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

Learning Spanish With Three Mobile*

It might sound strange to some of my younger readers but believe it or not there once was a time before mobile phones were commonplace. At the risk of sounding ancient I got my first mobile phone in 1996  when I was 18 and I felt like the bees knees. I was one of the first of my friends to own one and I didn't care that it just made phone calls and sent text messages with just words in them, I felt tres sophisticated and way cool.

Although you can still buy extremely basic phones, the majority of phones nowadays do way more than just make phone calls and send text messages. I'm an iPhone user and whilst I do use it occasionally for texting and calling there is so much more that you can do with it. You can surf the internet, take photographs, listen to music, and of course you can play games. I'm guilty of the gaming thing and I spend way too much time playing games on both my phone and on my iPad. That isn't a bad thing though a lot of games these days make you think and make your brain work and I'm a firm believer that you need to keep your mind as active as you can. As well as gaming and communication though, they can be used as a fun way to learn a new skill or even a new language

A few weeks ago now I was contacted on behalf of Three Mobile to celebrate the inclusion of Spain in their Feel at Home mobile roaming network plan, and to celebrate I was given the opportunity to bring out my Mediterranean side and to a learn a bit of Spanish.

Like most Brits my first proper holiday was to Spain, and over the years I've been to most of the Costas, a few islands, and I've been lucky enough to spend some time in both Valencia, and Barcelona, which is easily one of my favourite cities in the world. When it comes to language though I'm a bit lacking. My comprehensive school only offered French and German as a foreign language so I never really got the chance to learn Spanish, and I've only managed to pick up the odd word or phrase over the years mainly "Dos vinos blancos por favor" and "las rebajas". The first one if pretty self explanatory 2 white wines pleases but the second one not so much, it basically means the sales- I once hit El Cortes Ingles at sale time and I quickly realised what the huge signs meant :)

There are so many different language apps available on the Apple App Store that it's hard to know where to start but the lovely people on behalf of Three Mobile provided me with a little bit of guidance and an iTunes voucher to get me started. I downloaded the apps that they recommended which gave me some good grounding because they are all so different.

Learn Spanish By Mindsnacks

This one is my favourite, no question - why? because it makes learning a language fun. The lessons are split into nice manageable chunks and it's all about (at least in the early stages) learning basic vocabulary, starting off with your basic numbers, days, months, weather, seasons and colours.

You learn by reading, looking at the accompanying picture to trigger your memory and by listening to the pronunciation. That doesn't sound that much fun so far but then you get to test your knowledge and your skills by playing games. As your progress through, and master different lessons and perfect your skills you earn XP which unlocks more games. The games in the earliest stages, are Swell where you chose the correct word to stop the water draining from the fish bowl, and Belly which you can see above where you feed the frog by matching both the written and spoken word to the pictures.

There is also Word Birds which gives you a word in English and you then need to spell the word in Spanish from the given letters and there is also Bloon which is my favourite game so far. It's a bit like Bubble Bobble or any of those bubble bursting games, you need to clear as many of the bubbles as possible by matching up both the English and Spanish words.

If you have no knowledge of Spanish whatsoever than this is probably the app for you, it's strange how games really help you to absorb some of the information. The spelling game Word Birds is particular tough and it really gets your brain working. My one complaint with this one is that so far there is no option to test your own pronunciation but I have a long way to go so maybe that might come in later.

Learn Spanish

This is another app that I would recommend for beginners, again it guides you through all your basic vocabulary. Again pictures are used as a memory aid and as well as reading the word you can also hear how the word it pronounced. Unlike the previous app though this one give you the opportunity to record your own pronunciation and listen to it back - eek!

Once your familiar with the vocabulary you can play games and carry out exercises such as memory games, flash cards, listening exercises, spelling tests and quizzes to help you test your knowledge. It isn't done in quite as fun away as the Mindsnacks but it's easy to use and I like the option to record your own voice.

Duolingo

Despite the fact that you can pick how experienced you are for me, this app assumes that you have a little bit of prior knowledge. Unlike the other two apps this one doesn't focus on vocabulary instead it focuses on the basics of the Spanish language, and how you use the words that your learning.

Each lesson goes through a variety of tasks from identifying the correct word and picture, to translating a sentence, typing what you hear, selecting the missing word, and repeating the phrase.

Unlike the other two apps that are more about vocabulary this one is actually teaching you words, verbs, and how to use both the masculine and feminine form of words, it's basically teaching you how to speak, spell and construct sentences. It's take me a little while to get to grips with it but after setting my reminders every day to practise I'm starting to feel a bit more confident with it.

Okay after a couple of weeks I'm far from fluent and my spelling and pronunciation still leaves a lot to be desired but by spending 10 minutes or so a day playing with the apps, playing games and practising my vocabulary I can definitely say that I know a bit more of the Spanish language than I did three or so weeks ago. All of the screen shots are taken from my iPad for clarity but I've got all of these apps on my iPhone too so I can practise on the go, be it in a hospital waiting room, on even a bus or a train.

As well as the means to learn Spanish, and the fab Spanish flag that you can see next to Mummy Lou's paella in some of the pictures above, the fab people at Three also sent me a copy of The Rough Guide To Spain. It's currently on my bedside table and it's making me desperate to return to the country and its islands, and in particular Barcelona, to try out my new found language skills - ha ha, maybe next year when I'm a bit more fluent :)

I love trying new things and learning, and I've really enjoyed this experience, and who knows where it will lead to. It just shows you that mobile phones, and especially smart phones and the iPhone are no longer just for making phone calls, they really can open the door to new skills and new experiences whether we're at home, out and about or even abroad. Have you ever learnt a skill via your iPhone, or smart phone? Let me know below x 

*iTunes Voucher, Spanish Flag, And The Rough Guide To Spain Were All Provided On Behalf Of Three Mobile