like the pair on this box of Benefit Gold Rush Blush, and I’d be able to run in them, too!

Ah, memories of my former taller life… And by “taller,” I mean 5 feet 5 inches tall in 4-inch ? heels.

(In my mind, I’m a 5-foot-8-inch Glamazon, LOL!)

OK, enough rambling. 🙂 Benefit Gold Rush, their latest box o’ blush, just arrived on counters in two sizes, a full-size 0.17-oz. version for $29, and a smaller 0.08-oz. mini for $15. Both are peachy pink with big baddie gold flecks.

That top layer of golden shimmer is an overspray, but there’s also glitter within the peachy pink powder itself. So you won’t be hurtin’ for glitter with Gold Rush. That’s all I’m sayin’.

benefit gold rush blush pan — Yes, that’s an overspray, but there’s also glitter within!

You also won’t be hurtin’ if you’ve been looking your whole life for a HEAVILY scented blush that’s strong enough to pass for a perfume, because this one can.

All of Benefit’s boxes o’ blush are scented (I believe), but this is the strongest one. Definitely the strongest I can recall. I get strong sandalwood and sugar notes, and it’s also supposed to have citrus and vanilla, but I don’t detect those at all.

So, I actually like quite a few perfume-y powders, like Guerlain and Chanel bronzers, and I totes don’t mind smelling like a Nordstrom fragrance counter when I wear them, but Gold Rush is a tad too sweet for my taste. I think it’s cloying, like it belongs in a hot pink body spray with neon star-shaped glitter, but you know how it is with scented products. Just because I’m not a fan doesn’t mean you won’t love it.

benefit gold rush blush swatch — Look closely, because the swatch is there, man!

[Continue reading…]

The Benefit Dandelion Collection for Spring 2016: Pretty in Pink

March 24th, 2016 by Anna Oh 27 Comments

Hi, everyone!

As one of the prettiest (in my opinion) collections of spring 2016, the Benefit Dandelion Collection is an expansion of Benefit’s bestselling Dandelion Brightening Finishing Powder ($29), with the new Dandelion Shy Beam Liquid Highlighter ($26) and Dandelion Dew Liquid Blush ($28).

This is a small and concise collection with every product layering on top of each other to create a beautiful and brightening flush.

benefit dandelion collection shy beam dandelion dew — Benefit Spring 2016 Dandelion Collection

benefit dandelion collection dandelion box powder — Benefit Dandelion Powder

[Continue reading…]

The New Benefit Hoola Spring 2016 Collection

February 29th, 2016 by Jen Clark 47 Comments

It’s official! You can now literally smother Benefit Hoola all over your bod without going through an entire pan of bronzer.

You haven’t done that? Oh, just me?

They’ve expanded on the crazy popular Hoola bronzer by adding a liquid bronzer called “Dew The Hoola”. Aw, super cute! They’ve also come out with an all-over body bronzer called “Zero Tan Lines”. Last, but most definitely not least, the cutest bronzing brush with blue hairs on a handle made of golden bamboo. The collection officially releases on February 26th.

This release was an answer to my prayers because this has to be my palest winter yet. I have to (get to) look at my Hawaiian husband and son’s golden tans year round, and I start to feel pretty bad for myself come February, so I slathered myself in all things Hoola in a desperate attempt to pretend that I just came back from Hawaii.

Let me tell you what I thought.

Dew The Hoola is meant to be a liquid version of the famous Hoola powder bronzer, which is a beautiful cool brown shade that looks like an actual tan on your face. I think that’s why it’s been so popular, because it looks so natural compared to so many of its orange competitors.

I have to admit that I was pretty disappointed the first time I pumped out the bright orange liquid, because it wasn’t at all what I expected. But still, I pressed onward and applied it to the hollows of my cheeks, around the perimeter of my face, and on my nose and chin. Then I blended it in with a damp Beauty Blender. I also tried it with a fluffy face brush, but it didn’t blend out nearly as well.

As soon as it was all blended in, it ended up looking…not too bad. I really like the consistency and workability of the liquid, but I think the color is off for me.

[Continue reading…]