Benefit 'Boo Boo Zap'

Boo Boo Zap

Benefit

£13.50

I'm kind of doing the round with these blemish preventer products

I find this to be really awkward to use

Getting the product is out is a pain

But once you get some on your skin it's absorbed quickly 

Unlike the Lush Grease Lightening which takes a while

I tend to use Boo Boo Zap in the mornings before I put my make up on, whereas I use Grease Lightening in the evenings before bed so it has a chance to sink in

I've noticed a big difference in my skin, the blemish areas are much calmer

I keep using this on the areas I'm prone to breakout to try and prevent anything happening

Again it dries out the skin a little so a good moisturiser is essential

I've now finished this spot fighter but have to say for £13.50 it didn't last very long and wasn't impressive enough to warrant the price tag.
I'd love to try the Origins blemish fighter next as I've heard such good things about it

Have you tried any blemish fighters worth giving a go?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Lip Glosses Part 2

So this is part two of the previous Benefit Lip Gloss post

Showcasing the other three lip glosses in the new line

As before these three have been released to compliment the corresponding box of powders to their namesakes



Hoola~Shimmering Gold Nude
This is the perfect nude gloss
It has slight shimmer running through it which is really flattering on the lips
I've been enjoying wearing this for a toned down but polished look

Sugarbomb~Shimmering Pinky Nude
This has pride of place on my desk at work and for good reason!
It's a gorgeous pinky nude which seems to flatter most skin colours
I love this as a natural but pretty pink and it works really well for a work makeup look

Bella Bamba~Sheer Bright watermelon
Similar to the Coralista shade Bella Bamba has a jelly like feel to it
A bit more pink toned than Coralista though
A flatering watermelon pink which will be brilliant when the sun decides to come out for Spring! Here's hoping...

Have you tried any of the Benefit glosses?

Love
Belle
xoxo

Benefit World Famous Neutrals 'Most Glamorous Nudes Ever'

Benefit

Most Glamorous Nudes Ever

Neutral Eyeshadow Kit

£23.50

At the weekend I had a makeover at my local Benefit counter and the MUA used one of the new neutral eyeshadow palettes on me

I was drawn to the Worlds Most Glamorous palette as the coral toned 'It's Complicated' is identical to one of my favourite Urban Decay shadows from the Alice in Wonderland palette and I've nearly run out so need a dupe

I had promised myself I wouldn't purchase anything as I always end up walking away with some sort of goodies but I had £40 of Advantage card points which I was saving up for a perfume I didn't really need so I figured I'd buy another eyeshadow palette I don't really need... makes sense yes?

I love a neutral eyeshadow, as do the majority of beauty bloggers!

And after seeing the three of these palettes doing the rounds on many blogs I knew I had to try them out

In the kit you get two of the creaseless cream shadows in My Two Cents and Birthday Suit

I've always liked the Benefit cream shadows and wanted to pick up Birthday Suit for so long so I'm happy that it's included in this kit, it's a lovely taupey brown which would be perfect for an everyday wash of colour

Whereas My Two Cents is a more coppery golden colour which would be more akin to an evening look or for a base for darker colours

The Longwear Powder shadows are really soft and blendable, they aren't hugely pigmented but they can be built up to achieve a strong eye look

Again perfect for everyday eye looks and I know I'll be getting a lot of use out of these shades for work everyday

Call My Buff is a pale shell colour which is perfect for a highlight or base shade

Kiss Me I'm Tipsy is a gorgeous, rich brown which is lovely in the crease and can be built up for a dramatic smokey eye

It's Complicated is my favourite colour in the kit, a golden peach which catches the light beautifully. I'm so happy this is being released as a single shadow as I know I'll finish it off in the palette!

And Gilt-y Pleasure is a nice golden shade which compliments all the other colours and would work really well with just the cream colour My Two Cents in a simple golden eye look

Have you tried any of the new Benefit Eyeshadow boxes?

Love

Belle

xoxo

FOTD #2

I am currently suffering from what can only be described as the plague..well the flu

I feel like utter rubbish and typical it's over my 5 days off from work

I ventured out for a lovely meal last night with some friends and family but about half way through the night I just came over all sick, apparently I looked super pasty too

After a rough nights sleep last night today the boy and I have had a lazy day, consisting of a little shopping and baking

So my poorly FOTD above is literally a mask to cover how rubbish I'm feeling

I had a make over at Benefit yesterday and received a seven day sample of the Hello Flawless Foundation, I already have this but the shade I have is for when I'm tanned so right now it makes me look like an oompa loompa, good look right?!

The shade I'm wearing here is Ivory and it's perfect for me, I'll definitely be buying the full size once I get paid along with the new hydrating concealer of course.

I added in a bit of Sun Beam highlighter to the foundation to give my skin a bit of a glow too.

My skin is so terrible at the moment so sleeks concealer palette was put to the test today, and it held up pretty damn well with the help of the setting powder.

Using my Boots Advantage card points I treated myself to one of the 'World Famous Neutrals' Palette (post to follow) and wore the more daytime appropriate shades today, along with my all time favourite high street mascara, the Maxfactor 2000 Calorie mascara, it makes my eyelashes so long and volumised I love it

I'm now going to go and feel sorry for myself with a cup of tea and slice of cake

Hope your all well

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Lip Glosses Part 1

Before Christmas I posted about the Benefit High dlyin' Lip Gloss set but without swatches as it was a gift for someone

I also received the set for Christmas so now I'm able to swatch and show you guys

There are six different shades in the collection of glosses each one is based on one of the infamous Benefit box of powders

I'll split the collection into two posts otherwise it could go on a bit!
The full size of these glosses retail for £13.50, in the set they are all mini sizes which is good to try out the different colours available

Coralista~Sheer Coral Lip Gloss
Pretty much a jelly consistency and look
A translucent finish gives a fairly subtle but bright wash of colour
As the name suggests this is the perfect partner to the gorgeous coral box of blush Coralista
One of my favourites in the collection

Dallas~Dusty Rose Lip Gloss
A new lip colour to me, I'm normally a pink or coral kind of girl
So it's nice to try something new and Dallas is incredibly flattering and the perfect day time gloss
Similarly I thought the Dallas bronzer wouldn't be my cup of tea but I really enjoy using it



Dandelion~Soft Pearly Pink
This one is very sheer on the lips only really giving a slight shimmer
Very natural and great when having a subtle make up day when you don't want to look too over done

I've really been liking these new additions to the Benefit range and think there may be a few winners here to look into buying full size...Dallas most definitely!

Love
Belle
xoxo

Benefit 'Go Tropicoral' Review

Benefit Go Tropicoral Lip and Cheek Set

£24.50

Boots/Benefit

I received this for Christmas and have been really enjoying using it

As usual with Benefit products the packaging is cute and functional

There isn't a huge amount of wasted space so this is nice and compact

Perfect for traveling, a running theme on my blog as I don't like to pack too much

Especially when I go to New York as I intend to purchase quite a lot of make up once there

Within this set you get mini sizes of some popular Benefit products; High Beam, Cha Cha Tint, Coralsita Blusher and Coralista Lipgloss

Coral is definitely my favourite make up colour

It suits my skin tone and I think it's rather universally flattering on everyone

I seem to be accumulating a collection of Coralista blushers in mini and full size

Lucky it's one of my favourites really!

In the box you also get a pretty decent sized mirror so you can see your full face when applying make up rather than just your eye

Also some handy tips and tricks cards 

I'm thinking about adding a bit of the High Beam into my everyday foundation as I don't tend to use liquid highlighters that much in my routine

My everyday make up routine is pretty lazy if I'm honest! 

Do you like these kind of collections boxes?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Away We Glow Holiday Set

Away We Glow Set

Benefit (Exclusive to Boots)

£29.50, but now in the sale if you can track one down

I think I'm a bit late in posting this as it went into the Christmas sales and is pretty much sold out everywhere but if you can still find it in your local boots or on ebay I definitely recommend picking it up

Especially if it's at the cheaper sale price!

As you can see from my blog I have a bit of a thing for Benefit make up

It was the first premium make up brand I dabbled in for my leavers ball at school and I still stay quite loyal to using their products

Of course I dabble else where too!

My Mum bought me this for Christmas, I think in the hope I only take this with me when we go on holiday rather than a huge make up bag as usual...that won't happen.

Surprisingly the packaging isn't too bulky for what it has in it

Normally for sets like this the packaging is really too much for the products it holds and it seems such a waste

So if I did take it on holiday with me I wouldn't feel I had to de-box it to save space in my suitcase

And the packaging is too cute as always

The eyeshadows are perfect for the normal everyday eye look

The best mix of neutrals for fresh make up

Their more warm toned than other neutrals in my collection 

Considering I seem to buy a lot of neutral eyeshadows its quite refreshing not having something similar in my collection 

I think I prefer these to my Naked Palettes as the colours are much more wearable for me

Al though I don't think there is anything really to create an evening look only day time looks

As with most of the Benefit kits Coralista is the blusher included

It's one of their best selling items and I can see why

Having already got it in full size and nearly hit pan on it you can tell I quite like it

It's a stunning coral colour with a slight hint of shimmer 

I also got another Benefit kit for Christmas with Coralista in it 

The lipgloss in the set has been likened to Nars Turkish Delight gloss and I love the colour

Quite a pale, girly pink but very wearable and perfect for daytime

The best thing about these little kits is being able to try out the mini versions of more expensive products, like the Sunbeam and Highbeam, these are around £22ish in full size so it's good to be able to try them before splashing out

The mini size is a generous trial product, which you'd expect when paying for it in a kit rather than as a freebie from a magazine.

Overall I love this kit and definitely think it's worth picking up if you see it

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit 'Hoola' Bronzer



Hoola Bronzer

Benefit

£23.50

I've been contemplating buying the Benefit Hoola Bronzer for so long. It's perfect for a shimmer free, subtle bronzed look.

But I always seemed to put off purchasing.

I've had Nars Laguna in my collection for a while now but find it makes me look very orange and a bit oompa loompa ish

Maybe I have quite a heavy hand when it comes to application!

As usual the Benefit packaging is lovely

Al though the fact it's in a cardboard casing is slightly ngative as this takes a beating in my make up bag and ends up looking tatty very quickly

A fate that most of my Benefit boxes have met.

Hoola is one of benefits top selling products and I cans ee why.

It's a universally flattering shade which works well on almost everyone.

As someone that doesn't tan it gives me just the right amount of colour to look sunkissed but not tangoed.

As you can see from the above swatch it's pigmented well and has a great colour

also no shimmer which is good if your using it all over as no one wants to look like a disco ball...

I recently heard from my local Benefit MUA that Benefit are releasing cream blushers in the new year...how exciting!

Have you purchased the infamous Hoola?

Merry Christmas!

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish



Refined Finish Facial Polish

£17.50

Benefit

After I had the recent bad skin breakout it seems that my skin has decided to stay that way...

Nothing I've tried seems to have worked and I continue to suffer from bad blemishes and problem skin

Now that it's coming into winter I'm getting lots of dry bits too

I find that a good scrub helps get rid of these and the Benefit skincare range has always impressed me

The facial wash leaves my skin squeaky clean so I use this in conjunction with that

As a polish it isn't as rough and grainy as a scrub but the fine scrubby bits are still great removing any dry skin

It also means it doesn't hurt my sensitive broken out areas too

I wouldn't say there is much of a scent to it which to be honest I like as in the shower I use various other products which cause a medley of various scents

Around my face I'm starting to use more subtle and sensitive products in a bid to see if it's fragranced products that aggravate the most

Unfortunately it seems to be a case of trial and error

But right now the benefit products are doing a great job and haven't aggravated my skin in any adverse way so I'm happy

Have you tried the Benefit skincare before?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Peek a Bright Eyeshadow Set

Peek A Bright Eyes 

Eyeshadow Set

Benefit

£24.50 

Another gorgeous product from Benefit

They don't seem to be able to put a foot out of line in my books

The packaging is always stunning and the product inside is always top quality

I've never really dabbled in Benefit's eyeshadows but the MUA used this on me a little while ago and I loved it.

She was saying how the brown shade comes out slightly different on every person

The kit contains one nude base eyeshadow, one brown contour shade, a shimmery pink highlight shade, creamy eyebright, and two brushes.

I think the set would be perfect to travel with as it has everything you need in, as far as kit brushes go the ones included are also pretty good, I'd rather use my own of course but when caught out and about they would do fine.

Benefit describe this as an eye illuminating kit and I definitely agree

The shimmer highlight shade is gorgeous and definitely illuminates, I've been loving wearing these shadows to work everyday.

The perfect balance of neutral and smokey.

As with most Benefit products there are instructions included to create a make up look

This time the perfect neutral smokey

If you were giving this as a gift and the receiver wasn't that confident with eye shadow looks then these diagrams are easy to follow and will help them achieve what look they like

My Mum always comments on my eyeshadow, this kit would be great to get her into make up a little more

As you can see from the swatches above the shadows are pigmented well and have just the right amount of shimmer in them without being too much like a glitter ball.

The brown is a gorgeous mid to dark colour and is perfect for use in the crease.

My favourite colour has to be the pinky highlight

It's gorgeous and looks stunning and eye opening...love it!

Have you tried this set from Benefit?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit High Flying Lip Gloss Set

High Flying Glosses Set

Benefit

£19.50 

Every year Benefit bring out various make up gift sets for Christmas

Each set comes in gorgeous packaging as you would expect from Benefit

Recently Benefit released a range of lip glosses to compliment their boxes of blushers

I'd love to give them a go but not being a lover of lip glosses means I'm hesitant to spend money on them

I picked up this lip gloss set for a friend for Christmas, there are six different shades in the pack to correspond with the blushers; Coralista: Sheer Coral, Dallas: Dusty Rose, Bella Bamba: Sheer Bright Watermelon, Hoola: Shimmering Golden Nude, Sugarbomb: Shimmering Pinky Nude and Dandelion: Soft Pearly Pink.

The glosses aren't full sized but aren't teeny tiny mini. Their the perfect size to chuck in your bag on a night out.

At £19.50 it works out at only £3.25 each which is a bargain to be able to try all six different colours. 

Have you tried the new glosses from Benefit?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit blusher Hervana

Hervana Blusher ~ Benefit £23.50 

On one of my many perusals of the Benefit counter in my local boots this little pretty caught my eye.

I have a bit of a penchant for Benefit box blushers and am starting to accumulate quite the collection. Coralista still being my favourite closely followed by sugar bomb. Contemplating buying hoola if anyone has tried it yet? 

Anyway back to Hervana, it's one of Benefits newest launched blushers and looks so pretty in the pan, gorgeous and subtle colours in a swirly pattern.

 Described by Benefit as a 'good karma Face powder' not too sure how that applies but it's still very pretty. 

The four colours are called; Lucky shell, Devine peach, Heavenly rose and Berry delight.

Even the names sound gorgeous. 

Swirled together the colours combine to a muted coral toned rose on the cheeks, it's hard to describe but is very nice indeed. As the separate colours are quite small it would be difficult to apply each colour separately so a swirl of the four is the only way ;) 

Benefit describe the colour as orchid blossom, again a lovely name. I would agree its different to any colour I already own. 

Have any of you tried this blusher? 

Love

Belle

Xoxo

Lust List

1. Urban Ears Headphones in 'Grape' £50

2. Lush Sea Salt Hair Spray £9.95/100ml

3. Topshop Khaki Embellished Playsuit £45

4. MAC Eyebrow Pencil in 'Fling' £12.50

5. Love Dusky mesh pleated skirt dress £45

6. (missing the number) Schuh Bob Studded Ankle Boots £80

All of the above items are things I've been lusting after recently...and trying to justify buying.

As I'm off to New York in May next year I keep buying the odd thing and thinking to myself 'Oh that would be brilliant in New York', this doesn't work so well on the boyfriend though!

A few such purchases have been a lovely burgundy pair of Vans trainers, of course these were necessary for all the walking, to be done in style of course. I also asked for a Cath Kidston Saddle bag for my Birthday which my Dad kindly bought me, again I figured it was perfect for New York.

Out of this list of course I can only justify half of the items....those headphones have been calling to me since I saw them on Zara from Mouldyfruits blog (apologies I don't know how to link!) I love the grapey purple colour and think these would be great for in the gym too. 

The playsuit and dress are gorgeous! The dress is just so girly and very me, I have fallen in love...after four days in New York we're going on a cruise so this little beauty would be great for the smarter evenings and the cute little playsuit would be perfect for the more casual evenings.

As for the rest of my list...the sea spray is something I've been interested in since seeing the Bumble and Bumble version but I'm pretty sure this is cheaper. Once my hair grows out a bit I'd love to be able to get the beach waves look.

I'm still on a mission to try all sorts of different eyebrow products, so far still loving Benefit Browzings, so being an avid lover of MAC I really want to try this out too. 

And the boots...well they are AMAZING! I need them in my life...

Anything you guys are lusting after?

Take Care

Belle

xoxo

Benefit 'They're Real Mascara'

Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara

Other than blushers mascaras are another product I don't seem to be able to get enough of.

I purchased the DiorShow Blackout mascara a few years ago and loved the effect it had on my lashes, since then I've been trying to find something that gives me the same look but much cheaper. I've tried various low end mascaras and so far the Maybelline Falsies has been the best, giving me the blackest, thickest and longest lashes and has therefore become my everyday go to mascara. 

But sometimes you just need to treat yourself...

and that's where an £18.50 purchase comes in

There is massive hype surrounding the Benefit mascara on the internet so I knew I had to give it a try

I have to say it is better than the Maybelline mascara but I would expect that from the price point. I find the Benefit mascara lengthens, curls just generally makes my eyelashes look awesome...I love it! 

Creepy eye shots showing the before and after 

Have you tried this mascara yet?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Sun Beam

Benefit Sun Beam Highlighter

This little beauty was purchased at the same time as the Sugarbomb Blusher.

I've only ever used powder highlights before so this was something completely new to me.

I asked the make up artist to show me how to apply and loved the look. It made me look all dewy and fresh faced, gorgeous.

For £18.50 it's quite a pricey experiment to see how I like it but I got all wrapped up in the moment and threw fire to the wind.

So far I'm not regretting that choice.

I've not being using this everyday only because I work full time and feel it to be a waste worn to work, I tend to keep my make up routine quite basic for work days. 

To use I just dot on my cheek bones and my cupids bow and just blend out.

It gives such a nice warm glow and you have more control over where the product goes as you use your fingers to blend rather than a brush with powdered highlights.

Another brilliant product from Benefit...their making up for the not so fantastic 'Some Kind a Gorgeous' foundation! 

What other highlighters do you guys recommend?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit SugarBomb blusher

The Benefit Sweet 'n' Wow Kit

On a recent jaunt into my local shopping centre I took a detour over to the Benefit counter in Boots, as seems to be the norm for myself these days.

I initially wanted to check out the new lipglosses which match the blusher boxes but not being much of a lipgloss wearer I figured I wouldn't get much wear out of them. 

So I had a little swatch of the SugarBomb blusher, which the make up artist has often used on me, I love the coral colour and knew it had to be mine. Having had it used on me before I knew it suited my complexion so had no hesitation in parting with my hard earned cash... 

Just before I went to purchase I saw out the corner of my eye this little set. For the same price as the blusher alone you get a full sized SugarBomb blusher (12g) and a trial size Posie Tint (4ml) another product I've been interested in trying out. Of course I swapped for this little set...and may have also picked up the new Sun Beam to give a try...I just couldn't help myself!

Since I bought this blusher I have been using it every day, it's the perfect shade of coral for my skin tone and works so well as an everyday blusher, not overly shimmery and not too in your face a colour..perfect.

Any one else tried this gorgeous blusher?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Browzings

Benefit Browzings Eyebrow Shaping Kit

£22.50

As I've mentioned in a previous post I've been frequenting the Benefit counter in my local Boots quite regularly recently. The first time coming away with the new foundation, but when I was there the makeup artist used the Browzings kit on me and I loved it! Kept admiring my eyebrows in the mirror.

The next time I popped in I bought myself a kit in the lightest shade as I'm blonde and my eyebrows are quite light. The kit comes in three shades which isn't a huge variety but I don't really know of any brow products which have a massive selection of colours.

Since purchasing I have been using it everyday. For someone who never did anything with their eyebrows it's a bit different. I used to think having blonde brows meant I didn't have to do too much to them but since I bought my first eyebrow pencil from eylure I've noticed the difference filling in your brows can make. It gives such a better finish to my make up and frames my face. Simply I put I love having filled in brows.

When I first started using the kit I was using the little brushes which come with it as I didn't own anything which would really do the job any better. I must admit though the fact these brushes are rather little made this a little tricky to get used to. So the next time I was in Boots I had a chat with my new found friend, the makeup artist, and using my accumulated advantage card points I bought the Eyebrow shading brush which is amazing! She also went back over how to fill in the brows properly. I now feel much more confident when I do it in my half awake state in the morning.

Personally I cannot recommend this kit enough, I haven't tried others like Urban Decay brow kit or the HD kit but I feel after using this and getting on so well with it I may just stick with it. After all it looks like it might last me forever, barely have to use any product to achieve results.

For the £22.50 price ticket you get a pigmented wax for shaping, a natural shaded powder for setting, small tweezers, two small brushes for blending and a little makeup lesson teaching you how to use it. 


What do you guys use on your eyebrows?

And a little photo of Barney to finish  

Love

Belle

xoxo

I could watch you for a lifetime, your my favourite movie

I've had a lovely week off this week just a shame the weather hasn't been as glorious as it has been recently.

I've mainly spent the week relaxing and seeing friends and family

But also shopping of course

I bought three dresses from h&m which I love and will post about later

On Wednesday I spent the day with Mum, we ended up in Windsor walking round the shops and rounded it all off with a lovely cream tea on the river Thames...perfection

Here is what I wore.

Dress ~ River Island

Blazer ~ Primark

Leggings ~ New Look

Worn with brown leather ballet pumps from New Look

Beauty purchases of the week

Benefit That Gal Primer

Benefit Foamingly Clean Facial Wash

Benefit Brow Brush

Realness of Concealness kit, this is being discontinued so I picked it up for £11ish

No7 Silver Glitter Polish, I bought the gold one recently with a £5 off voucher so had to go back for this one

Hope everyone's hunky dory

Love

Belle

xoxo

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation

I figured it was about time I reviewed this...

About a month ago I was wandering around my local Boots armed with an Advantage card voucher for £2 off any Revlon foundation, perfect I was in the market for a new one. Whilst having a nosey at the Revlon offerings an MUA from Benefit wandered over and coerced me into her lair...

She showed me the new foundation and applied to half my face, all I can say is WOW!

I loved the finish, it was dewy and a light to medium coverage which was buildable. Just what I was after. After putting the powder on top it of course mattified the finish so a versatile product. 

The foundation also has an SPF of 25 which is great if your anything like me and constantly forget to put sun cream on in the invisible British sun. 

I have to say I'm very impressed with this foundation, it has already replaced my beloved MAC studio sculpt which is saying something! 

I only wear this on my days off as I've said before I refuse to wear anything high end to work and inevitably sweat it off before lunch time (yummy I know) and at £24.50 I see this as high end. 

The shade I purchased is Honey which is a bit warmer than my skin tone but perfect when I'm tanned, I'm not loving the pale look on myself right now and feel much healthier with a slight glow. Two weeks after this initial purchase I went back for the Hello Flawless Powder in Champagne to compliment the product, rude not to seeing as my MAC msf was on it's last legs. 

Have any of you tried this foundation? 

What were your thoughts?

Love 

Belle 

xoxo