BeneFit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow - a review.

I am just going to (try) write a brief review on this foundation, despite the fact that it has nothing particularly brief about its name! This  foundation has possibly the longest name ever - Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow.

(Image Link!)

(Image Link!)

First of all I really like the packaging, BeneFit really knows how to do fun and kitsch packaging, and this product definitely doesn't disappoint on this front, whilst also being hugely practical. The bottle is clear plastic with a little pump, which means not only can you see how much product is left as you go, it is both hygienic and easy to control how much you pump out. I found with this stuff a little does really go a long way, so the whole bottle should last you a long time! Granted the packing doesn't feel hugely luxurious, but then again I am not sure that is what BeneFit are striving for, but you cannot fault the quality nonetheless and the practicality.

Onto the product itself: I really loved the overall look and finish of this foundation. I tend to prefer a lighter more 'natural' yet radiant finish and this certainly doesn't disappoint. I would say the coverage is medium-sheer, rather than being super light. I had been religiously using a Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid foundation up until the point I stopped to test out he sample I was kindly given by the lady at the BeneFit counter, and relative to that it felt like it offered a bit more coverage, but having said that I do think you do still have relatively good skin in the first place to use this stuff. I would say that this in conjunction with a good concealer to hide a few blemishes would be fine, as it does a very good job of evening out the skin otherwise, but if you have a lot of acne this may not be the one for you.

The product is advertised as oil-free and whilst I do not doubt this, I do suffer from a very oily t-zone and I found that it didn't really hold up that well when compared to my Invisible Fluid foundation by Estee Lauder which gives me a good 5-6 hours before I feel the need to blot, sadly this definitely needing a blot after about 3 hours stuck in the office at my desk. The other negative is that although I do not suffer with acne, my skin is hugely temperamental at times and although I have a good skincare regimen going which means I rarely breakout, this foundation did cause a few dreaded pimples to appear after a few days of consistent use. I am not sure which ingredient or combination of ingredrients was the culprit but something definitely was giving me an issue!

I think this is a really great foundation, and I loved the finish and the fact is has a decent SPF of 25, but I won't be purchasing a full size version due to my breakout, despite it being a fairly minor breakout.  It's important to me that I  use something I know won't cause me any issues; I invest quite a bit of money on skincare to keep my very irritable skin clear so I don't want to undo any of that hard work (and money) by using something that doesn't quite agree with my skin, so for now I will stick firmly with my Invisible Fluid.

If oily skin isn't and issue for you and you don't suffer with breakouts, then this is a really lovely foundation that makes you look radiant and naturally polished.

Have any of you tried the BeneFit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation? 

What did you think?

xxx 

Jana

BeneFit Haul: Coralista and Hoola :0)

I don't think I have bought anything from BeneFit for quite a while...I did go crazy for some of the their smudge proof shadow liners in 2010 and earlier this year I acquired the first blush that I have ever owned that I actually use, the Hervana. It is amazing by the way. Other than that I have not really used anything BeneFit much since I was in high school, I think... and that was a REALLY long time ago now... sob.

After the success of the Hervana blush, which by the way I do genuinely wear every single day, I decided to go back to BeneFit and see what else took my fancy.

After looking at lots of swatches on-line and reading almost every review on MakeupAlley, I decided to plump for the Coralista blush. 

I don't know why I used to be so scared of blushes, and I also don't know why I never tried this one given its been around for a long time. It's probably because its quite a scary looking blush for the uninitiated.

The colour in the pan is really quite bright and for someone who is still relatively a blush 'virgin' it appears to be quite scarily bright. 

Despite this I took the plunge and I was even quite liberal with my first application. I found that the colour pay-off was still quite sheer, in spite of how vivid it is in the pan and really flattering. Highly recommend this one. I am in love. Yes, this does have a bit of 'sparkle' which I don't mind as I like the glowing look, but if you are into a matte finish then this may not be for you :0)

 

(quite a 'heavy' swatch)

Last weekend I smashed the bronzer I had been using adoringly for over the past year, the Clarins Mosaique bronzer (which was a huge limited edition one, I think,... and it lasted me, literally, yonks -I got it in May last year, I think ). I had obviously hit pan on this one, but it would have lasted me a good 4/5 months still I reckon. Then I dropped it (not for the first time), but this time it was beyond saving.

I destroyed what has been my only go-to bronzer whilst getting ready to go out for dinner so I wasn't best pleased that I then had to rummage through my stash to find something to use, which I recently completely streamlined (ie got rid of things that I had been hoarding for years) which is when I stumbled upon my old BeneFit Hoola bronzer.  From the first swirl of my brush over my forehead it was instant love. WHY? WHY? WHY did I stop using this stuff? It's amazing and the most natural looking 'olive' bronze tone I have found. I mean I loved my Clarins one, but even that one was a bit orange at times if I was a bit heavy handed.

My old Hoola bronzer was looking very tatty to say the least and totally smashed up and icky. So, obviously, I had to go and get a new one.

 Here it is, in all its beautiful glory. 

And even better, it comes with the magnetic flip lip cover with a mirror inside, which I much prefer to the old style. I will still finish up my old Hoola, I am determined not to be wasteful, BUT I just couldn't resist making sure I had my back-up ready for when the old one runs out,
which should be any day now.

BeneFit also managed to score brownie points as they offered me a very generous 5 ml sample of their Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW foundation (HFOW). Is that a mouthful or what?! I can't say that I was in the market for a new foundation, as I love my Invisible Fluid foundation from Estee Lauder (its amazing). But if its free, I am going to try it, and I'll make sure I let you know how I got on with it.

Have you hauled at BeneFit lately?

xxx 

Jana