Benefit Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer

I am always on the hunt for new concealers, seems to be my new obsession.  Browsing through Sephora like I always do on my lunch break, I always like to ask their associates what products they like or recommend.  So I asked the girl who was working what her favorite concealer was and she led me right over to Benefit and showed me Boi-ing ($20).  She then told me she had been using it for years and has never liked any other since.  Since she gave it such a rave review, I thought, heck, let’s give it a try. It doesn’t have a large shade range (only 5) so I went home with the lightest shade 01 Light.

 Sephora’s description:

“This award-winning concealer camouflages dark circles, shadows, and discoloration without creasing or fading. An added bonus? This formula is now available in a full range of shades from light to deep so gals of all skin tones can be imperfection-free.”

Boi-ing comes in a compact pot so it can be easily applied with either your fingers or a brush directly from the pot. The packaging is lightweight, basic and travel friendly. In terms of the product, Benefit's Boi-ing gives you great coverage. It’s highly pigmented (a little goes a long way) and blends well into the skin.  I found that it has a super creamy consistency (not cakey) and feels light on the skin. I have mainly been using this to conceal my dark circles and it does a great job at brightening my under eye area.  It’s a little light to use to conceal other areas of my face because I have some summer color.  Overall, I found this to be a great product. The price is great for the amount of product you get (3.0 g Net wt. 0.1 oz).  The only draw back I found was the limited number of shades which makes it hard to find an exact match. 

Face of the Day

Foundation: Chanel Perfection Lumiere B10 & B20 mixed
Concealer: Cle de Peau (blemishes) Bobbi Brown Correctors in Light Peach & Porcelain Peach (under eyes)
Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Eyes: MAC Omega Eyeshadow (brows)
         Benefit Long wear Eyeshadow in Thanks A Latte (lid)
         Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (Naked 2 in crease & Venus/Foxy on brow bone)
         MAC Teddy Eye Pencil
         MAC Opulash Mascara

Cheeks: smashbox Sunkissed Matte Bronze Lights
             tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless
             Edward Bess

Lips: Chantecaille Lip Chic in Daphne
        Luminous Gloss in Pink Melon

Mini Mascaras Review

I am a pretty tough critic when it comes to mascara, not sure what exactly. My lashes on their own are pretty long and plentiful, so mascara usually pumps them up pretty good. When I try out a mascara, I look for the following qualities; product consistency (don’t like the formula to be dry), brush size (prefer a larger brush), and separates the lashes (no sticking together, I like my lashes to fan out). Currently, I have been loving and using MAC’s False Lashes but I have received some sample mascaras and thought I would try them out and review. This will be a lengthy post, so here we go!

Benefit They're Real!

Benefit They’re Real! (Full Size $23)

Described as: A jet-black mascara that lengthens, curls, volumizes, lifts, and separates lashes for a spectacular "out-to-here" look.

What it’s suppose to do: This mascara features an exclusive brush specially designed to maximize the performance of the long-wearing, glossy formula revealing lashes you never knew you had! Staggered bristles grab close to the root, boosting length and volume beyond belief. The precision bristles on the custom-domed tip lift, define, and curl even your tiniest lashes. The end result is luxurious, silky lashes that won't smudge, clump, or dry out.

My Thoughts:

Look: Lashes where lengthened and volumized, but didn’t separate as much as I like, had to use a flat eyeliner brush to assist in the separation.

Brush Use: Brush is bigger, which I like and delivered the product evenly, got to the lash root easily.

Clumping??: I did find the formula did clump a bit on the lash ends but I was able to smooth them out with a brush.

Wear time: Flake or smudge?? The mascara stayed on pretty well without any smudging but I did experience a little flakiness.

Overall not my favorite, not bad but just not for me.

 

Chanel Le Volume de Chanel

Chanel Le Volume de Chanel (Full Size $30)

Described as: This high-precision mascara achieves instant volume and intensely lush colour in a single stroke. Its innovative formula expands, plumping lashes to their fullest. The exclusive new ‘Snowflakes’ brush combines long and short bristles to deliver an extreme, eye-opening effect.

My Thoughts:

Look:  This mascara gives a good amount of length and curl but did not separate at all L One thing I did like about the formula was that the lashes didn’t look or feel hard and stiff.

Brush Use:  This brush is different than any other plastic bristle brush I have seen so I was excited to use it, unfortunately I found that it really clumped the lashes together rather than separate them. I had to use my eyeliner brush again to separate.

Clumping: Unfortunately I did experience so clumping when I applied but was able to smooth them out quickly.

Wear time: No serious flaking or smudging.

Overall: I really wanted to like this mascara because I really like Inimitable Intense by Chanel but I just wasn’t crazy about how clumpy the product applied. Just not for me….

 

Bobbi Brown  Intensifying Long-Wear

BB Intensifying Long-Wear (Full size $25)

Described as:  Bobbi Brown’s longest-lasting mascara.

What it’s supposed to do: This mascara not only delivers lush, thick lashes but can also stand up to elements (and even a few tears) for up to 16 hours. The unique bristles on its brush easily reaches small lashes that instantly builds volume without clumping. Best of all? There's no need for an eye makeup remover, because Intensifying Long-Wear Mascara washes off effortlessly with warm water.

My Thoughts

Look: Lashes look very natural and lengthened. No crazy volume but does separate beautifully.

Brush Use: The small brush really allows you to get to the root of the lashes very easily and grabs even the smallest of lashes.

Clumping: No here that I see J

Wear time: Wore great all day, no smudging or flakes!

Overall: Really like this mascara! I definitely would purchase a full size of this formula. It’s great for those low maintenance days when you want natural looking lashes. Love!

tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes

Tarte Light’s Camera Lashes (Full Size $19)

Described As: A lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning mascara.

What it’s supposed to do: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! 4-in-1 Mascara could be considered a push-up bra for your lashes—a 4-in-1 (lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning) dermatologist- and clinically-proven to increase the appearance of lash volume by 424% after applying giving dramatic, thick and sexy lashes.

My Thoughts

Look:  Lashes were nicely separated and lengthened, looked very natural. Not much curl or volume.

Brush Use:  The brush is standard size with soft fluffy bristles that allows for easy application.

Clumping: I didn’t experience any severe clumping but the standard lash clumping that can be fixed with your fingers or a flat eyeliner brush.

Wear time: I did experience a little bit flaking as the day wore on but no smudging.

Overall: Not bad, I like the brush a lot but the formula itself is so so. I will use the sample up but not purchase a full size.

None of these mascaras wowed me as much as MAC’s False Lashes, I truly love, love, love that formula. I hope MAC keeps it around for ever!!!

Benefit B.Right Skincare sampler

Being a Sephora VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) you get various special offers via email. Last week I received a VIB email for a free Benefit B.Right skincare sampler with a $35 purchase and since I had heard a lot of buzz around this new line, I though this was a great time to try it out. The sampler came with three of the main products in the line: Foamingly Clean Facial Wash, Triple Performing Facial Emulsion and It’s Potent! Eye Cream. All three products are mini sized but in the same cute packaging as the full size. Here is a little bit of info on each product.

The Foamingly Clean Facial Wash is a gentle foaming wash that claims to remove makeup and impurities with a soft lather. It’s good for all skin types and shouldn’t leave your skin dried out. After trying it out, I found that it does clean and remove makeup well and has a lovely scent.  My skin wasn't dry or still oily, just perfect feeling.  I also haven't broken out with this cleanser yet either.

Triple Performing Facial Emulsion is the main moisturizer in the collection. There is another moisturizer, Total Moisture, but I believe it is thicker and more suitable for normal to dry skin types. Triple Performing is suitable for all skin types but is oil-free with an SPF 15++. Its super lightweight and contains a “tri-radiance complex” to help develop the skins reserves of water. Overall I really like this moisturizer. Its super lightweight and absorbs into my skin quickly without being greasy at all.

It’s Potent! Eye Cream is a powerful eye cream that is suppose to brighten, fade dark circles and contains a “peptide complex” to restore elasticity and firmness to the skin around the eyes. When I heard the name It’s Potent, I thought this would be a thick, heavy eye cream but I was surprised that it was actually the opposite. It’s lightweight and non-greasy and absorbs quickly. I have only been using this for a few days so I haven’t really seen any change in my circles or fine lines, but I will get back to you all if I see a major change in the coming weeks.

Overall, this is a nice general line of skincare. Benefit doesn’t get to specific with these products; they all seem to be for all skin types. Maybe in the future they will branch out to products for specific skin types (oily, dry, acne, etc.). Even if you are not a VIB at Sephora you can still purchase this sampler for a limited time on Benefits website for $12. So check it out!