Luscious Lips - Benefit California Kissin' Moisturising Lip Balms*

Hi Guys x I hope you're all having a nice weekend, although this post is going live a little later than I intended it to, today sees the return of my Luscious Lips series, which is basically a little mini series, when I talk about either some of my favourite lip products, and I try out a lip product that is new to me. Today's post is probably a bit of both, something both new to me, and something that I really like

Let's take little trip back to 2020, No? Okay I don't really blame you if you want to forget that 2020 ever existed, 2020 to put it mildly was a bit rubbish, but when we were eventually set free, and shops and online retailers started opening up again, I ended up picking up a few beauty bits including this Christmas 2020 set from Benefit Cosmetics.

Showcasing one of their most recent introductions, California Kissin' Club contained 5 Mini California Kissin' Moisturising Lip Balms, in 5 of their most popular shades, which were perfect for the festive season. I'm huge fan of kits like this, that give you a chance to try a few mini products for around the same price, or sometimes even less that it would cost for the full size, plus who doesn't love a mini!

Packaged in slightly different packaging to the full sizes, these lip balms come packaged in super cute, mini silver black and clear bullets, with a typical Benefit style girl illustration.

To call these babies just lip balms though is a bit of a disservice - containing hyaluronic and wild mango butter, these balms not only promise softer, more hydrated and smoother lips, but they also claim to give up to 8 hours of vibrant, cushiony soft colour - so no they aren't just lip balms, they are tinted lip balms, and boy do I mean tinted!

From Left To Right - Berry 333, Spiced Red 11, Wine 222, Ruby 22 and Cherry 00

As you can see these certainly aren't one of those wishy, washy tinted balms that you can buy, the pigmentation levels, and colour pay off is insane. Just one swipe produces a swatch of smooth, creamy vibrant colour, that probably more resembles a moisturising lipstick rather than a tinted balm.

With a gorgeous fruity, mango / peach type taste and scent, these balms feel nice and smooth and moisturising on the lips without feeling overtly sticky or slimy. Since these have a slightly curved, flat tip, it is a little difficult to keep these highly pigmented balms within the lip line, so if you want a really precise finish then I would probably apply them with care or with a lip brush.

As you would expect from such moisturising bold colour there was a little bit of movement and transfer. I'm not sure about their 8 hour wear time claim, but for what in essence is a lip balm, the wear time wasn't bad. Whilst the initial sheen wore off in an hour or so, there was still a hint of colour left on the lips and they still felt moisturised and protected.

Berry 333

Spiced Red 11

Wine 222

Ruby 22

Cherry 00

Are these the longest wearing lip colours in the world? no probably not, are these the most moisturising lip balms that you'll ever use? also no. Despite that though I really, really like these, they taste and smell yummy, the quality is superb, the colour payoff is amazing for a tinted balm, and they feel really, really nice on the lips.

The colours in this set are some of the most vibrant and bold within the California Kissin' range, with Berry and Spiced perhaps being the most wearable ones, but if these shades aren't for you there are another 11 shades to try.

This particular kit is no longer available, but there are a couple of other mini kits that you might be able to get your hands on, including Kisses & Wishes, which contains 4 shades including Ruby and Spiced Red, as well as two new shades, Nude Rose, and Rosewood. This kit is probably the hardest to find now as it was a Christmas gift set from last year, but I did manage to get my hands on it in the Boxing Day sales, so I'll be sharing a review of both Nude Rose and Rosewood in a future post.

One mini set that does seem to still be pretty easy to find thought it the Pucker Up, & Peace Out Lip Balm Trio, which contains mini sizes of Spiced Red, Ruby, and Berry, With an RRP of £19.50 it's available from a few retailers including Boots, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic, Debenhams, All Beauty, NEXT, Escentual and Cult Beauty. If you're interested in this particular kit though I would shop around a bit if I were you, and this particular kit does appear to be on sale on a few sites.

If minis aren't your style though or if you've already tried these lips balms and you already love them, then you can get a full 3g full size in one of 16 different shades, packaged in fabulous sculptural packaging for a recommended retail price of £19 from all of the retailers that I've previously mentioned as well as direct from Benefit Cosmetics, John Lewis, and House Of Fraser. Again though being the bargain hunter that I am, I'd shop around as quite a few retailers have some pretty decent discounts either on the whole range or on selected shades.

Are you a fan of tinted lip balms? Let me know your favourites in the comments, and don't forget to contact me either via the comments section, or via social media if you have any questions x

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links.

Benefit Cheek Parade Beauty And The Beat Blush Kit And Some Cheeky Gift Ideas

I've never made any secret of the fact that Benefit Cosmetics are one of my favourite make up brands. I know some people are put off by their fun and quirky persona but take my advice and if that's not your thing, get past that and see what lies beneath the cartoons and the colour.

I've lost count of how many Benefit products that I've tried over the years, but something that I always keep coming back to are their boxed blushers and bronzers. From long discontinued blushers like Georgia and Thrrob, to newer kids on the block like Rockateur, and Dandelion, it's pretty much always been love at first swipe.

Why do I like them so much? well not only do they come in a wide variety of colours to suit all skin tones, but they also smell amazing and those little boxes seem to go on forever and ever. I love them but they aren't always the easiest things to store - don't get me wrong I love the design of those cute chubby boxes even more so now that they've included a mirror in the lid, but they are a bit chunky and if you want every single one that they do they can take up a bit of room.

Obviously you could depot them and stick them into a magnetic palette but if messing around with flat irons and magnetics isn't really your bag then there are other options. Knowing the popularity of their boxed blushers and bronzers Benefit sometimes release handy palettes contain several different shades so you can increase your cheek colour collection in one go, and this time of year is the perfect time to get your hands on some Benefit cheeky loveliness.

As per usual Benefit have gone all out for Christmas, and you can currently get your hands on a couple of cheek themed gift sets and palettes include the Benefit Cheeky Stowaways Make Up Gift Set, which contains a palette with a mini Hoola, Coralista, Rockateur and Dandelion, and mini mascara and eyeliner which retails at around £31.50 and if you're more into bronzing, highlighting and contouring then you can also get your hands on The Complexionista Face Palette for around £26.50 which contains two shades of their famous Boi-ing concealer, as well as Hoola and Hoola Lite bronzing powders, Watts Up cream highlighter, and Dandelion Twinkle powder luminiser.

Source

Source

Kits like those are great for travel or if you want to try some new shades or even try out Benefit for the first time, but none of the products in these kits are full size, and as much I love my minis sometimes I want a little bit more for my money.

The Benefit Cheek Parade Beauty And The Beat Kit came out in the Spring of this year, and I'm not going to lie, it's pretty hard (although not impossible! ) to get your hands on now, if you can find it though it's well worth picking up and I'm sure it would make any make up junkies day if they were to find this under their Christmas tree in just less that a fortnights time!

Even if you can't find it though, you can still buy ever colour in this palette individually in their own cute little boxes, but to be fair if you can find this kit why would you buy them separately?

The value of this kit in its simplest terms is insane, and that's probably why it doesn't seem to be a permanent item. This kit contains 5 FULL SIZE Benefit cheek colours, which when bought individually would retail at around £122.50 (that's around £24.50 each!) compared to the retail price of this kit which is just £49.50.

So what are you getting for your money and where's the catch? Well in it's simplest terms there doesn't seem to be a catch. The brightly coloured solid cardboard palette features a magnetic fastening, a tips and tricks leaflet, and a good sized mirror, you also get a full size version of Benefits famous square box cheek colour brushe.

In the palette your getting a nice combination of amazingly fruity scented (odd but true) blushers and bronzers, old favourites, and new products, to try. On the top row you have Hoola, Galifornia, and Rockateur, and underneath you have Hoola Lite and Dandelion

I've spoken many times about my love of Hoola bronzer but I think it may have been overtaken in the bronzer love stakes by it's paler cousin. You can read all about my love of the original Hoola here and here, but in summary despite being a pink toned pale person, it just works for me, it isn't muddy, it isn't orange, and it isn't sparkly, it's just gives me a bit more colour, and my face a bit more of a shape. I'm not gonna lie though, in the winter months, I can only wear it, by being super light handed and by blending it in really well, I guess that's why Hoola Lite has become my new best friend.

You can see the difference between the two products from the swatch above, if you're pale and you thought that bronzer and contouring was a no, no, then try Hoola Lite! Obviously it's lighter, it isn't as warm, and it's perfect for giving my face just a hint of warmth, and for doing that invisible contouring thing that just makes your face just look better. It isn't that obvious from the pictures below just how well this works on my skin tone, but I can assure that it really does make a difference and since this was pretty much a tan free year for me, I've been using this an awful lot just to get rid of that blue, grey, ill look that I can often get to my skin.

Hoola Lite isn't the only newish product in this kit, it also gave me the opportunity to try Galifornia. Released in the UK this year just in time for the spring and summer season, Galifornia is the perfect summer colour. It's a lovely mix of peach, gold, pink and coral, alas the golden sunburst is an over spray but it's still beautiful even without the extra golden hit. Again my picture isn't doing this justice at all but hopefully you can see even just a hint of the peachy, golden pink.

Alongside the Hoola cousins, and Galifornia, you also have two mainstays in Benefits boxed blush collection, the beautiful brightening pale pink of Dandelion

and the pink, nude, rose gold tones of one of the best selling blushers currently in the UK, Rockateur.

Although you can't see them too well on my face, the pigmentation in all of cheek colours is spot on. They are smooth and almost creamy and velvety to the touch and they apply and blend like a dream. Sometimes you get the impression with some palettes that the contents is slightly compromised to make it better but not in this palette, the quality and shades seem to me to be identical to the individually packed products.

I was lucky enough to get this palette for my birthday way back in May and although I've just got around to talking about now it has been one of my go to's. Yes I know I'm one of those people who likes to switch up a bit but for some reason I've just kept coming back to this palette. Maybe it's the convenience of having everything in one place, or maybe it's down to the wearability of all of the shades, I'm not really sure but one thing that I am sure of is just how pleased I am to have this palette in my collection.

As I say it isn't going to be the easiest thing to track down now but have a little search online and you may just find somewhere that has the odd one or two left. This would make a great gift for yourself or for someone else but even if you aren't lucky enough to find it, hopefully this post has given you a few ideas of some other Benefit gift sets or even boxed cheek colours that you could buy for presents or to treat yourself. Do you have a favourite Benefit boxed cheek colour? Let me know x

Sample Saturday - Benefit They're Real Double The Lip - Nude Scandal

I may have already mentioned it a few times, both on here and on Instagram, but if you haven't already heard I'm having a bit of a clear out at the moment. I'm not big on new years resolutions but I do usually set myself a few goals, a few targets and a few things that I want to achieve, and this year one of my big aims was to get myself more organised and clear out some of the junk both in my house and in my mind!

Like most things I got waylaid, but now in the last month or so of the year, I'm actually getting down to it and clearing out some of that clutter. Whilst methodically going through each room and sorting out some of my stuff I realised that something was missing? What was missing? well magazines of course. I used to be a prolific magazine buyer, I used to buy at least 4 a month and I couldn't pop into the supermarket without picking up a coffee break read but now I can go for months without buying a glossy mag.

To be honest I'm not big on celebrity gossip and I'm not big on skimming though 100 pages of adverts in every £4 or so, issue. Don't get me wrong, print magazines still have their place but my love affair with the glossy definitely seems to be over. Looking back over the last 12 months or so, the only time I seem to have bought a magazine, is either when I've been stuck in somewhere boring like a hospital, or when there is a decent free gift.

I'm a sucker for a magazine freebie but now though I seem to be a little bit more selective over which ones that I pick up. I don't need and more hand cream, or eye liners, or mascaras so I'm starting to actually think about what I buy, after all it's only a decent offer if you actually want both the magazine and the product!

Recently though the UK addition of ELLE magazine, featured a free gift that I really wanted and that I'd been debating whether or not to buy for sometime.

I've talked about my love for Benefit Cosmetics on many occasions and the freebie in question was a  Benefit They're Real Double The Lip Beyond Sexy Lipstick & Liner In One in the shade Nude Scandal.

Way back in March I posted a review of four of the shades in the collection, and I have to say I really rate them. You can have a little read here to see why but I love the colours, the texture, the wear time, and the whole lipstick and liner in one concept. My favourite shades were both of the pink colours, Pink Thrills and Lusty Rose, but I really wanted to try the shade Nude Scandal, and this magazine freebie give me the perfect opportunity to try it out.

Alas it wasn't a full size lippy, but it was a decent 0.75g, half size, which gave me plenty opportunity to try it out and to include in an all be it, very rare, Sample Saturday post x 

Obviously I've already talked about what makes these lipsticks so special, but just to recap it's all down to the shape and the shades. The entire Benefit They're Real range is basically about making the best of yourself with just a tiny hint of fakery or should I say self improvement.

In a slim, metallic look tube these lipsticks have a unique teardrop shaped tip, the lipstick at the pointed tip of the teardrop is in a slightly darker shade, compared to the rest of the teardrop. This pointed tip gives you your liner look, so when you apply the lipstick with the point at the outer edge of your lips, your lining them and filling them in with the one product.It takes a little bit of getting used to, twisting the bullet around but once you get the hang of it, it's a lot quicker than using a separate lipstick and liner.

In some of the shades there looks to be quite a drastic difference between the lipstick and liner and shades but once you get them on the lips there is no harsh line and you certainly don't get that horrible dark liner, pale lips look, instead you just get slightly fuller, plumper looking lips.

Nude Scandal is a really wearable nude, it isn't too brown, and it certainly isn't one of those pale, deathly looking nudes. It's a very pink, nude which I think will suit a lot of different skin tones. I've worn it an awful lot since I got and it's definitely one of those go to colours that literally goes with any outfit or make up look.

These lipsticks aren't the most moisturising lipsticks that I've ever used but they certainly aren't drying, and the fab demi matte formula wears incredibly well.

My only issue with these lipsticks, when I first reviewed them was the slightly odd, TCP type taste and scent, but thankfully Nude Scandal doesn't taste like something I should be applying to a cut! Whether I got a bad batch or whether they've added some fragrance and flavouring I don't know, but this tube of Nude Scandal has a very subtle vanilla taste and scent.

Although I've managed a little clear out and I've recently giving Mummy Lou a huge bagful of lip products, I still have way too many for one set of lips, despite that though Nude Scandal is a recent addition that I'm happy to have. I really like these lipsticks and Nude Scandal is an excellent everyday colour, that's really easy to apply and wear. As I say this is the half, 0.75g size but the full 1.5g size, of Benefit They're Real Double The Lip Beyond Sexy Lipstick & Liner In One in Nude Scandal retails at around £16.50 from various retailers including Boots, John Lewis, Debenhams, and of course the Benefit website. Have you tried these lipsticks yet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you're a Benefit fan I've got a couple more reviews coming up for you in the next few days.

Benefit They're Real Big Sexy Lip Kit And On Being A Quirky Girl

I was fortunate enough to spend yesterday aka Mother's Day with two of my favourite people, my mam and my Godmother. Over the last 12 months or so I've realised just how important family time actually is, and unfortunately, in this day and age, I think it's something that we all take for granted. We spent a lot of yesterday reminiscing and talking about people and times gone by, and we spent a lot of time talking, strangely enough, about ourselves and how other people see us.

Over the years I've been described as a lot of things, someone once described me as the most scarily intelligent person that they'd ever met, whilst some else described me as funny, in a weird way, we came to the conclusion, that probably the best way to describe both myself and my mum was quirky, and to be honest I'm okay with that. I've never wanted to be a sheep, and I'm never going to be one of those people that everybody loves, or that fits in anywhere like a jigsaw, I'm an individual and I'm proud of that.

It goes with saying therefore, that my outlook on life is also pretty quirky, I love anything just that little bit out of the ordinary, and anything that's just that little bit different. I'm obsessed with David Lynch, one of my favourite TV programmes at the moment is Finding Bigfoot, I love daisies, and psychedelic prints, and eventually getting back on point, I love make up brands that stand out from the rest of the crowd

Although they've been widely copied, and imitated, with their quirky, vintage style, and their often tongue and cheek humour, if you want something just that little bit different make up wise then Benefit is a good place to start.

I'm a Bene Babe and I'm proud of that, take away the fun exterior, and your usually left with a quality product that does exactly what it promises. I've tried so many of their products over the years, and so many of them have become permanent additions in my make up bag. It's hard to believe that they've been around since the 1970's, and whilst so many products in their line have become real classics, they aren't one of those brands that rests on their laurels, and their constantly developing new products and trying to please a new generation of fans.

So far in 2017, we've seen several new additions to their popular boxed blusher range, with an entirely new shade Galifornia, and with some new incarnations of some old favourites, Hoola Lite and Dandelion Twinkle. All of these on now on my wishlist, but today I'm going to talk about another relatively new Benefit addition, their new They're Real lipsticks.

Late last year, Benefit released two new kits just in time for the Christmas rush, both under their ever popular They're Real banner.  These kits, an eye and a lip kit, were just taster of what was to come, when at the beginning of this year they released a whole new range of eyeshadows and lipsticks.
The whole point of every product in the They're Real line is to take the stress and the hassle out of make up, every product is an innovation and is designed to make us all into make up artists without the years of practise and training. Since I have the enthusiasm but not always the skill, this line is right up my street, so as a little Autumn and Winter treat I picked up both of the kits, the They're Real Big Sexy Eye Kit, which I'm going to talk about in a future post, and the They're Real Big Sexy Lip Kit.

This beautiful metal tin which make the perfect gift contains, 4 half size, 0.75g lipsticks from the new They're Real Double The Lip Beyond Sexy Lipstick & Liner In One range.

Packaged in metallic, plastic tubes, that resemble Benefit's famous They're Real Mascara, these products are probably one of most unique lip products that I've seen in a long time.

Lets face it, a lipstick in most cases is just that a lipstick, they can be short and chubby, or they can be long and slim, but however they're shaped, take away the packaging be it classy or simple, and in most cases, unless you're a real beauty junkie, you probably couldn't distinguish one pink lipstick from another one. Occasionally now you'll see the odd one that looks different say with a gel core or a coating but the majority of lipsticks on the market today look pretty similar. These ones though are just that little bit different and they're different for a very good reason.

Open these beauties up and your probably expecting to see just a thin, boring ish lipstick but these lipstick or should I say lipsticks and liners in one, have two things that make them unique. As you can see from the photograph above these lipsticks not only have a distinctive teardrop shaped tip, but each lipstick also contains two colours in one. The dual colour thing isn't that new really but the shape is, because what this product enables you to do is to both line and fill in your lips, in one swipe. All you do is apply the lipstick like you normally would only making sure that the pointed tip is positioned along your upper lip line, and that you turn the lipstick upside down to fill in your lower lip.

There are 8 shades to choose from in the full 1.5g size, but this kit gives you the opportunity to try 4 of the most popular shades in a handbag friendly, half size.

The shades are from left to right, Flame Game, a fiery orange, red, Pink Thrills, a classic, bright pink, Revved-Up Red, a cherry, pink red shade, and Lusty Rose, a lovely neutral rose pink.

Apologies that the swatches aren't that neat but what I was trying to show you, was the slight colour variations between the lipstick and the liner shades. In the bullet I think the differences look a lot more pronounced, and in some cases quite scary. I wish the obsession with darker or different coloured lip liners to lipsticks would crawl under a rock and die - I'm not a fan at all, and despite looking in some cases like they could give you that sort of look, the difference on the lips with these ones is actually quite subtle.

In every single one that I tried, the lip liner shade didn't look obvious, the colours just complimented each other perfectly and in my experience the slight colour variation actually gives the lips a slightly plumper, and fuller appearance. I think that's really the whole point of these lipsticks to actually make your lips look fuller, and as though you've spent ages applying lipstick and liner, and by and large Benefit's consumer testing appears to say exactly that, with 91% of participants saying that there lips looked visibly fuller and sexier. I definitely like how they look on my lips and since I personally received several compliments when I wore them, I think I have to agree with them - what do you think?

Flame Game 

Pink Thrills

Revved-Up Red

Lusty Rose

I've really enjoyed wearing these lipsticks, and this kit has even taken me out of my comfort zone with shades like Flame Game. As you can see the pigmentation is superb, and whilst the semi matte formula, isn't the most hydrating, it doesn't leave your lips dry and parched. I guess the formulation also helps with the illusion of fullness, and it also aids the wear time, I didn't quite get the 8 hours that Benefit claim but I easily managed a few hours out of each one which considering the amount of water I drink, is pretty amazing in my book.

Although 95% of testers that Benefit surveyed claim that these lipsticks are super easy to apply, I personally think that you need a little bit of practise just to get your technique on point. I found them pretty easy to apply on my top lip, but I struggled at first when I had to flip the bullet to do my bottom lip - I was all fingers and thumbs for some reason. The bullet itself is ergonomically designed so it's pretty easy to hold and practise as they say makes perfect.

So do I like these? In it's simplest terms yes I do, I have to say when I first swatched them I wasn't sure but once I started using them, I got it, I love the coverage, and the wear time, and my pout definitely looks a little bit fuller when I wear them. Any drawbacks? well if you love really moisturising, and really creamy lipsticks then these probably aren't for you, and they do have a slightly weird, almost TCP like smell, and taste, but that soon disappears, and the positives for me firmly outweigh any negatives. 

The Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Big Sexy Lip Kit, retails at around £25.50 and is currently available from various retailers including,  the official Benefit Cosmetics website, as well as Boots, Debenhams, John Lewis, House Of Fraser, and QVC UK. This kit is great for travel or for trying out some new colours, or for anyone who wants to try out this new concept but if you like what you see, you can also buy the individual lipstick in the full size, in these four shades, and in additional four shades, for around £16.50 each. My favourite colours in this kit are definitely the pinks, Pink Thrills and Lusty Rose, so even though I did get another mini in a recent Birchbox, I can definitely see myself picking up the full sizes in the near future, and I'm definitely going to add the shade Nude Scandal to my ever increasing beauty wishlist? What do you think about these lipsticks? Have you tried them yet? Let me know your thoughts below x

My Benefit Cosmetics Brow Experience* And A Haul

As much as I love make up and own way too much of it I have to admit I'm often pretty lazy when it comes to applying it. If I can skip a step or a product then I probably will. Wearing glasses as I do, my eyes are usually pretty well hidden so I don't always see the point in wearing eyeliner, or false lashes and up until recently my brows received nothing more than the a cursory glance and a quick comb.

Yes, I attacked them with the tweezers and occasionally I used a brow gel or a pencil, but by and large I just let them be. There are a lot of trends though in make up and one of the hottest trends of the moment is a perfectly groomed eyebrow, I dutifully bought a few extra brow products but I just didn't "get it" thanks to Benefit Cosmetics though now I do get it and I understand the difference that a good brow can make to your face, even if you do wear glasses like I do.

A few months ago now I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Benefit Cosmetics counter in Debenhams, in Newcastle.to take a look at their new brow collection, and to have a complimentary brow treatment.

Founded in San Francisco in 1976, Benefit consider themselves as brow experts, and last year they waxed and groomed over a million sets of brows in the UK alone. Basically they know what they're doing and despite feeling a little nervous about the idea of hot wax, I knew that I was safe in their very friendly and capable hands.

Unlike a lot of companies and salons, Benefit treat every customer as an individual they don't use any stencils, instead they use a special brow mapping tool, and years of experience to create the perfect brow shape, for your face and for your lifestyle. I'm pretty useless at names but the lovely one of their make up artists mapped my brows and then told where I'd been going wrong! Well basically everywhere! My own brows were sparse, totally over plucked and I'd  pretty much lost my natural shape and my brow tails! What can I say? skinny brows were a trend at the time but thankfully Benefit had to products and the expertise to help me create my own wow brows.

I then had a chance to look at some of the products in the new Benefit Brow collection before she expertly showed me how to apply some of the products to create various brow looks, depending on different aspects of my lifestyle and what look I was going for. The difference was already phenomenal but the best was yet to come.

It seemed a shame to wipe all that make up off but that's exactly what Dean, the counters brow specialist did. My make up was wiped off, and I then had to fill in a form and then it was shaping time. Dean was really friendly and again gave me some advice regarding my brow shape, and what I could do to improve it, he then waxed and perfected my current brow shape and got rid of the strays and stragglers. As a regular tweezer I'm now a warm wax convert, it hurt way less, and the finish and crispness was way better than anything that I could ever achieve with tweezers! It's around £14.50 for a basic brow wax but for me it now a necessity not a luxury!

Unlike a lot of companies Benefit don't let you go home with sore looking brows, Dean applied a soothing after wax solution, before covering the slight redness with Benefit's famous Boing Concealer, and then filling my brows in with various products to make my brows look magazine cover ready.

At last I get it! get your shape right,and fill in the gaps in your brows, and it really can look as though you've had a face lift. My face looked lifted, my eyes looked wider, and I just looked more polished and alive. I haven't managed any good photos unfortunately but there are a couple of before and afters on my Instagram page but it's safe to say that I'm now a Benefit brow convert. I've followed Dean's advice to the letter and I haven't put a pair of tweezers near my eyes since, I've had Benefit waxes every month for the past three months now and along with using some of the Benefit  brow products I can really see the difference in the shape and growth of my brows, and from someone who barely owned a brow product, I now have a large collection based on the look that I'm going for and how long I have to do my make up.

The lovely Benefit counter staff recommend quite a few products in the range, and whilst I would ultimately love to own the entire brow collection, I just bought some of the initial products that they recommended and I can always add to my stash later.

The first product that I bought Browvo is probably my favourite product from the new line and it was recommended to me as my must have. Browvo is a conditioning eyebrow primer, that is crammed full of vitamins and minerals, and conditioners including soy protein and keratin. Packaged in their new space age, silver packaging, Browvo comes in a twist up style applicator with a soft, nodule, spike, covered head, twist it up, and simply apply the gel to clean, dry brows. You can either use this gel at night to help to thicken the brow hairs, and encourage growth, or you can use it as a conditioning treatment and as a primer under the rest of your brow products. I have to say I'm loving this one, it's already made an appearance in my July / August Favourites video (coming soon), and I really think it's helped to improve both the growth rate and the thickness of my brow hairs. Benefit Browvo Conditioning Eyebrow Primer retails at £21.50

The next product that was recommended to me was the Precisely My Brow Pencil in shade 4, which is one of Benefit's medium shades. In the new brow collection all of the coloured products bar Gimme Brow comes in 6 shades, ranging from the palest of the pale, to jet black  and I was matched to shade 4. Precisely My Brow is a twist up brow pencil, with a spoolie on the end that doesn't need sharpening. This pencil is one of the most natural products in the line, and  creates very fine almost hair like strokes, making it  ideal for filling in gaps in your brows in a natural way. Precisely My Brow Pencil retails at £18.50.

If the natural look isn't for you, then the Goof Proof brow pencil is probably more your cup of tea. Again I got this in shade 4 and like the Precisely pencil is a non sharpening twist up pencil, with a spoolie on the end. This pencil though is a look thicker and it an almost diamond shaped tip. Use the tip and you can create hair like strokes and use it flat and you can fill in much larger areas. Goof Proof Eyebrow Pencil also retails at £18.50

As I say there are a few other things I would like to add to my own personal Benefit brow collection, but they will have to wait, in the meantime though I did manage to pick up a few Benefit brow items free with some magazine, including one of the things that I really wanted try, Ready Set Brow.

Although they were only minis, I ended up buying two magazines to get two, This is basically just a clear brow gel that you can either wear on it own, or you can use it to set and extend the wear of your other brow products. I've tried this a few times and again I'm a convert and I'll definitely be buying the full size.It's great for flattening out those stray and spiky hairs and for setting other products without leaving your brows rock solid and stiff.

Next up Gimme Brow, and like Browzings this is a product that already existed in the Benefit inventory but it's been brought right up to date and repackaged in the new silver, futuristic packaging. It now comes in an extra shade, so you can choose from 1, Light, 3, Medium and 5 Deep. I'm a 4 and I've been told that I would probably now be a 3 in Gimme Brow, but this Glamour freebie only came in 1 and 5 so I decided to try the Deep shade for a different look.

Another magazine was also giving away mini Goof Proof's but again they didn't have the full colour selection so I ended going for 2. It's a touch light for me but I'm think I might be able to use it like the new 3D Brow Tones, to add some highlights and depth to my brows.

No longer am I the girl with just a couple of brow products with this little lot and some stuff that I've bought and acquired I'm now well sorted when it comes to brow products. If you would like any individual reviews of any of these products then please let me and you can also let me know if you'd like to see any reviews of these classic Benefit products.

I'm a sucker for a mini, and these travel sizes were placed next to the tills in Boots and they just fell into my basket! You could choose from 4 mini products and you got a few clear cosmetics bag. I went for a few old favourites and something new.

Benetint was one of Benefit's first ever products and it remains one of their most popular and for good reason. On first appearance it looks like nail polish but this rosy red, rose scented liquid can be used as either a lip stain or as a cheek colour, I also chose a mini 4ml size of High Beam. High Beam was the first ever Benefit product that I owned, I loved Victoria Beckham's sharp iridescent cheekbones, and this was supposedly the product that she used all those year ago,  and it's something that I still use and love today. I just pop a tiny bit of this pale pink, shimmery highlighting cream onto my cheek bones and onto my brow bone and I'm good to go. I also got a 4ml bottle of Posie Tint, Posie Tint is one of the newer editions but it's something else that I love, again it resembles nail polish but it add a flash of creamy pink to both your lips and your cheeks and you should know by now that I'm partial to a bit of pink.

The final product that I got is something that I haven't actually seen in the full size. Benefit's Boing 02 / Eye Bright Duo, which combines two of Benefit's most popular complexion products Boing Concealer and Eye Bright in the one compact. I'm normally shade 1 in Boing which I love and that also features in my July / August favourites but this is shade 2 which is a little bit darker. It should still work for me though when I have a tan or I could always use it for contouring. I really bought it though for the Eye Bright which is something that I haven't used in this format, I've used the pencil which is great for getting rid of darkness around the eye area but this is the cream version which I haven't actually seen elsewhere before and I'm looking forward to trying.

I've always loved Benefit Cosmetics but after being introduced to their new brow collection and their brow services, I'm even more of a convert than I was before, and I would definitely recommend that you give them a go, if you want to try out some of the latest and most innovative brow products on the market. You can find out a little bit more about my brow experience and find out a little bit more about the products I bought in the accompanying You Tube video which you can watch via this link or below.



I actually have a few more Benefit Cosmetics hauls to come including a sale haul post, and a combined haul and review post on some of their newest products. I'm going to you guessing for a little while but this picture below might give you a few hints :)

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions on any of the products or things that I've talked about in this post, or if you would like any full reviews then please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you xx

*The Brow Mapping And First Wax Was Complimentary But I've Paid For Every Subsequent Wax And All Of The Products Featured Myself