benefit – Lily Pebbles

Benefit The POREfessional Pro Balm Primer

lily — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Benefit The POREfessional £23.50*

This primer has been spoken about LOADS on blogs. Unlike a lot of people, I’m definitely a primer person and it’s a step I’d never miss out in my daily makeup routine – so I was desperate to try it. After trying it a few times on my hand at counters, I was unsure it would really work for me. I recommended it to a few friends who I thought it would work well for, but for me personally I usually prefer water based primers like the Laura Mercier one.

When the opportunity arose I jumped at the chance to try it as it really has such a hype around it. It’s described as a “silky, lightweight balm for translucent pore coverage and smoother-than-smooth skin”, so I was slightly surprised to see that it in fact has a slight tint of colour to it. The colour seems to disappear when you apply it, so it works for all skin colours. It feels slightly thicker than I’m used to so I just applied it to the centre of my face. The texture is quite strange; it feels silky and maybe slightly greasy but then as soon as you apply it, it disappears into the skin and completely smooths everything out.

It worked really well to keep my foundation in place and felt nice and lightweight on my skin. The price point is quite high at £23.50, but I currently spend £28 on my Laura Mercier primer so it doesn’t really bother me!

The POREfessional is available from Feel Unique with free worldwide delivery here. I think Benefit did pretty well with this and so far it seems to be a pretty popular product!

Have you tried this primer? What do you think of it? Do you use a primer??

Lily xx

Benefit Hello Flawless Liquid Foundation

lily — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:30:00 +0000

A few nights ago I went along to the launch of Benefit’s new liquid foundation ‘Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow’. I really can’t believe they’ve gone all this time without a staple liquid foundation, but it was worth the wait as the 3 years it took to create this foundation really shows in the quality and performance. The event was hosted on the 24th floor of Tower 42 with incredible views of London. The lovely Jasmine introduced us to the foundation and the head of makeup Lisa gave us a demonstration.

The foundation comes in 9 shades to match their popular Hello Flawless powder; 3 light, 3 medium and 3 dark with a mix of pinks and yellows. It retails for £24.50 and is available online and in store from 31st March. It also comes with a free sample of their primer ‘The Porefessional’, which is really useful if you haven’t yet tried it. The foundation is oil free and has spf 25 PA+++, which basically means it protects you from everything! I got matched with the colour “I’m so Money” Honey.

So how did I get on with it? I applied this at 6.30am with a buffing brush. I was worried that it would be too sheer but once it was buffed in, it was a light/medium coverage that looked really natural. It had a really nice dewy finish that wasn’t too dewy and didn’t require any powder to set it. The main thing that really impressed me about this foundation was that it lasted ALL day without any touch ups. I kept checking every couple of hours and my skin looked the same throughout the day. It also made my skin feel really soft and felt light and fresh, unlike many foundations I try.

The Benefit team were so lovely and so excited about the new product! They are currently touring around the UK showing off the new foundation and they are right to be so proud of it, it’s really great!

So will you be trying this new foundation? Are you a fan of Benefit?

Lily xx

Disclaimer: This foundation was given to me at the press event. My opinions are honest.

Benefit: Hervana blush

lily — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

So last week I ordered the new Benefit Hervana blusher. I’d seen loads of people talking about it and I was definitely interested in trying it. Then I saw Benefit tweet a code for free shipping and 2 free samples and I fell for it. This is exactly why I love Marketing, because I myself am a sucker for it. Despite the fact I live 2 minutes from a Benefit counter where I can try the blusher and but it free from shipping, I still thought ‘wow i’ve got to order it now!’.

I picked the ‘Hoola’ bronzer and the ‘Stay Don’t Stray’ eye primer as my two free samples and was genuinely excited to try them. I was really impressed with the gorgeous packaging that the products came in but was VERY disappointed with the samples. When I went to try the bronzer there was literally no product there. It looked brown, but no matter how hard I rubbed my finger on it, or a brush, nothing would come off. Really pissed me off.

Anyway.. onto the blusher!

The blusher is a mix of 4 colours; a champagne, a beige, a pink and a purple. Swished all together and it gives a cool flushed look. It is supposed to make you look angelic (the name meaning Her Nervana). At first I was worried it looked too cool for me and slightly too purple, but I actually quite like it and it makes a nice change from my usual pinks. It costs £23.50 and I know from my other benefit blushers that they last for ages… I’ve had one of mine for years (gross).

For this blusher, like the Bella Bamba, they have used to the new packaging with the lid magnetically attached. Its opens up and has a mirror inside which is really nice. Sorry to be controversial, but I MUCH prefer the old packaging. If you look at the photo below you will see the old packaging on my Coralista blusher. As you can see I always use the lid to swirl my brush around in before applying the blusher. This is not only a habit, but it really helps achieve a natural look without having to brush it all over the back of your hand. Bring back the old packaging I say!

What do you think of Hervana? Have you tried it yet?

Lily xx

Disclaimer: This was bought with my own money.