BENEFIT

What I Was Going to Put on My Face Yesterday

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

And what actually got there.

I suspect that a lot of people who don’t like to wear make up are put off by how much you have to put on. I totally get that! I’d argue about the ‘have to’ so much as ‘choose to’, and particularly with the advent of BB creams — more about them, someday, hopefully before they get replaced by something else even more allegedly magical — you don’t really have to trowel on the slap to get a look that is ‘you’, just all shined up.

And yet. Even I was rather appalled when I laid out everything I thought I’d put on my face yesterday afternoon:

In the words of my very first Mac Classic: Eep! We’ve got your Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation, which is on tap to review for my tried & tested column in the Herald; Sisley Instant Primer, which I didn’t fancy so much the first time I tried, but wanted to give it a second chance; new Maybelline Colossal Smoky Eyes Mascara; a gorgeous palette from Yves Saint Laurent, as seen on new representative Face, Jessica Chastain — this will make me look just like her; a YSL illuminator pen thing, for around the eyes; Sisley lipgloss, with the option of the NYC lipstick; Dr Hauschka Illuminating Powder, even though I am not a huge fan of loose powder… And a whole bunch of eye pencils that I can’t even see what they are. And an AVON lipstick I found in a coat pocket. And the Shine So Bright from Lush.

No blush, I thought, since it was going to be all about the Smoky Eye.

Also not pictured, the combination I am using on the brows at the moment as the HD Brow dye wears off: Speed Brow by BeneFit, and the super excellent AVON Glimmerstick Brow Definer in Soft Brown.

Then I lost my nerve.

See, I had to go to the theatre to review a show, and it was opening night at the Abbey, and there would be loads of people I knew, and I didn’t want to pitch up looking like Morticia Addams. I don’t have a lot of confidence in my Smoky-Eye-creating ability, so I ditched the entire plan, and feel back on the one I am liking so much at the moment:

Red lipstick. Can’t put much else on the face when you are working that, IMHO. Went with everything as planned, primer-foundation-powder-wise, used the Maybelline mascara > LOVE, and then plucked up my old-faithful eyeliner, L’Oréal Superliner Luminizer for Blue Eyes, which, in fairness, seems to luminize. I also ended up using a Wella concoction on The Hair, I think it is so old it is not even on eBay. Still works though!

I am very impressed by the Bourjois foundation, judge as best you can from the pixilley iPhone image. I was underwhelmed by the Dr Hauschka, and ended up giving myself a going over with a new Clarins palette, Odyssey Face Palette, which: more about that later, too.

Now. The thing is, I don’t carry all this around with me in the course of a day. For an evening out at the theatuh, one bring only one’s powder, black pencil to touch up the liner on the upper inner eyelid, the brow pencil and, of course, the lipstick/gloss. One means, come on! Don’t need to lug around the whole face, as it were.

I’m going to declare a Smoky Eye Day, and stay in and practice. There will be pictures to prove it happened…

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I Love a Good Package: Benefit Lip & Cheek Kits

/ brightandbeautyfull / 4 Comments

I remember when Benetint blipped on my radar: I was going through an all-lipstick, all-the-time phase, and the constant reapplying was wrecking my head. I didn’t give a toss about touching up in public, but the constant vigilance was wearing. My pal Julie was my Lipcote mule {was still in NYC and did not have direct access to that magical, magical potion} but I wanted even more staying power. A lipstain like Benetint sounded like it would fill the bill to overflowing.

Except that I maybe have an excessively sensitive gob? Because the brushing-it-on part drove me crayzee: nails on the chalkboard time, awful, awful! Dabbing some on my finger didn’t really help, and I was so annoyed at the waste that I didn’t bother using it as a blusher. Cutting off my nose to spite my face, as usual.

So it was with mixed feelings that I received an abundance of lip and cheek kits from the San Fran brand… Continue reading →

Q: Why is This Woman Grinning Like an Eeeejit? A: HD Brows.

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

HD Brows are the best thing ever, ever, ever.

Ever. Seriously, it’s like the rest of the face can just chill out, because the brows are doing all the work.

I just got them seen ta yesterday at Carter Beauty in Blackrock, and the world of difference it makes!

If you haven’t seen the before-and-after gallery on their site, go have a look.

Evidence: compelling.

***

What else have I got going on?

> The Hair: Dermalogica Shine Therapy Shampoo & Silk Finish Conditioner {€22.20/28.65} with a few squirts of L’Oréal Mythic Oil Milk {€19.99}

> Foundation Le Teint Touche Éclat from Lancôme {€38}. I think I got too light a shade, maybe? Can’t tell from the seriously warm photo. I’m not sure this is right for me. I have to give this another go, and see.

> 10 Bronzer {€34} from Benefit because of the above.

> Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara {€21}

> NYC HD Color Quattro Eye Shadow in Queens Boulevard {€3.49}. I didn’t use the full quattro, only a duo; the palette is nicely purple-y.

> Dr Hauschka Lipstick Novum in Slow Mood {16.50}, because I was going for a neutral lip. I’m thinking it is only okay, and was sorry that I hadn’t remembered this new Lacura Beauty lippy I’m liking at the moment, from Aldi, in 419. It’s a smoky purple-y grey, and the other day? I ate an apple, and it didn’t wear off. !

Hey, that’s one pricey face…

Best Make Up Brush Ever?!? Blank Canvas Cosmetics Flat Top Kabuki Brush

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Well, I wouldn’t come out and say it if I didn’t think so.

No, but really: I think it is.

It is very late for me to be pitching up to the make up brush party, but better late than never. I have always had so much stuff all over the place, that the thought of having to figure out how to keep brushes nice, and of having the numerous brushes needed to put all that stuff on my face — blush, foundation, lips, brows, and the eight million varieties of eye shadow brush! I ask you! — it was all very overwhelming

I’d been lazy, I admit, and have always just gotten by with what is provided by the manufacturer. Then I started working for U magazine back in the mid 00s, and I remember somebody, if not all of the bodies, yelling at me because I didn’t have any make up brushes. So, duly chastened, I started collecting them, and finding them to be… eh, only okay.

Cut to 2012, and I’ve got a couple of lovely looking, illuminating pressed powders, one from Elizabeth Arden {Pure Finish Highlighter in Rose Illumination} and 10 from Benefit. The former comes sans brush, and the latter with a teeny flat one that looks like miniature version of a dandy brush. I use that one for both, and then go through my collection of brushes for the face, and decide that the products are rubbish. They are making no impression whatsoever.

And then I used Blank Canvas Cosmetics’ Flat Top Kabuki Brush, and it as though night became day. BCC is an online Irish cosmetics brand, and the brushes have been developed by Úna Tynan. Drawing on her skills as a professional MUA, there’s a whole range of synthetic brushes to choose from, as well as gorgeous, colourful palettes of eye colour and blush…

Sorry, got a bit distracted. Anyway: this brush is brilliant. It really picks up the product and holds it fast until you actually get it onto your face. It’s my new go-to, and I wish there was a version that I could slip into my handbag? A teeny one, for touch-ups? Sure, I’m only wondering…

Since the tan is fading, I’m going to give this a go with foundation very soon. My hopes are high, and I have every expectation of them being happily fulfilled.

***

The Blank Canvas Cosmetics Flat Top Kabuki Brush is €14, see www.blankcanvascosmetics.com for more info. They ship pretty much everywhere, apparently!

Completely Genius Move, Benefit: They’re Real! Anniversary Special

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I wrote briefly about Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara back in March:

The result is amazeballs, but one must get as much on in the first coat, because it dries hard, and it’s difficult to get another coat on. You know what I mean? It kind of sets in stone? Which is grand — if you get the first coat correct.

I do love the look that I get from this, and think of it as ‘special occasion’ wear; I also tend to save the use of this for going on holiday. Anyone else? Save ‘looks’ for when you go away or for weddings and stuff? Cue tumbleweeds or…?

Anyway, imagine my delight when I saw the mum-and-child version of this product! That wee one is perfect for saving to bring along to the Med or to NYC, or when you’re planning any kind of, er, overnighter.

So, help celebrate the first birthday of They’re Real! with this really useful package. I still do find that you’ve got to get it right the first time, but when you do, the lashes stay fresh looking the live long day.

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€26.50/£18.50/$23

Sorry, Your Problem is *What*, Exactly?

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A reader writes:

Sue, I have eyelashes that are so long they actually get tangled. And when I put on mascara, they sort of lump into little triangles. I bought a little comb to even it all out but it just makes me look like a tarantula … what to do?

Oh, no, are your diamond shoes too tight, as well?

J/K! Here at Bright & Beautyfull! we understand that one woman’s desperate dream is another’s too-long eyelash dilemma. No judging! And we couldn’t be happier that this betch has got lashes to die for, right? Right!

In all fairness: gunky lashes are a feckin’ drag, and I’ve got some ideas how to get around this.

>As I know the writer, and know she is so pale as to be Irish {of which descent she is, indeed}, I first suggested she eschew black for brown/black, or just brown. I know we all want big blingy lashes, but sometimes, half the battle may be fought on the field of hue and intensity. In other words, the lashes may not look so tangly if they are less dark.

>Always wipe excess product off of the applicator. You think you’re scraping enough away when you do that rubby-thing as you take out the wand, but if you are using a fat brush-y applicator, chances are good that there is even more on there, and you can do without it.

>Less is more if your lashes are tangling, so several very, very — very — light coats are far more effective and manageable than one heavy coat. This is actually not obvious! One may presume that several coats are apt to create an even snarlier sitch, but that’s what that lash comb is for. Much easier to tease out the lashes when the layers are light.

>Get rid of the fat brush-y applicator altogether, and buy a brand that comes with one of those spiky applicators. I know, they are scary looking, but I have become a staunch supporter. My personal faves are benefit They’re Real and Lancôme Ocillation Vibrating Infinite Mascara — I don’t use the vibrate function on the latter, as it makes my nose itch, and it really doesn’t do squat, anyway. Also, L’Oréal make Paris Telescopic Explosion Mascara, which is the silliest name ever, and the wand is the freakiest {look!}, but this separates lashes likes nobody’s business.

>Finally, I would recommend trying something like ELF‘s Lash & Brow Clear Mascara. It costs one single dollar, and it may allow Reader’s lashes to be defined without colour, and without colourful clumps. I’d also try it as a primer. Brush it on, let it dry, comb it out, and apply the other mascara.

I’ve got photos, but not to hand, as I coming to you live! from Deandgrange Public Library {and only because I wanted to go to Lidl}, so I’ll wait ’til Dear Reader gets back to me with a progress report!

Dublin Ladiez, and Cork Ones

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I highly recommend calling in to your local fancy department store, as listed below, and having a sesh with Lisa Potter Dixon, Benefit’s Head Make-up and Trend artist. It was she who dropped the wisdom of the foundation brush at the launch for the brand’s new Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation {please to read about it here.*}

She is very cool, and has great style herself, as you can imagine. She is also really personable, and if you find yourself intimidated by the thought of a head make-up and trend artist: don’t be! I found her to be really friendly and enthusiastic.

If you’ve been gasping for a bit of a tweak in the area that concerns make-up, do thisssssssss. It’s a €30 redeemable charge; receive a cream eye shadow with 2 or more items.

Hurry! Places are limited!

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Benefit Debenhams: Patrick Street, Cork, Thursday 22nd March 2012 11am – 5pm.
Call 021 4648464 to book your personal appointment.

Benefit Brown Thomas: Grafton Street, Dublin, Friday 23rd March 2012 12pm – 5pm
Call 01 6171139 to book your personal appointment.

*Sorry, I just read The Moonstone, and all the servants said ‘please to’ all the time, as in ‘please to read my blog, kind ladiez’. I couldn’t resist, and frankly, it wrote itself. Sorry, again; carry on.

What I Put on My Face Yesterday

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

Just make up-wise; skin care is a whole ‘nother post.

>POREfessional by Benefit. It is the biz. I think it is made of feathers and velvet, it’s so soft.

>That Perfection Lumiere foundation from Chanel {more on that later}

>Umm… I knew I should have done this as I was doing it, if you know what I mean, because I forget what — oh, of course! My last year’s LE of MAC Beauty Powder, in Passionflower.

>More MAC: a few swipes of Penultimate on the brows because the dye is dying, oh nooooo. The pen is dying as well! Ach!

>The Blush Horizon de Chanel, and more on that anon as well.

>That Karaja black eyeliner that I adore. It is harder to use now it’s getting shorter, just because my eye thinks I am trying to poke it out.

>I’ve been very pleased with the new technology that has made liquid eyeliner easier to apply. Ir maybe practice does make perfect. Anyway, I love L’Oréal’s Super Liner Luminizer for Blue Eyes. It lasted through my very long yesterday, and that applicator is top class.

>Benefit High Brow Glow, which I always look at and go, ‘Eh?’ and then I just stroke some in the arch of my brow and go ‘Oh!’ the pearlescent sparkle really does make a difference.

>Yesterday it was… yet another Benefit product! Mascara: They’re Real! The result is amazeballs, but one must get as much on in the first coat, because it dries hard, and it’s difficult to get another coat on. You know what I mean? It kind of sets in stone? Which is grand — if you get the first coat correct.

>The Clarins Gloss Prodige in Papaya. I think this has magic in it? because it feels light like a gloss but looks like a shiny, shiny lipstick. Me likey.

That took me longer to write than it did to actually do. Ten minutes, tops? Maybe fifteen? That’s just regular-day-face, as shown. I’m going to be playing with false eyelashes over the long bank holiday/Paddy’s day weekend… something tells me that’s going to screw up the curve…

Yes, You Do Need to Use a Foundation Brush

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

Yesterday, at a launch for Benefit’s new Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation {more about this anon}, their Head Make Up and Trend Artist, the vivacious Lisa Potter-Dixon, demonstrated the need for the foundation brush.

I have only once or twice bothered with such, and I’m all like, what, are my fingers broken? All assembled were given a compelling demonstration as to why a brush is a good idea.

Fingers are dodgy, covered in germs, and also: absorbent. Using a mirror, Lisa swept some on its surface with her fingers, and hmmm, streaky.

Cosmetics sponges are not much better, as we were shown. Most of the foundation was sucked up by the sponge, and in fact, seemed to be taking it off the mirror as soon as it was spread on it. Okaaay…

The brush, however, created an opaque and, well, flawless finish. As Lisa smoothed the make up on the mirror, there was collective ‘Ahhh!’ and several other expostulations. For a roomful of well-educated, seen-it-all beauty journos, that’s saying something. But then, a direct, no-fuss, straightforward Demo of Truth is always gonna work.

So there she is, the latest addition to my grooming routine. I sigh. Why? Another thing to forget to clean? Another thing to fret about packing? Sure, we’ll see how we got on, but I suppose once I get used to it, I won’t even know the difference…

€27.50/£19.50/$24

Make Up, Now With Even More Interactivity

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I don’t like video games because I am bad at them.

I’m bad at them because I don’t play them, and I know — I know — that if I don’t play them, I’m never going to get better at them, and if I don’t get better at them, I will never like them.

Not that it’s a burning ambition of mine to ace Red Dead Redemption, even though there are horses in it, but Kids Today™ are into them, and I like to keep up.

I feel like the new Benefit website has all the design and fun of a video game, with fewer explosions. Continue reading →