Ok so I know I have been vacant from blog work for like a while and I feel guilty I am sincerely apologetic but A levels and gross things got in the way BUT I am back and I have actually changed quite a lot since my previous posts so I have changed a few things on the layout and am ready to share more of what has happened in these past few months!
So, I got a new job 6 weeks ago with Benefit Cosmetics as a Beauty Assistant on counter and it has been the best thing to happen to me for like at least 43 years literally I am living for it! I applied for the job on a whim hoping that they would even reply let alone invite to me their audition day! I passed through the audition day and within three weeks of me applying I was starting my job on counter and I am absolutely loving every single second of it. The experience is so amazing and i get to sell products and do make overs on lovely people it's honestly amazing to kind of prove to myself that I can do the job i have been wanting to do for so long and actually get praise for it! I have been into beauty and cosmetics for about 7 months now ever since I started experimenting with make up and seeing how much confidence it gave me It was really a downward spiral from there (well downward for my bank balance but these cheekbones were getting HIGHER do you know??) BUT ITS SO FUN and now I have my foot in the door with Benefit I can't wait to work up and up and move onto other houses, whether it be part time at uni or full time, I am so happy that it i'm doing something I LOVE! It's also kind of an advert to just apply for jobs that you don't think you will get or if you feel like you're under-qualified because you might not be and you'll never know unless you apply!
So, I have been given a kit of essential beauty goods from Benefit and a few of our best sellers and I thought I would go through them with you all I mean what's not to love about new make up like ??????? YAAS!
So I had actually even before i got the job at Benefit, I was wanting to try the 'They're Real' mascara because it just looked super snazzy and it had amazing reviews and I can 100% say that it lives up to the hype. As the number one bestselling mascara in the country for the past two years, it comes with this mega chunky mega volume rich wand with the spikes all around (i always say spikes at work and then feel like i'm selling a medieval torture weapon for your eyelashes hmm), even on the tip, so when it gets to the lower lashes or the lashes on the outer corner of your eye that can be hard to reach, it is IDEAL for that extra length. It leaves a matte black finish and is completely non-clumping so you can add as much as you like , whenever you want. For example, on my lunch break I usually add another layer just in-case this really cute guy I see on the train everyday comes in and wants to take me out for a pretzel. (you never know?!).
It retails at £19.50 but honestly it is unbelievable how much length and volume you achieve without it looking like you've got the whole bottle on your eyes. Fun fact, it actually sells more units than number 2-10 in the top ten COMBINED and compared the other houses it is a less expensive but sexier product and I will literally die with this mascara in my arms.
Now, I don't usually play in the land of liners because either a) I am weak and can never create a straight line or a flick and it ends up looking like i did it with a whiteboard pen and b) liquids are always super runny and it's like woah hold up Niagara Falls so I was a little apprehensive to try this liner but I have literally been converted so hard. The gel formula is so easy to glide right onto the lid, and it dries to a matte black finish that is 100% smudge free and will last you all day! The AcuFlex formulated tip floats and molds to whatever shape you need for your eye, whether it be a thin lash hugging line, or a chunky eye defining slither with the classic flick, this liner can do it for you! At just £18.50 it is another one of our best selling products that just transforms any look, and with it's re-launch last month in some new matte colours such as khaki green, blue, purple and brown, it is a revolutionary product that I will now never be able to live without.
Complexion wise I have only ever used Clarins foundation, so trying new foundations for me is always something that i'm a bit scared about just because when you have found one that you adore you like to stick to it, however the foundation and complexion range from Benefit is absolutely flawless. Our foundation range "Hello Flawless Oxygen" is enriched with brightening and lightening ingredients to give you that radiant finish. It is 100% oil free and has SPF 25 and PA+++ ( which translates to the highest UVA protection there could be which is pretty snazzy and hella scientific for a make up brand yaas) so you're going to be getting a bright sunkissed look without the worry of sunburn or sun damage! I use the shade Ivory "pure for sure" and it is so lightweight that when I first used it I was skeptical of the coverage that it was going to give me because I love a flawless full coverage face, but it is so build-able that you can achieve any coverage that you desire! The product actually bubbles and moves when you pump it out of the bottle which I find hilarious, and it lives up to it's name of "oxygen flawless" as you can actually see and feel how light weight it is before you even put it onto your face. It comes in 9 different shades, each with a corresponding full coverage face powder to set, and it is a cool £26.50. The colours are quite warm so for a porcelain princess like me it can be a worry, but once i've highlighted my under eyes and high points of my face it is a gorgeous colour for summer. This complexion kit, which is £25.50 and contains £44 pounds worth of product in, actually contains two of our boing concealers, a full coverage creamy concealer for mulit-purpose use, a small face powder and the number one best selling primer in the UK, our Porefessional.
The Porefessional was the first benefit product that I ever bought before I worked for them, and it absolutely transforms the way your whole make up look is going to eventually look. It contains silica and vitamin A which is going to completely mattify your face and smooth out pores or fine lines you have on your face. This is going to provide you with the smoothest of smoothest bases for your foundation, and it means that your foundation is also going to last a lot lot longer because the Porefessional creates a durable barrier between your face and the foundation! This not only means that your foundation is going to last you all day, but it's not going to harm your skin due to it's oil free, paraben free formula. It can be worn on top of and underneath foundation and literally if you suffer from oily skin then you NEED this ok it's transforming and you will collapse when you use it.
Colour wise Benefit is known for it's cheek and lip tints, and I got to try Benetint, which is a gorgeous moreish deep red colour that is literally so unique i have never used a product like this before it is amazing (it was actually created as a nipple tint which i mean, why not?). So it's a watery very loose light liquid tint that you simply just paint onto your lips, and the colour stains your lips and gives you a gorgeous matte finish so it'll last all day! I was worried that it would bleed off my lips into my foundation so I lined my lips with a red liner, but I have used it without a liner and it just gives you a gorgeous deep red colour that seemlessly sinks into your lips. It is buildable, and the more you add the darker it gets, so I like to add a few layers to really increase the colour. Also, it is a cheek tint, which was a terrifying prospect considering i usually use powders and the fact that this was so liquidy, however it blends in so smoothly and effortlessly into the skin on top of your foundation that it actually looks like you're just naturally blushing like you've just been given some gorgeous roses or 43 full size toblerones, and not that you've just ran a marathon. I top it with the Rockateur blush just to set it and add a bit of shimmer, but again, like all my other Benefit products, it has transformed my look and has opened my eyes to other products that I would've never used before! The set also comes with a liquid highlight in highbeam, which is a pearl toned liquid highlight that I use on the cheekbones, nose, cupids bow and under my brows to really enhance the high points of my face. I literally live for highlights so I was so excited to use it and I was not disappointed. This set is £25.50 and it an essential highlight and colour kit that is just delicious like if I could I would eat it, all of it.
And finally, onto brows. Brows have really transformed benefit into a brand that now has it's own brow bars and waxing stations and a whole range of brow products that provide you with the simplest of brows or the most sculpted and synched brow in existence (literally). I don't like to go for a full Miss Fame style brow just because I don't feel like it really suits me, however this palette gives you a happy medium. It comes with a powder and a wax, and comes in three different shades (I have the light palette). It comes with an angled brush, flat concealer brush and a pair of tweezers to ensure you can keep your brows in shape and pristine so they can really frame the face. I tend to just add powder to the last two thirds of the brow to prevent it looking too harsh, and just lightly brush it through to provide that natural look. With the angled brush, you can create a completely new shape for your brows by using the powder/wax mixture, or just lightly brush it through to add a light, natural brow. These retail at £24.50 and again I will not be able to LIVE without this palette ever again because, just like all the other products I have detailed today, build-able to your coverage. If you want a full face of blush and foundation and brows served up to the GODS then you do it, but if you want to look like you've got minimal make up on and a nice natural brow, then GOD you can do it too! That's what's the best thing, that you don't have to worry that you're going to look too made up or too natural, because it's all up to you!
It's been so good to write a beauty based post for you all and I hope you've enjoyed it I mean if you want to see any pictures or examples of how the products look on me then check my Instagram that is added in the top right of the page, as I have been wearing all of the products for the past week or check my Twitter. Thank you again for all your love and support and I will definitely be doing more blog work for you all this summer and I hope to see you all soon (not literally although that would be hilarious) but you know the drill.
Thank you and see you soon bbys
leopardprintelephant xoxo