Top Five: Benefit

Benefit is basically what started my make-up obsession.  The first ever high-end product I bought was a liquid foundation called "Non-Fiction" many moons ago, and it has long since been discontinuted.  I was pretty obsessed with Benefit for a while; for a time it was all I'd wear on my face.  And while I've since branched out and tried (and quite often preferred) other brands, I still find myself getting excited about new products (I personally can't wait for Gimme Brow to hit the UK!) and going back to old favourites.  I've tried many a Benefit product over the years, but if I had to whittle it down to five favourites, this is what I'd choose.

1. Benetint

Benetint is a rose-tinted lip and cheek stain and is one of Benefit's oldest products. My lips are naturally quite pale, so I love using this under my lipstick to give an extra hint of colour, then when my lipstick wears off, I don't look like I'm at deaths door! You can also skip the lipstick, but Benetint can be quite drying so I'd recommend a bit of lip balm over the top.  It also adds a lovely flush of colour to the cheeks, but needs to be blended quite fast to stop it going streaky.  Personally I prefer Benefit's Cha Cha Tint on my cheeks.  This is just a miniature bottle I got in a gift set; my full size bottle ran out a long time ago and I never bothered to replace it.  However this sample size has made me fall back in love with it and I'm very tempted to get another full size again when this runs out.

 2. Porefessional

Primers were something I'd neglected until I got a sample of this free with Glamour magazine back in 2012.  I then managed to acquire another sample size, before finally purchasing the full size late last year.  I don't use it on an every day basis, but for special occasions or when I just want to take a bit more time to do my make up, I'll reach for this.  It really does help my foundation go on easier and helps it to last all day.  Plus you only need a small amount so I can see this tube lasting a long time.

3. Brow Zings

My eyebrows are the bane of my life.  They're so thing and sparse, and are almost invisible in photos if I don't do anything with them.  Brow Zings contains a wax which keeps your brows in place, a powder to fill in any gaps, as well as a couple of miniature brushes and tweezers which are great for on the go.  With my brows been naturally so non-existent(!) I'm always wary that brow products will make them to dark and prominent, which would just look really false on me.  However, Brow Zings keeps my brows looking natural, but noticeable, and ensures they frame my face, helping my make up to look even better. 

4. Hoola

As well as my pale lips and non-existent eyebrows, I'm also pretty fair skinned and definitely need a bit of bronzer to perk my skin up, especially in winter.  Hoola is a completely matte bronzer, which makes it brilliant for contouring; I tend to use it all over my face making a "3" shape, concentrating a little more under my cheekbones for a contoured, but subtle look.

 5. Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners

These two in particular are miniature versions from my World Famous Neutrals set.  I also have several full size ones and I absolutely love them.  They're so versatile; they can be used as a base for your powder shadows to intensify the colour and make it last longer, or can be used simply on their own for a quick and easy eye look.  The darker shades also make brilliant eyeliners.  The only downside is they dry out quite easily, so it's important to keep them as tightly closed as you possibly can.

So that's it for my Top 5. it was a hard decision as I love so many Benefit products;  They're Real, High Beam and Coralista are also firm favourites of mine.  They may be a bit gimmicky sometimes, and the prices are very much on the expensive side, but I'm sure Benefit is a brand that I'll continue to use, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

What are your favourite Benefit products?

Benefit Stay Don't Stray

Eyeshadow primer is a must for me, without it my eyeshadows apply very unevenly, fades quickly and basically do everything a primer stops it from doing. For years I've used the infamous Urban Decay Primer Potion, but when my last tube ran out, I decided to try the  Benefit for a change.

As you can see, Stay Don't Stray (right) is slightly darker and thicker than UDPP

Benefit describe this as having a universally flattering shade.  Unlike the likes of UDPP this doesn't dry translucent on the skin, it actually applies almost like a nude cream eyeshadow.  This isn't an issue for me, and I've even just put this on my eyelids with no shadow over it.  It does a great job of hiding the discolouration on my eyelids and just evens them out a bit.  This and a bit of liquid liner & mascara and I've got a quick and easy eye look. I'm unsure if those with darker skin tones would prefer a primer that does dry translucent, although if it's going to be covered over with eyeshadow, it won't matter too much maybe! It is also slightly thicker in texture, and I seem to need a smaller 'dollop' than I would with UDPP. With eye shadow, it worked really well for me too, possibly better than UDPP.  Eight hours later my eye makeup was still intact and hard barely creased. Result!

Stay Don't Stray is a "dual action" primer, as it can also be used to help your concealer stay put longer.  To be honest, I felt it made no difference to my concealer.  I wasn't too bothered about this as I bought it purely to use as an eyeshadow primer.  But obviously I gave it a go under my concealers, but felt they did just as good a job on their own.  My go-to concealer at the moment is the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection, a liquid concealer, so maybe it'd work better with a cream concealer. But like I say, this wouldn't put me off buying this again as I didn't buy it for this purpose.

The major downfall of this product for me is the packaging.  Remember the old UDPP packaging with the genie bottle? And the You Tube videos that showed us how cutting the bottle in half would unleash more product than the wand could reach?!  Well Benefit have made a similar boo boo here. While the pump dispenser is hygienic, unless you are extremely careful, it dispenses too much product. WAY too much product.  Over time I've learned that you only need to press gently on the pump, and not push it all the way down.  This is easier said than done, especially if you're in a rush to get ready like I usually am and even doing this often gives you too much product.  I've possibly wasted more product than I've actually used, which when a product costs almost £20, it's not something you want to do!

 

As much as I love Benefit, and how much this works well for me, I'm not sure I'd repurchase this again, unless they changed the packaging.  It's a shame really, as the primer itself works better for me than UDPP, but £19.50 is a lot of money for me if half the product is going to waste.