Benefit's 'How To Look The Best At Everything'

This is just going to be a quick one, as its been sat in my 'To review' folder for a while now and I just really want to get it out there! Although I love buying individual products and creating my own makeup 'style', the inner lazy girl in me cannot resist a complete kit of essentials and an idiot-proof instruction manual to go with it. How To Look The Best At Everything* is one of the newest beauty kits from Benefit, and contains everything you need to maintain a flawless complexion.

Packaged as an old-fashioned how-to book, the kit comes in three different shades - light, medium and dark. I was given the medium, therefore some of the shades are a tad too dark, so i'm not going to an in-depth review on the products themselves - just a general overview:

The kit contains the following products:

•  The POREfessional - Primer
• Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow - Liquid Foundation
• Boi-ing x2 (A lighter and then slightly darker shade) - Concealer
• "Hello Flawless!" - Powder

This is such a great little kit, containing both full-sized and travel products. As i've said before, I really enjoy being basically spoon-fed products that guarantee results (Not too much to ask, right?), and this collection of products is everything you need. I wear POREfessional practically every day, even when i'm not wearing makeup at all. I love that Boi-ing is described as 'industrial strength' concealer, as it easily conceals under-eye shadows or any blemishes with ease without creasing. I enjoy the light coverage of the liquid foundation, and the complimenting powder really does make your skin look flawless and healthy. The only fault I have with this kit is the quality of the powder brush as I have found it doesn't distribute powder very evenly and I find that because it's flat its very fiddly to use. However, due to size constraints, it's understandable and overall a really handy kit .

Be sure to get matched for your individual Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow shade, as each of these kits comes with one specific shade (The foundation actually comes in 9 shades!), and I would hate for you to be disappointed. For £24.50 you can get your hands on four of Benefit's most popular products, achieving a flawless complexion with ease, using the 'Tips and Tricks' fold-out instruction booklet on the inside of the box. Enjoy!

You can purchase 'How To Look The Best At Everything' at your local Benefit counter for £24.50, or online here.

Benefit's 'She's so... Jetset!'

First of all, I want to apologise for my absence. I've been going through some personal things, amoungst moving back home for Christmas from University and going on holiday for my birthday (I will be sure to do a post later on!), so i've been extremely busy. However, i'm now home and have made sure I will get this blog back on track as we move into 2013!

With my holiday fast approaching along with my 21st, my friends thought it was fitting to give me an amazing travel-themed giftset from Benefit - 'She's so...Jetset!'*. This is one of their limited edition Christmas sets and I feel really fortunate to have amazing friends that understand just how excited I get over these things!

 

 (Sorry for the bad sizing of the images, can't seem to suss it out!)

'She's so... Jetset!' is a compilation of Benefit goodies in convenient travel sizes. Perfect for girls on the go, this kit is everything you need to stay vibrant and fresh-faced during your travels. I love the vintage feel of the box, complete with air-stewardesses and little planes dotted around the edges. The kit contains:

• The POREfessional - Primer (7.5ml)
• Eyeshadow Pallette - 'Champagne Please', 'Gold Card', 'Pretty in Mink', 'Elegant Expresso'
• 'First-Class face powder' - Blush and highlighter combination
• They're Real! - Mascara (4g)
• 'Life on the A-List' - Lip gloss
• Double-ended applicator
• Powder brush
• Instructions

Shocking how much can fit in such a small space! I've linked in previous reviews and will review the remaining items in-depth in a separate post, i'm just wanting to give a general overview! The 'in-flight instructions allow quick application, and give hints to achieve amazing results (For example, tilting your head back to easily find the crease in your eyelid - may seem a simple one, but you'd be surprised how many people fail to find it properly!) along with instructions to go from day to night with the eyeshadow palette. Unfortunately, being a blogger I didn't have time to photograph it in time to be able to take it on holiday with me, but as i'm constantly travelling this little kit is going to fit snugly in my handbag and with the enclosed mirror I can apply frequent touch-ups!

The set is quite pricey at £29.50, but any Benefit user will know that this is a standard price for them. With the travel-sized 'They're Real!' being approximately £13 on its own, its understandable. The POREfessional is easily one of my staple products, and the lip glosses are of high-quality and achieve fantastic pigmentation. This shade will be perfect for the day-time, allowing an natural look that is essentially effortless!

Overall this is a great little gift for anyone whose going away in the new year, or spends more time on a train than they do in their house (Yes, that's me!) - a great combination of high quality products that's bound to score you major brownie points at Christmas!

You can purchase 'She's so...Jetset!' from your local Benefit counter or online here.

Benefit's 'Stay Don't Stray' vs. Urban Decay's 'Primer Potion'

If you're going to indulge on a new item for your makeup bag, be sure that it's a primer. A slightly dull purchase, I know, but trust me.

I may have said this before, but i'll say it again - think of a primer as a base coat for your face. That sounds wierd, but a good base coat ensures that nail polish effectively sticks to the nail, fills in any lines for a smoother finish and helps protect the skin. This applies to primers; it fills in fine lines to give the appearances of smoother skin, it eliminates the need for frequent touch-ups, and allows makeup to glide onto your face with ease (which essentially means you use less product - meaning it's also quite cost effective!). However, there aren't just primers for foundation, primers for eye makeup are equally as important, ensuring that your shadow has that 'freshly applied' look right until removal at the end of the day.

Primers aren't the most glamorous of products, but they should be a staple in every girls makeup kit.
Therefore, I have chosen to compare two best-selling eyeshadow primers to see what one comes out on top:


"Stay Don't Stray"
This top-seller from my personal favourite brand Benefit doubles as an eyeshadow AND concealer primer. It promises to keep concealers from creasing, and shadows stay "vibrant and true". It already has a celebrity following (Such as Pretty Little Liars' Ashley Benson) and comes in a neutral shade that adapts to every skin tone.

The primer comes in a 10ml tube with a custom airless pump. It's a compact size meaning it would fit easily in your bag, with a removable cap.

What's good about it...
It holds my makeup for the entire day. Also, the idea that it doubles up as a concealer primer makes it seem like you're getting more for your money. I'm usually not a fan of multi-use products as I feel that they concentrate more on being a mediocre product for all instead of a great product for a single use, but this is great.

What's bad about it...
The pump! It claims to be custom made to ensure that only a tiny amount is distributed, and the instructions on the Benefit website say that the pump needs to be pushed 'gently', however this is simply not an option. The pump is quite stiff, and it distributes far too much product meaning that a lot of it is wasted. The diagram on the packaging illustrates that only 6 tiny dots are needed, and the amount that is distributed is enough for maybe 3 or 4 applications! It is also priced at a whopping £19.50, which I believe is a bit overpriced as you're wasting over half of the product.



Primer Potion
Awarded a 'Highly Commended' in the 2012 Beauty Club Awards, Urban Decay's primer potion is a well known product in the beauty industry and is used by makeup artists and beauty lovers alike. Promising that eyeshadow will remain crease-free, the primer comes in a neutral nude that's slightly lighter than 'Stay Don't Stray'.

The primer that I have is actually travel sized, and was included as a bonus product with their legendary Naked palette, meaning that the size is much smaller and it has a wand for easy application that isn't featured on the original product. The original product is 11ml, and comes in a squeezy tube with a super-thin needle nose tip to ensure that you don't waste any of the product.

What's good about it..
Right from application at 8am up until I removed my makeup at 8pm my eyeshadow stayed put. Towards the end of the day I start getting a bit sleepy and carelessly rub my eyes, and when everything else smudges my eyeshadow stays strong. I also like the applicator wand on the travel sized bottle as it allows the product to be distributed sparingly and evenly without having to use your fingertips (I have a thing about using my hands to apply products - it's almost OCD!), and the thin nozzle applicator on the original product is great for avoiding wastage. I also like that it is priced at £14.50, which I believe is a reasonable price for the results it delivers.

What's bad about it...
Honestly, there isn't lot I can say about this product. The only negative I would say is that it woud really have an edge over other primers if the wand was kept instead of the nozzle, as it was a surprise that the packaging and applicator was completely different on both sizes.

The Verdict
They both do the job well, however due to distribution and the actual cost of the product the Urban Decay 'Primer Potion' is the favourite. Benefit have perfected the product, but the packaging needs a bit of work, where as you get more for your money with the Primer Potion - not just by using less due to effective dispensing of the product, but you get 1ml more primer for £5 less.

Which one is your favourite? Or is there another eyeshadow primer that you think beats them both?

Review: Fix & Perfect Pro Primer from Rimmel London

For anyone who knows me well, they will tell you that regardless of my student status I don't skimp on the finer things that I enjoy, such as makeup and Topshop clothing! However, ever since running out of my Benefit Porefessional primer, i've been on the hunt for a less expensive alternative, as I wanted to know if there was such a primer that would exceed my high expectations without the price tag.

I don't really know what attracted me to Rimmel London's Fix & Perfect Primer. Maybe it was that it only cost £6, or that it was the only bright one bottle on a shelf of liquid foundation bottles. Either way, I bought it!

The foundation promises to pro-long foundation, as well as 5-in-1 results, all in a small 30ml bottle. Seems a bit much, doesn't it?

This primer had a creamier consistency, and blended really easily into my skin. You only need the small amount pictured to cover your face, which means the 30ml bottle is definitely enough to last a long time! As critical as I was about the promises it makes, this really is a great foundation. Although it doesn't say that it's suitable for a particular skin type, it's great for oily skin as it gives just the right amount of moisture to the face. The skin is smooth, and looks brighter and healthier. It feels like your putting a protective layer between your skin and your foundation, and makes it stick so there's no need to touch up throughout the day!

As much as I am a lover of all things Benefit, I definitely prefer this primer to Porefessional. It's only a fraction of the price, and this feels like it's actually helping my skin, as oppose to just putting another layer of makeup onto it before the foundation. I do love them both, but this is going to be my go-to foundation from now on!

You can purchase the Fix & Perfect Pro Primer from your local Rimmel counter (Boots and Superdrug are definite sellers of Rimmel London!), or online here.