Benefit Coralista and Mememe Comparison

I was lucky enough to get the Benefit Some Beauty To Love gift set for Christmas. It contains a little Bad Gal mascara, That Gal Primer, Eye Bright (which I already have so I’m not sure what to do with this one) and full sized Coralista boxed blush. Cute isn’t it?

I’ve wanted this for so long but at £23.50, even for a whopping 12g of product, it just wasn’t a spend I could justify. I believe this set cost just under £30 making it the bargain of the century! I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled next Christmas to see if they do the same with any of the other shades. Anyway to the actual product. The brush is soft etc but so thin and flimsy that it went straight in the bin. The first thing I noticed was the scent. It smells sweet, a little bit like those love heart sweets. I know a lot of people love it but I find it a little sickly. It doesn’t linger though so it’s not a problem.

I thought it might be interesting to compare it with Benefit wannabe – Mememe boxed blush in Rouge. These cost £8.50 though you get a bit less product at 8g. I have never ever finished a blush though so the Mememe option is definitely a more purse friendly choice (I have done a full review of it if you are interested). It has the same style of packaging although it has a mirror in the lid which the Benefit doesn’t. In the pan they look similar, Rouge perhaps looks slightly darker and pinker. My lighting was giving me all kinds of hell. The actual colour is somewhere between the flash and no flash pictures though I think the swatch pic looks pretty true to colour. Benefit is always on the left, Mememe on the right. 

In the swatches they looks totally different. Coralista is much lighter and more shimmery. It looks less coral to me too. I will say that I feel Coralista blends ever so slightly easier on the cheeks. Clearly there is no dupe here which is in my opinion a good thing. I like the fact that Mememe are giving us a cheaper alternative but if they were blatantly copying exact shades I think it would be more than a little cheeky given how many other Benefit dupes they already have (e.g. their versions of Benetint and the highlighters). 

I would like to get the Mememe Coral blush and Benefit Georgia next but unless I win the lottery I know which one I’ll be picking up first! X

*Mememe Rouge was purchased by me, Coralista was a gift from a family member*

For my fellow pasty faced readers: A pale foundation run down

I was recently asked what foundation I recommend for the truly pale amongst us. I’m pretty pale. Not Nicola Roberts pale (how I envy her porcelain skin!) but palest shade in every foundation range pale. I also have neutral undertones just for reference. This is just a brief rundown of the bases that I currently own ranked in order of palest to darkest. All are the palest shade the brand in question offers so hopefully this might help out some people who often find that brands just don’t cater to them. Please bear in mind that I find it very hard to tell how cool/ warm something is because a.) I’m neutral so most things look ok on me and b.) I’m pretty useless...

Palest for me is the L'Oreal Infallible foundation in the shade 015 Porcelain. During the summer this is slightly to pale even for me. I find this to be very pink toned too. If you’re cool toned and pale I’d recommend checking it out. 

Revlon Colorstay (I have the combination/ oily version) in 110 Ivory. I find this to be more neutral on me though it’s kind of hard to tell when you are neutral to start off with... again during summer this can sometimes look a little too light but in winter it’s a dead on match for my skin. 

Next is the Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation in 04 Light Porcelain (I have a sneaking suspicion they may have come out with a lighter shade since I bought this though don’t quote me on that). I find this pretty neutral, if anything just a smidgen pink. It’s a good in between seasons shade for me though I do not recommend this foundation if you have oily skin as I find it can leave me looking a bit waxy at times. You know, like a madam Toussauds.

Then we have the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in shade 1.0. I will probably get away with this shade in the winter providing I use a light powder to set it. I think this is slightly yellow toned but not overly so. It suits my neutral skin very well. 

Ah Clinique Superbalanced. I love your natural finish. I love the way you sooth my dry bits without exacerbating my oil slick nose. I hate the fact that you are now going to the back of the drawer until the sun returns next spring/ summer. Shade 27 Alabaster N (which I’m assuming stands for neutral) is fairly pale but if you are MAC NW15, which apparently I am in winter (ish...  long story), this will probably be a touch too dark and a touch too yellow for you. In summer it’s my perfect colour though. If only it lasted a little longer!

Benefit You Rebel Lite. Used sparingly and blended well I find it looks pretty good on me. Over applied and I see hints of Tango hues starting to appear. It’s handy right now but I worry that in the depths of winter even the Lite (it’s light damn it) version is going to be a bit deep. Why oh why Benefit do you think that the entire world population only comes in two shades? One size fits all is ok for scarves. It is not ok for skin tones!

For reference I don’t currently own any but I know that Rimmel and Chanel do not make any foundation pale enough for me. Both brands have left me looking like I’ve been Ronseal’d in the past. It’s a shame because I’m sure they both make fab foundations but the colour ranges apparently weren’t designed with porcelain skin in mind. 

Which is my favourite foundation? Honestly I couldn’t say. I like them all for different things. If I was told I could only wear one of these for the rest of my life I’d probably say the Double Wear Light but I’d sorely miss the other. Except the Maybelline. I’ve almost finished it thank goodness and I will not be sorry to toss that sucker in the bin... x

*I bought all these myself because I’m a naughty makeup addict and yes I know I have too much foundation....*

Benefit High Beam and Posie Tint

Months and months ago there were some Benefit Freebies being given away with a magazine. Why has it taken me so long to review them? Honestly it’s because I never use them. I have reviewed their Moon Beam highlighter here http://eyeliningobsessions.blogspot.com/2010/05/benefit-moonbeam.html and I use it frequently but I’m so glad that these are freebies and not products I spent actual money on. Here they are pictured with the full sized Moon Beam.

Now I know that plenty of people swear by these but hear me out. Moon Beam, a liquid highlighter with a warm pink/ gold pearl just works better on my skin tone than High Beam does. High beam applies beautifully, lasts well, can be mixed into foundation for a dewy finish. The end result though is a pale, icy pink highlight that doesn’t quite work for me. I’d still recommend the product, just pick the shade that will work for you.

I’m afraid to say that I do find Poppie Tint to be a total let down for me. It is a lip and cheek stain and the gorgeous bright pink looks fab in the swatch. Sadly I have a hard time getting it to show up on my cheeks (if you layer it too much the edges become really obvious) and it doesn’t show up at all on my lips. Add to that the nasty alcohol type scent and it’s pretty clear that I won’t be getting a lot of use out of this. But then I suppose I’m biased as I’m not a massive fan of stains anyway.

I think I will stick to Moon Beam, thank goodness for freebies! 

Benefit You Rebel Lite

I have a confession to make. I can’t leave the house without makeup. Well, I could if it was on fire. But failing that my confidence sans slap is none existent. The last three times I did venture out the door bare faced someone asked if I was ill whish may well have something to do with the confidence crisis. That said I don’t necessarily want to be smothering my skin 7 days of the week so I decided to pick up a tinted moisturiser for the weekends. 

Enter Benefit You Rebel. Once upon a time this only came in one shade which was totally unflattering on those of us with a corpse like complexion. Then the Benebabes noticed that the pasty faced patrons were backing away from the mirror in horror when they saw the tangerine complexion created by their ‘one shade fits all’ product. You will see in the swatch that this still looks a little frightening. It is a very thick cream that initially looks a bit dark for me (I was recently matched to NW15 at MAC but that’s another story) but don’t be frightened. It blends away to a very light coverage and doesn’t leave me looking orange at all. It does just enough to even out my skin tone and with a bit of concealer on problem areas I feel ready to brave the outside world. Needless to say, if you want lots of coverage this won’t be for you. 

The packaging is pretty nondescript. It’s a metal squeezey tube in a rather fetching shade of beige. The blurb on the tube tells us that this is a ‘defiantly different tinted moisturizer’ but doesn’t tell us what makes it different... It’s just a tinted moisturizer albeit a rather nice one. 

For my combination/ oily skin this is all the moisturizer I need during the day. I do use a powder still to take down the shine but a plus point of the coverage being so subtle is that you don’t really notice as it starts to fade off after a few (about 5 for me) hours. My sensitive skin hasn’t reacted to it in any way either. I have noticed a slight scent to it. It’s kind of a fresh, sunscreen type of fragrance. IT’s not overpowering but it does linger for a while so it scents bother you do sniff before purchasing. It contains SPF15 too meaning I can slap it on without faffing about with sunscreen or moisturizer before hand and just get on with my weekend.

At £21.50 for 50ml of product it isn’t exactly cheap. I could see myself using it up pretty quickly too if I were to use it every day. For me though it does the trick and I am glad they came out with this lighter shade. I won’t say I’ll be repurchasing straight away, too many other tinted moisturizers to try first, but it future I may well do so xx

*I bought this*

Sephora Cash for Clunkers Haul

Sephora Cash for Clunkers is the store's most recent promotion, offering $10 off a $50 purchase (in store only) if you brought in 5 cosmetics to be recycled. I brought in 5 recent GWP items and didn't have a problem redeeming the offer, so I'm assuming minis are just fine. Here is what I picked up:

• Kevyn Aucoin The Eyelash Curler ($20)- my beloved Tarte curler (whose virtues I extolled here) broke this morning for the second time and after reading numerous raves for the Kevyn, I'm trying it out.
• Korres Mango Butter Lipstick ($18) in Natural Purple- the name sounds oxmoronic. This is a sheer, moisturizing lipstick in a sheer plummy my-lips-but-better shade. I was debating between this shade and Rose (another poor color description. It's actually a warm pinky peach) but I don't think I have another shade like this in my collection. Okay, who am I kidding. Of course I do. But I have fewer plummy berry colors than I do pinky peaches.
• Benefit Cosmetics Velvet Eyeshadow in Fawn Over You ($18)- this is a dark taupey beige with a polished shimmer in the most silky smooth, well, velvety formulation.

I also scored a large .5 oz Lancome Genefique Sample as my Beauty Insider gift. I'm curious to see if it lives up to the hype.

Post Purge: The Carnage

So I think it's time to admit that you have a makeup addiction when your 'to toss' pile becomes larger than most people's collections. I went through my stash and tried to be as ruthless as possible in attempt to declutter and, undoubtedly, make room for new makeup! Yes, there's Armani in there. And Becca. And Chanel. And Julie Hewett. Like I said, I was trying to be ruthless!
What I've learned:

• I should never buy drugstore makeup. Almost every drugstore item I had ended up getting trashed. I'm not sure if it's because I couldn't try the items beforehand and so they weren't quite perfect, or if they just seemed expendable to be because they cost less and I had an easier time letting go. Either way, it's money wasted since the products are headed to the garbage. No more CVS "cheap fixes" trips now matter how much Allure lauds an item or how long the wait is at the pharmacy counter.
• No more buying makeup because it's on sale. When Sephora cleared out Becca I bought a ridiculous amount of product. As in I went to 4 separate Sephoras and could have opened my own Becca counter afterward. Many of the items were tossed long ago, but some remained taking up space, collecting dust because I thought they'd come in useful some rainy day or just couldn't bare to throw them out because they were such a "great deal." Their day has come. Bye bye opalescent liquid with sunscreen. So long gray-green face shimmer! That Armani blush and eye shadow you see? Sale buys. Ditto the Julie Hewett.
  
• Just because the product looks great on an airbrushed model in a magazine or a color is heralded as the "next big thing" does not mean that they are right for me. Sure the fuchsia Chanel lipstick looked great in Elle, but the model was 17 with flawless skin and the shade was airbrushed to be just right. If the credits were even being honest about what product was actually used. And those vampy berry lipsticks I'm getting rid of? NOT for very full lips! My lips entered a room 10 seconds before I did!
  
• No more minerals. I went through a Bare Escentuals phase because their Upper East Side boutique was so tempting! Hundreds of pots of open sparkly color! Free pastries on Sunday! I amassed an embarrassing number of the aforementioned sparkly pots of color, and they sat untouched. I decided to decant them into stackable containers thinking I'd be more inclined to use them if they were more accessible. I wasn't. I didn't. They are beautiful but so messy, especially when I'm trying to get ready for work and haven't had caffeine yet!
• And finally--and I realize this is probably sacrilege--I just don't use Gift with Purchase (GWP) items. I'm sure Estee Lauder just rolled over in her grave. The bag would have 5 more GWP items in it if I hadn't used them for Sephora's Cash for Clunkers today. The Benefit Creaseless Cream and Lipstick were Sephora gifts with purchase. I never would have chosen those shades if I had to pay for them, and haven't opted to wear them since they arrived. Let's not even talk about the products I purchased that I didn't need just to qualify for GWPs filled with products I never use!
  

Have you purged lately? What are you getting rid of? Have you learned anything through the process? Share your epiphanies!

Benefit BadGal Lash Mascara (in Black)

Yes I know no one is interested in this anymore because everyone is going nuts over They’re Real but this sample has been waiting for some love for a while. This costs £16.50 for the full size so it’s not exactly a bargain and claims to be ‘like an instant set of false lashes’ (bollocks). It is one of my favourite mascaras but it’s a bit of a love hate relationship.

It gives great separation and length and doesn’t flake or smudge on me despite not being waterproof. There isn’t too much in the way of volume but that isn’t a problem for me.  It looks great in my opinion and can be built up in several layers without going clumpy.

The problem? The wand. Bigger is not always better ladies and gents! I sometimes wonder if these marketing types think that we are all simple. A big wand doesn’t mean big lashes, that’s really down to the formula and the bristles. A big wand just means that people like me with ickle piggy eyes end up with mascara all over our hooded lids. It’s a pain to use.

So Benefit BadGal. Great mascara, pain in the arse wand. Thoughts? X

*Received as part of a gift set from a family member* 

Benefit – The Porefessional

I love primers. They can make all the difference between a bad skin day and a great skin day. I picked this up in my last (and I really do mean LAST) trip to a Benefit counter. For £23.50 you get 22ml of product. According to the website:

Why we love it:Quickly minimize the appearance of pores! Apply this silky, lightweight balm for translucent pore coverage and smoother-than-smooth skin. Pores... now you see 'em, now you don't!What else you need to know:- Lesson included!
- Oil-free for a silky smooth finish.

The tube seems teeny tiny at first but a little goes a very long way. It’s a slightly beige silicone feeling cream which is very, very thick. It feels very silky to the touch and doesn’t pill up if you accidentally apply too much. Does it make your pores magically disappear? Well it’s no substitute for a good session with photoshop but yes I do think my skin looks a fair bit smoother and pore free when I use this. Not totally poreless mind you but it does the job better than any other primer I have at the moment.

Whilst it creates a nice , smooth base for your foundation it don’t find that it keeps my makeup in place longer than any other primer, for example GOSH Velvet Touch (Which is almost £10 cheaper...). Though the box does day that you can pat it on top of any shine that appears throughout the day I personally would rather just blot the excess oil away than add more product on top of it. I still get oily by midday.

In terms of oil control and staying power this is average. Where it does excel for me is in minimising pores. It does do a fab job at this. I’m going to wait and see how long this little tube lasts me before I consider whether it’s actually worth the rather steep price. As of yet I’m not sure I’d repurchase and if I were to I’d definitely do it online so I wouldn’t have to face the Benebabes again.

*I bought this myself*

Benefit Powderflage

I hear rumours that this was being discontinued but It’s still on the Benefit website. I bought this a while ago at an outlet store for about £10 (it usually retails for £19.50 for 3.2g)and haven’t seen it in Boots recently so I’m unsure if it is still being made but it’s still very easy to find online. The Benefit website claims that this is

“light-diffusing powder concealer for under eyes & face”

Er... no? It is a pale, pinkish powder that goes on rather translucent. It provides pretty much zero coverage. The first ingredient listed is talc too so not exactly a premium product. It does however contain silica and here is where it starts to get interesting.

I am very long sighted and even with my glasses on frequently squint when I’m reading things. This + layers of concealer attempting to hide my under eye luggage = creasing. If I set my under eye concealer with a regular powder it gets cakey too which is not sexy. Someone suggested setting it with powderflage. They told me that the silica would stop it settling in the lines made when I’m squinting and do you know what? They were right. I now use this daily to set my concealer and I love it!


The little brush is worse than useless. It’s scratchy and horrible and went in the bin along with the rest of the excessively bulky packaging. I’s also found that the lid doesn’t screw on very well on mine. I’m not sure if they are all like this or if that’s the reason this one was at an outlet store but it’s loose enough that I could never travel with it.

At £10 I would happily/ will repurchase this. I wouldn’t pay full price though. Just because I’m cheap like that xx
*I bought this myself*

Feature Focus: Unsung Heros

I wanted to highlight some unsung heroes--tried and true never-fail products that seem to fly under the radar. Products that you never see in magazines, rarely hear raved about. I'm sure that everyone has some of these unsung heroes in their arsenal--please post about them in the comments!
Darphin Blush Sensation in Soleil Sublime:

This is bar none the most beautiful, natural looking bronzer I've ever used. I'm quite fair and on the pinker side, and this has absolutely no orange in it. It features a gentle color gradation so you can customize your look depending on how much 'sun' you want that day! The shimmer is super-subtle and doesn't accentuate lines and wrinkles, just lends itself to a gentle glow. It costs $40 and is available at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

MAC Lilicent Blushcreme:

This cream blush has a unique love it or hate it texture. It's almost akin to a potted lipstick in that it's somewhat thick and remains dewy on the cheeks. This helps you look 'fresh' all day but if you're used to a cream to powder formula, this may take a bit of getting used to. The color is a real face brightener, and never fails to brighten my complexion with its warm, peachy rose hue. It is $18.50 and available on maccosmetics.com and at MAC counters nationwide.

Lancome Artliners:

Colors left to right are: Socialite, Brown, IceBlack, IceCarob and Star Shower
In my opinion, these little wonders stand alone in the liquid liner category. They are the easiest liquid liner and you can easily create a thin line right at the base of the lashes or thicker cat eye due to the unique flexible applicator that allows you to control the product. Unlike felt tip dispensers where the product may flow through inconsistently or only with pressure, these unique wands dip into the product and just enough comes out to create a perfect line every single time. The shades are gorgeous, although many of the unique ones are available on a limited edition basis. These are $28.50 and available wherever Lancome is sold.

Eye Necessities:

-Bare Escentuals Eye Shadow in Soul- the perfect vanilla base, this shadow is shimmer free (you can see the faintest glimmer in the pot which prevents lids from looking crepey but doesn't add a sparkle).
-Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen- the palest pink that brightens lids, creates the perfect base so your shadow lasts and the pigment appears true, and even works on its own for a natural eye look.
-Laura Mercier Baked Cakes Eye Liner in Key Lime/Dark Green Apple with Brush- gorgeous, baked, shimmery greens and a perfect brush for application. Use these wet or dry for a look less harsh than black but still achieve ample definition. I use the dark shadow on my upper lid and the light shadow to line underneath.
-Benefit Kohl Pencil Eye Liner in Sable- the only product I use on my inner rim. It lasts and lasts without iritation and glides on smoothly. The shade of brown is spot on--not too light or too dark.

Tools:

-MAC 208 brush- a very thin synthetic angle brush for precise gel eye liner application.
-Chanel Brush 3- a great brush for applying shadow to the outer corner. The bristles are densely packed and the thicker handle is weighted for easy application.
-Fresh Eye Definer Brush 20- the BEST crease brush, this is soft and perfectly shaped for the perfect placement and depth of color.
-Sephora Brand Professionnel Flat Blush Brush #42- perfect for small faces and the tapered point places the blush exactly where you want it to go.
-Tarte Eyelash Curler- this has never pinched my lids the way other highly-touted brands have and the lilac is so cute!

Collection Overview – Cream Shadows

As a general rule I like my eyeshadows pigmented and bold. A great way to increase the colour saturation of even sheer shadows is to pop a sticky cream base under them. I never wear them alone with the exception of the Benefit Creaseless Creams as cream shadows crease on me within seconds. I wear them over primer in a thin layer then pack powder shadow on top. I won’t have space in this post to review things but everything has been reviewed on my blog before so check out the label in the right hand column if you want to know more about any of them. 

I have NYX Jumbo Eye pencils in Milk (white), Strawberry Milk (shimmery pink), Pots & Pans (shimmery silver) and Black Bean (which I depotted into the plastic pot in the middle of the picture). There are two Barbara Daly Soufflé shadows in Haze (purple) and Sea-Foam (green). Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow quad in Copper Canyon, Sleek Molton Metal Duo (Pewter and Gold Leaf), No7 Stay Perfect eyeshadow in Pewter and finally Bloom Eye Paint in Champagne. 

Swatched left to right: NYX Black Bean, NYX Strawberry Milk, NYX Pots & Pans, NYX Milk, Barbara Daly Sea-Foam, Barbara Daly Haze. 

Sleek Pewter, Sleek Gold Leaf, Bloom Champagne, No7 Pewter. 

Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadows. 

 Benefit Creaseless Creams in Pre-Nup and Skinny Jeans. 

My favourites are the NYX pencils, No7 Pewter and of course the Benefit Creaseless Creams. I certainly wouldn’t bother with the Barbara Daly ones again as they have almost no colour pay off x

*All bought by me*