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.

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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

Benefit Do The Hoola Beyond Bronze Kit For Complexion, Lips And Eyes

Although a date doesn't really mean anything, tomorrow marks the official start of Spring, and I for one can't wait. I know it hasn't been the coldest of winters, but it's been damp, dreary and windy and I'm seriously craving a bit of sunshine. If you're a Brit though, for most us the warmth and sunshine is still long way off but there is a way to make yourself look a bit more sun kissed even if you don't necessarily feel it.

Like most pale and pasty peeps out there, in winter time my skin alternates been bright pink, grey, white and blue! At this time of year more than any other people always seem to think that I look ill, and do you know what I probably do, so I do what most of us do and I reach for my make up bag. Many moons ago I was terrified of bronzer - yes it gives you that instant glow but on most of us ghost like people, it just looks wrong, it's either too brown, too orange or just too dark. I found a few that I vaguely got  on with but then I discovered Benefit Hoola and I finally realised just what a difference bronzer could make.

As well as having the full sized boxed powder version of Hoola, I also own a couple of minis that I've got in various Benefit kits. I think I may have mentioned it once or twice ;) but I'm a huge fan of Benefit's mini kits and one of their newest releases is Do The Hoola.

Benefit Do The Hoola Beyond Bronze Kit For Complexion, Lips And Eyes, is another one of their kits that's boxed to look just like a little book.

Open the box and inside you have a small, cardboard book shaped box with a magnetic clasp, that contains everything you'd want to give yourself that healthy bronze glow.

Containing a full size fixed mirror, and  a fold out leaflet with full instructions and application tricks, this kit contains removable, mini sizes of some of Benefits best selling products, and something new, and just a little bit exciting.

The kit contains 2 lip products, 1.4g size of Benebalm, and a 6.5ml size of Hoola Ultra Plush Lip Gloss. It also contains a 3g size of the Hoola Bronzing Powder, and a mini powder brush, as well as a 3g size of They're Real Mascara in Black and a 7ml size of the brand new, and yet to be released in the UK, Dew The Hoola Liquid Bronzer.

Hoola Bronzing Powder - 3g And Mini Powder Brush

I've already talked about Hoola in a previous post ( read it here) but for me it's obvious why it's one of the most popular bronzers in the UK. When you look at what's wrong with bronzers, two of  the things that people normally say is that they are either too orange looking, or they don't look natural. Hoola is a matte bronzing powder that contains no orange, so you get a natural looking colour, with out looking orange or sparkly or as though you're actually wearing a bronzer.

I normally just sweep it over my face in the 3 and E motion to give me face a little bit of shape but in the summer, I play it up a bit more and sweep it over my nose, my forehead and anywhere where the sun would naturally hit my skin. This powder though is perfect for tanning those bits that you may have missed so you can also use it to create a fake tan look, as I've done below or you can also use it to fill in strap marks :)

This is a pretty pigmented powder , so you need a light hand particularly if you're pale like me, apply a small amount, blend well and reapply as needed, to build up the colour that you want.

Dew The Hoola Matte Liquid Bronzer - 7ml

I don't think powder bronzer will ever go out of fashion, but times change and lately there has been a surge of both cream and liquid bronzers, and this kit contains Benefit's version Dew The Hoola. Not launched in the UK in the full size, until the end of this month, this was the product that really sold this kit to me.

I love my powder Hoola but sometimes you just want the moisture and glow, that a liquid or a powder brings. Although Dew The Hoola is a matte liquid bronzer, it seems to give the skin, a healthy glow, and a freshness that it's powder cousin doesn't.

I must admit it looks terrifying when you first pump it out, and whilst it does seem to have a touch of a orange, yellow tone to it, please give it a chance. It has quite a creamy feel, and a heady floral scent, but it blends into the skin like a dream. I really like Soliel Tan De Chanel Bronzing Make Up Base but sometimes on me it just needs more blending then I have the energy for, whilst Dew The Hoola does need to be blended into the skin to avoid any harsh, demarcation lines, it takes no effort and boy does it put the colour where it isn't.

I've blended out quite a lot of it here, but a little goes a long way, apply a little bit with your fingers and blend it out into the cheeks, or on the forehead and nose, and your left with a healthy glow, with no glitter or shimmer. In the pictures towards the end of this post I've used it over a tinted moisturiser and a touch of powder but you can use this product equally well on bare skin, especially I would imagine if you have a darker skin tone.

 Ultra Plush Lip Gloss - Hoola - 6.5ml

This is something else that I've already talked about on the blog, in my review of the Benefit The Bronze Of Champions Total Bronze Kit but I like so I'm more than happy to talk about it again.

Although it looks quite dark and bronze toned in the swatch below, this is a proper nude lipgloss, that's non sticky, and tastes lovely and fruity. I've fallen out of love with lipglosses over the years, but I'm a huge fan of this formulation and taste.

Benebalm Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm 

I only own one of these tinted balms from Benefit and while it was nice it wasn't amazing but after trying this one I think I just went for the wrong colour.

Benebalm is the coordinating lip balm to one of Benefit's first ever products Benetint. It has the same rose scent and taste and it gives the lips a hint of the rose colour that you see on the left in the picture above. The pigmentation is a little bit better on this one so as well as giving your lips some moisture and a bit of gloss, you're also giving them that my lips but better colour.

They're Real Mascara - Black - 3g

The final item in the kit is a mini size of the UK's best selling mascara, They're Real. I'm not going to say too much about it here as I've got a full review coming soon but this kit gives you a chance to either try it out or to get a mini one for your on the go make up bag.

I don't think you can really judge a make up item till you try it out on your face so I've done different looks with this kit to give you an idea of what you can achieve. They aren't the best photographs I've ever taken by any means, my facial palsy was playing up, and believe it or not it was just way too sunny and my face looks washed out ! As bloggers we spend half the year complaining about bad light and the other half complaining that it's too sunny and it's creating too many shadows - you really can't win lol

For this first look I've gone all out and created a tanned face, courtesy of the Hoola Powder Bronzer. I've used it over the top of my base of foundation, and powder to give a matte tanned look, I've even used on the eyes and I've also going with a heavier more defined brow, lots of They're Real and Hoola gloss on the lips. You can see another look I've created with Hoola Bronzing Powder and several other Benefit products in different lighting here x

Here I've gone for a fresher glowy look, I've used Dew The Hoola over a tinted moisturiser and just a touch of powder, no shadow, a lighter brow, one coat of They're Real, and Benebalm for a rosy tint to my lips.

Not perfect I know but hopefully these pics give you a bit more of an idea. Yes this kit will be ideal for holidays and for the summer months, but with careful application there is no reason why you can't wear it at this time of year to warm up your face and make you look a bit healthier.

These kits are idea for trying out new looks and new products and now that you can remove the individual items they're great for your travel or holiday make up bag, or even for when your on the go and you need a quick touch up. I've had a little look round and this kit doesn't seem to be that easy to get hold of but you can currently buy the Benefit Do The Hoola Beyond Bronze Kit For Complexion, Lips And Eyes online from both Boots and John Lewis, and the Benefit website for £28.50.

If it's just Dew The Hoola that you're interested in, then you haven't got too long to wait, the full 30ml size officially goes on sale in the UK on the 26th March but I think it's available on Benefit Cosmetics UK from the 12th March. As well as Dew The Hoola though there are also lots of other goodies coming out from Benefit next month including the full size of Dandelion Shy Beam. Dandelion Dew Liquid Blush and a Hoola Body Bronzer, so if you're a Benefit junkie like me you better start saving x Are you a fan of Benefit Cosmetics? Let me know your favourite product x