BRAND HIGHLIGHT: BENEFIT COSMETICS

Hi lovelies. It feels like forever since I've updated my poor little corner of the internet! I won't ramble on as to why, as to be honest, there's no other reason other than being mega busy preparing for Christmas and having the worlds crappiest immune system and feeling pretty rubbish for the most part of this week! Anyway, boring bit over, let's get onto the topic of today's post! If you know me at all or have at least been reading my blog for a little while, you'll know that I absolutely love Benefit Cosmetics. So, today, I thought I'd do a post all about just why I love this brand! I've read a few brand focus posts on other peoples blogs and love to see peoples views on why they love a brand, top picks etc as I find it really useful and I figured this post may be useful to some of you, whether you are new to Benefit or use their products already, hopefully there'll be something new to you in this post.

First things first, I want to say that I am not sponsored by Benefit, nor was I asked to write this post. I just really love the brand! I have worked with Benefit from time to time though which leads me onto one reason why I love them. Benefit are one of the loveliest brands to work with as a blogger. Once you've worked with them once, they sometimes send little surprise packages out, which are always so beautifully presented and often come with little added treats inside! That aside though, even if I had never worked with the brand as a blogger, I would still buy and use their products as I think they're fantastic!

See, as a brand I think they almost always deliver on their promises, the products, at least in my opinion always do just what they say on the tin! Right now, my entire face of makeup excluding only lips is Benefit most days. While I do have a lot of other brands I decided to give this a go a little while back as I figured products from one brand are surely supposed to work together, right? So, using this logic, I switched up everything in my makeup bag, so my daily face consisted of, the PoreFessional Primer, Hello Flawless Powder and Foundation, Boi-ing Concealer, Benetint and Rockateur on cheeks, Highbeam as Highlight, Hoola Bronzer, Creaseless Cream Shadows as base with Worlds Most Glamorous Nudes Powder Shadows on top and They're Real mascara and Liner. Then I just use whatever on my lips as I really don't feel this makes a difference and I can't give up my MAC lippies. I can 100% genuinely say my makeup has never been better. 

As much as this backs up my theory that a full face of one brand definitely works, I think it also speaks volumes for Benefit in general. It's very rare that I find a brand that I love enough to buy every single product from, for example, I love MAC eyeshadow, lipstick and blush, but hate their foundations and concealers. I think Urban Decay shadows are fab, but could live without everything else. I could ramble on all day about several products from Benefit, but instead I'm going to list my top five for you all and do mini reviews of each to explain why they've made the top five! So, in no particular order...

Hoola Bronzer

This is incredible, it's such a cult product that I'm sure I don't need to explain this to you all. In case you haven't used this before though, it's basically a gorgeous, matte bronzer. What I think makes it unique is how buildable it is. If you wanted a lighter bronze, you can use it with a light hand, but if you have darker skin, have a tan or just want a darker bronzed look, it can be built up really well and never looks orange or patchy. It just goes on super smooth and gives a natural, bronzed look either all over or as a contour.

They're Real Mascara

Yes, it's hard to get off, yes you look like a panda if you don't get it off properly, but all this aside, it really is an incredible mascara. I do genuinely have a lot of people asking if my lashes are real when I wear this. As I work as a beauty therapist, a lot of people naturally assume I have lash extensions on and they're shocked when I tell them it's actually just this. So many of my clients have actually gone out and got this after I've told them what I use.

PoreFessional Primer
Another cult product that I think is more than worth the hype. If you suffer with large pores, or just want a primer that smooths the skin and gives a light coverage too, then this is definitely for you. It's perfect for under any kind of foundation and makes it stay on all day, but it's also fab to be worn alone with a little concealer if you don't want a full on foundation, I think this would work on most skin types, but it's particularly great if you have slightly oily or shiny skin as it has a lovely matte finish.

Benetint

This is a funny product, as a lot of people don't like it, but a lot of people love it. For me, it took a while for me to learn to use this properly, but now I know, I honestly couldn't live without it. I love blushers (Benefit ones are my faves, obvs!) and hate when my blush wears off throughout the day, as I don't feel complete without a flush to my cheeks. When I use any of the Benefit tints under my blush, I don't have to worry about my blush fading all day as the tint lasts ages. There is an art to using these and you really do need the tiniest amount, but once you start getting right, you will love these products. I particularly love Benetint as it's the original and I personally think it's the longest lasting.

Creaseless Cream Shadows

I love these. If I were to choose one shade in particular to recommend I'd say Birthday Suit, which is a gorgeous 'Brushed Chrome' colour, cool brown to you and me. What I love about these is that they make an incredible base for eyeshadows, keeping them in place with no creasing for hours and hours, but they also look beautiful on their own, as they're super pigmented and go on really smooth and even.

I know that Benefit aren't the cheapest brand in the world, but sometimes I think you really do get what you pay for and with this brand in particular, you definitely do. Not only do the products deliver on their promises, but the packaging is super cute too. I know it's not exactly a reason to buy a product, but let's face it, a makeup bag full of pretty prints and candy colours is certainly not a bad thing!

So, what are your thoughts? Do you love Benefit as much as me? If so (or if not!) tell me why in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts!