Benefit is the Girly Cure to Your Makeup & Skin Woes

Have you ever tried the ever-feminine Benefit Cosmetics line? Really? Never, you say? Let us fill you in on some of the best products they have to offer. But between you and me, we definitely suggest starting out with their amazing Velvet Eyeshadows, followed by their Creaseless Eyeshadows.

Hint:  Click the links for reviews (if there’s no link, we haven’t reviewed it explicitly on the blog yet).

• Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows ($19.00) come in twelve shades, and they often put out limited edition ones as part of their seasonal collections. These are easy to wear, last all day, and can be worn alone or under other eyeshadows as a base.
• CORALista Blush ($28.00) is a value-sized coral blusher that’s absolutely divine on warmer skin tones, but it isn’t so warm or so coral that it doesn’t work on cooler or paler skin tones, too. (I love how many of Benefit’s products work for a variety of skin tones.) This is a summer staple for me.
• Gilded Eyeliner ($20.00) is a quick and dirty way to pop open those peepers and make those eyes look alive, even when you’re operating on little to no sleep. A pearly, golden-yellow works well on the lower water line and inner tear duct to brighten up your eyes.
• Full-Finish Lipsticks ($18.00) came back with a vengeance last fall (in 2008) and is available in fourteen shades. These lipsticks are creamy, pigmented, and moisturizing while giving you great wear. One of my favorite lipstick formulas!
• One Hot Minute ($30.00) is an all-over loose powder that makes your entire face look brighter and more awake with just a light dusting. It gives a soft, luminous sheen that’s not disco-ball glittery.
• Benetint ($28.00) is just one of those cult products that you either adore or you don’t understand the buzz. It’s a great multi-tasking product that you can keep in your makeup bag for any spontaneous occasion. You can use it to add color to cheeks or lips, and one little bottle goes quite a long way. It’s soft and natural–the two must-haves of any cheek/lip stain.
• Velvet Eyeshadow ($18.00) is easily one of the best eyeshadow formulations on the market. Velvety, silky, and smooth describe the finish of these lovelies. Pigmented and true-to-color bring it all home. The only downside? There are only ten shades! I adore, ADORE Bikini Line.

Availability: BenefitCosmetics.com, Sephora.com

Breakfast with Benefit: One Hot Minute

This morning, I drove up to San Francisco to have a little breakfast at the Benefit Boutique with the Benefit Team. In attendance were a few other local bloggers (hey, there aren’t that many of us Bay Area bloggers!), like my girl Karen of Makeup & Beauty Blog, Lilan of The Daily Cookie, and Sonja of The Coveted. Benefit was hosting an event exclusively for bloggers to preview One Hot Minute–their newest addition to their line-up.

Benefit One Hot Minute ($30.00) is one of the newest products to be launched by Benefit this summer. Called the “Sexy-in-Seconds-Face-Powder,” it’s all about getting an easy, all over natural glow/finish in no time flat. Available exclusively at Sephora in July (and then available at counters in September), One Hot Minute is an extremely fine milled, loose powder meant for all skin tones. At the breakfast event, each of us bloggers got a little makeover a la Benefit, and of course, it featured the new product! (And you can see a full-face photo of me included in this post!)

I’ve always been a sucker for Benefit’s packaging, because it’s cute with a vintage edge and a modern twist. Plus, my first ever makeup haul was Benefit back in high school, so I always get a bit nostalgic when I use Benefit, too. One Hot Minute comes in a copper tin, and it includes a small, almost miniature-sized fan brush (but it’s a bit curvier — reminds me of a peacock spreading his tail). There is also a “sifter guard” to help keep your powder intact. Benefit makeup artists recommended using their fantail brush ($22.00) if you’re not on-the-go, but the included brush will do for touch-ups. (I always prefer to use my own brushes, because I like brushes with handles for more control!)

One Hot Minute is a silky powder that gives you a “luminous” finish, which is really that subtle, natural glow we’re all after. It’s not shimmery, shiny, or glittery. It really just gives you a very soft, subtle sheen and enhances your natural skin tone. It is also really quite universal, because the lovely Erin of Benefit is far fairer than I, and she was rockin’ One Hot Minute. Karen of MBB is also significantly deeper in skin tone than myself, and she worked it, too. I was surprised, because the powder does look colored initially, but it really isn’t since we’re all wearing the same product. Benefit describes it as a “loose rose-gold finishing powder… for a gaze-at-me-glow.”

(Oh, by the way, Benefit is giving you 20% off — but you can only use the code once per customer — for a few days! Just use code MAKEUP20, good through May 29th.)

You can see for yourself how it looks like when applied — see photos, swatches, and more!

Edited: A few of you have been inquiring as to what I’m wearing (makeup-wise, duh), and it’s a bit difficult to tell you. I first wore a look using MAC Juxt, Nehru, Bottle Green, and Soft Force (to-be-posted), and I wore Korres Tinted Moisturizer before arriving, too. During my “One Hot Minute” makeover, Katie, the Benefit makeup artist, applied Hello Flawless! (in Honey) to touch-up, Posietint on cheeks and lips, and BeneTint on lips; then One Hot Minute all over. She layered Benefit’s Birthday Suit on the inner lid and Skinny Jeans on the outer lid; she used BadGal to line and BadGal mascara on lashes.