Benefit: ‘day to night look’

Benefit Make Over

So last week, the girls and I went for our very own makeovers at ‘San Francisco’s Beloved Beauty Brand’: BenefitCosmetics.

This was the perfect time to see whether investing is best.

When making the latest additions to my beauty bag, I’ve found myself asking: does breaking into the bank equal quality? Or should I save my pennies and hope for the same perfect products but for a smaller price?

And although my purse tends not to agree, more and more I seem to be investing in cosmetic products and, as I thought, the majority of the time they last longer and look better.

Benefit is the perfect example to support my argument: quality is definitely better than quantity.

The first make over achieved a look that could work during a day at the office and carry on into the night out.

Now girlies, before you do anything – moisturise!

I always moisturise before applying my foundation. I don’t like it when you can ‘see’ that you’re wearing foundation. Do you know what I mean? It makes your skin look crackly and dry. Bleurgh!

Note: I have dry-ish skin, so moisturising is good. If you have more oily skin then seek advice from a professional on a beauty counter to see what suits your skin type best.

‘Triple Performing Moisturiser’, £19.50 – an ‘oil-free facial lotion*’ which locks in water.

After moisturising, I used ‘The Porefessional’, £23.50 – a primer used to ‘minimize the appearance of pores*’ and stops oils coming through, thus stopping that gradual greasy look that progresses throughout the day.

Another daily debate: tinted moisturiser or foundation? Here, I had ‘Yourebal’ tinted moisturiser, £23.50, which adapts to the skin tone of each individual. I often find a tinted moisturiser a lot lighter to wear than a thick foundation. I prefer it when you don’t feel like you have make up on – that sticky face feeling - you know what I’m on about ladies!

Next up:  a mixture of 'Boi-ing’ concealar, £16.50 and ‘Stay Don’t Stray’ concealer, £19.50 around the eyes and T-Zone.

And after a hefty base for my face, my eyes were ready and waiting.

As a base for my lids: ‘Velvet Eye shadow’, ‘Leggy’ shade, £13.50. I absolutely loved this colour! I’m not gonna lie, I am completely and utterly in love with the moroony plum colour that is so in trend at the moment. If I could, I would dress head to toe in this, and wear a face full of the colour! So of course, I loved my eyes when they were coated with this colour.

My lashes were lined with 'charcoal liner', £14 and painted with the current UK’s #1**: ‘they’re real! Mascara’, £18.50. Now, I don’t know how I felt about the mascara. It fanned them out nicely but it didn’t seem to curl them. I suppose you can’t have it all, can you?!

I was given a cheeky tip by a good friend though, after applying mascara, put your hairdryer on cool and then blow on your lashes for a few seconds (obviously from arm’s length). The blowing creates a natural curl to your lashes, so you don’t have to use a curler! Result!***

My cheek bones shined from ‘Watt’s Up’ highlighter, £24.50, followed by ‘Bella Bomba’ blusher – a blush which I was told suits any skin tone.

Brow before being 'zinged'

My brows! ‘Brow Zings’ brow shaping kit, £22.50.  

I've always been scared to do my brows but after having this done, I plan on doing it a lot more! I loved them! I found that having defined eyebrows highlighted my other features, in particular my eyes. I would definitely recommend doing your brows! 

But just be sure you don’t get too darker shade – you don’t want to look like you’re meant to be on stage! 

Half and Half

Finally: my lips. I adore showing off my lips with bold colours. And out came the plum colour again. ‘Full Finish’ lipstick, £14 – colour: Rumor.

Done! 

My three favourite products: 

1.'Brow Zings’ eye shaping kit, this should be on every princesse's Christmas list!

2.‘Full Finish’ lipstick, mainly because of the gorgeous colour and how soft it felt of my lips.

3.'Velvet Eye shadow’, again because of the amazing colour but also I love the smoky look it gave me that I could work day and night.

The Full Make Over

 The total cost of all products used on my face: £209.50

Ok, so maybe not that much investing but a couple of items won’t hurt.

The best bit is, all you need to do is book a free make over at a Benefit counter and you can test the products that are best suited to you before you buy! Fabulous!

To find any of those products mentioned and many more, visit: http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/

But, if your bank balance can’t justify spending this much dollar on cosmetics then do not fear...

Soon I will be reviewing alternative products on the market, for half the price!

Until next time, happy pampering!

*http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk
**Nov/Dec 2011
***Catriona Harris

Note: This has been written for entertainment purposes only. This is all my own opinion, I am basing it on my own individual experiences.