Benefit were one of the first ‘high end’ makeup brands that I bought as a teenager. Back then, they seemed like such a cool brand who could do no wrong, with a wide range of interesting products and funky packaging. I feel like Benefit really paved the way for so many other makeup brands, in that they made it okay to be a little bit adventurous when it came to makeup.
Despite there being hundreds of brands now in competition with Benefit, this is one brand that I consistently go back to, and one that I know I can rely on. Some of my oldest and newest products come from Benefit, but it is their originals that remain my favourites today. I thought I would share with you what I believe to be Benefit’s star products; some old, some new.
Hoola – Bronzing Powder
Hoola bronzer was the first product I ever bought from Benefit and it remains a staple in my makeup bag today. This is hands down my favourite bronzer of all time. I am a bronzer fanatic and I have tried a LOT of different ones, but Hoola is the one that I go back to time after time. It is an award winning, cult product and is loved universally. I remember when I first tested Hoola in the store and I thought to myself that it looked far too dark for my skin. Well I was wrong, this little box of goodness works well for so many skin tones. I don’t know how they have made it work, but it just does! I will use Hoola on days where I only want a light sweep of bronzer, but at the same time it is dark enough to use as a contour shade. It is the perfect matte bronzer.
P.s I used to immediately throw out the mini brush that comes inside the box, but it is actually really useful for contouring and is a great little brush for travelling. Keep it!
High Beam – Luminescent Complexion Enhancer
Another oldie but a goodie is Benefit’s High Beam. Benefit were so ahead of the game when they came out with their little bottles of liquid highlighter. This was definitely the first highlighter I ever owned (I actually think it was Moon Beam at the time). I don’t even think I knew of any other highlighters, and I remember thinking that it was such a cool product because I had never seen anything like it before. I used to religiously dot this iridescent creamy goodness across the top of my cheekbones (over my foundation) and that’s still how I wear it today. Some days I will even just mix a little bit of it with my foundation for an overall glow. Despite the dozens and dozens of highlighters available on the market today, High Beam remains one of my favourites! It lasts forever as well. I have had mine so long that it has the old packaging!
Sun Beam – Golden Bronze Complexion Highlighter
Being a massive fan of High Beam, of course I was going to love Sun Beam when it came out too, and I do! It is more of a golden bronzed version of High Beam. I especially like to wear Sun Beam on days where I am not wearing too much makeup. It is perfect for a beach or pool day just to give a slight sun kissed glow.
Dandelion Shy Beam – Liquid Highlighter
Unlike High Beam and Sun Beam, Shy Beam is a matte liquid highlighter. This is the first product of its kind that I have ever come across, so I was immediately intrigued. As much as I love High Beam and Sun Beam, I think I might like Shy Beam that little bit better. This is SUCH an easy highlighter to wear, and that’s because it isn’t really a highlighter. It is more of a ‘brightener’ which is why I love it. Sometimes I don’t want to look like I have highlighted skin, but I always want to look like I have bright skin. This stuff is virtually undetectable when it is blended in but it works so well to make me look perkier and brighter. I use it in all of the same places that I use a normal highlighter
Ooh La Lift – Instant Under-Eye Brightening Boost
Ooh La Lift is a re-discovery for me. It is one of the first things I ever bought from Benefit and after years of not using it, I have recently fallen back in love with it. I love when that happens! It is a beautiful under eye brightener. I just put a couple of dots of this under my eyes (over makeup) and dab it in. Sometimes I like to dab a little bit of this on the inner corner of my eye for an extra little pop of brightness.
Dandelion – Brightening Face Powder
I have loved the Dandelion face powder for years, but as a blush rather than an overall powder. It gives the most natural flush of colour to my cheeks, so I absolutely love it for a natural makeup look. These boxed blushes last for so long too!
Dandelion Dew – Liquid Blush
I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Dandelion Dew. As I absolutely love Dandelion powder, when I saw that they had brought out a liquid version I was very happy. The product has a really nice mousse-like cream to powder finish, and the colour is a gorgeous pinky peach which gives such a natural flush of colour. The packaging of this product is so enticing but it is also a bit annoying to use. It has quite a stiff pump and I always end up pumping out too much, which I find so, so irritating. I also find this product a little difficult to blend. For me, it actually works best to use my fingertips and then go over the top with a beauty blender. It makes me work hard, but once it is blended in I absolutely love it.
Fine-One-One – Sheer Brightening Colour For Cheeks & Lips
When I first came across the Fine One One stick I thought it looked very interesting, but a little bit gimmicky. The stick contains three products and the idea is that it can give you a lift, shape and pop in one swipe. I can’t say that it works perfectly to do those three things, but I do really like applying the product to my cheeks and kind of blending all of the three colours together, instead of having a stripe of 3 individual colours. This way it results in a kind of dewy blush which I really love.
Posietint Poppy-Pink & Chachatint Mango – Tinted Lip & Cheek Stain’s
Benefit’s liquid blushes / cheek stains were also one of the first of their kind, and have become such recognisable products. I remember getting Benetint years ago – it definitely took me a while to figure out how to use it properly, but once I did, I loved it.
For me, Posietint and Chachatint are even better. They have a gel formula, which I find blends much easier on the skin that Benetint. They give gorgeous pink and peachy tints to the skin and last ALL DAY!! I sometimes love to mix High Beam with these cheek stains, and apply them as a two in one blush and highlight for a dewy flush of colour.
Posiebalm and Chachabalm – Hydrating Tinted Lip Balms
I am completely obsessed with these tinted lip balms. They are so, so moisturising and give just a sheer wash of colour. I must admit I was a bit sceptical as to whether or not these balms would actually work as ‘balms’, but they really do. There is nothing better than a great lip balm that also gives your lips a little hint of a tint. Posiebalm gives a rosie pink flush of colour, while Chachabalm gives more of an peachy orange colour. Not to mention that the packaging is so pretty, which is always a bonus for me!
Brows
Benefit have recently brought out a massive range of new brow products, which I have heard really good things about. I have used their ‘Gimmy Brow Volumizing Eyebrow Gel’ for years and I think it’s amazing, so I am looking forward to trying more from their brow range.
Let me know what your favourite Benefit products are or if you have tried any of the ones I have mentioned.
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