Showing posts with label brand: BENEFIT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brand: BENEFIT. Show all posts

May 24, 2011

which bronzer for this summer?




this summer i'm really on a bronzer trip! i think this year i bought almost all bronzers out there - you know i never do it half ;)
but still, i find my little selection very varied. today i want to give you a short overview of this year's summer powders from the most common brands plus some permanent products for everybody who don't want to buy several products.
click on each title to get to its separate post.




i think this bronzer would be the most suitable for fair cool skin tones of this year's bronzers since it's sheerly pigmented and its colour is quite mauvey brown. it has that additional pink stripe so i can also use it as a rosey brown blusher. it can make me look a bit muddy so i have to be careful with application. it is limited edition.




is a higher pigmented powder, it's a neutral brown with yellow/ochre undertones that can be easily used as contour powder since it's matte and doesn't have too much red or pink undertones. i don't really like it as a bronzing product since it lacks the fresh kick.
i could be used also on darker skin tones to maybe MAC NC/NW 45 (?). this is a permanent product.




is a lovely golden bronze with fine shimmer that warms up my complexion and let's me look sunkissed. a great texture to apply, always looks soft and even. in combination with Hoola as contour i like to use this so soften up and bring everything together. it's not too orange but has a peachy undertone. i think it's great on fair-medium warm skin tones. it's a permanent product.




is very shimmery, so nothing to use all over or on bigger areas for me! it reminds me of MAC's MSFs, but is a lot softer and finer. it's like a golden bronze highlighting product that i like to apply very very sheerly on the top of my cheekbones. this can emphasize enlarged pores and unevenness on your skin. it would look great on the body, it emphasizes your tan. i also use it as a shimmery bronze eyeshadow. it has a divine jasmine scent. definitely only for shimmer-fans or for Guerlain-lovers (the packaging is a treasure itself!). otherwise i find it too expensive for occasional usage.




in my opinion the most beautifully pressed powder this year (although the compact is not as brilliant). a lovely subtle shimmering pinky peach shade that i exclusively use as a blush on my cheeks although it also warms up my complexion. some girls complained about it to be too powdery, but i don't have any of these issues using a soft squirrel hair brush and not swirling too much inside the pan but tapping the brush into both coloured parts (i generally don't like to swirl in my pressed powder products because they will mess up that way). it's beautiful - definitely try it if you still meet one left!




the most beautiful packaging of this year is by Dior. i love it! the powder itself is also very good, it's soft and finely milled. it's a really peachy (fortunately not orange) tan on me and freshens up my complexion. it gives me a warm luminous look, no obvious shimmer. i can use it as bronzer but also as a blush.
i think this is a great product for fair-medium warm skin tones. this is a limited product.


i swatched all of them together:

Chanel Bronze Rosé - Benefit Hoola - Edward Bess Daydream - Guerlain Terra Inca - Estée Lauder Sea Star - Dior Aurora


Chanel Bronze Rosé - Benefit Hoola - Edward Bess Daydream - Guerlain Terra Inca - Estée Lauder Sea Star - Dior Aurora
Chanel Bronze Rosé - Benefit Hoola - Edward Bess Daydream - Guerlain Terra Inca - Estée Lauder Sea Star - Dior Aurora


out of the six my top rates are:
1. Dior Aurora
2. Edward Bess Daydream
3. Estée Lauder Sea Star
(while Edward Bess combined with the Sea Star or any other peachy pink blush would be my top pick)

my tools of choice to apply bronzer:

  • the Edward Bess Luxury Face Brush is great for sheer bronzers (this will get a proper review soon).
  • the Paula Dorf Powder Brush is soo soft and fluffy and has the perfect thin paddle shape for bronzer, you can apply with the thin side on the hollows of your cheeks and with the wide side on the sides of the face. it will give a sheer wash to your face.
  • the Trish McEvoy Bronzer Brush #37 is round and tapered and also perfectly sized and shaped for bronzer, it's soft but has a lot more resistance than the Paula Dorf so it buffs out your bronzer better and is great for a more apparent bronzed look.
  • for a contour with the Benefit Hoola, you know i always use my MAC 138 or Hakuhodo S103 (not on the pic)

there are some bronzers left that i really want to try since i started to discover the perfect placement and dose for my skin tone: the Giorgio Armani Sheer Bronzer in #1, the cream bronzer by Chanel, a Terracotta Bronzer by Guerlain and a Matte Bronzer from Dior.

what about you? do you have some of these or can you recommend any else? do you use bronzer on a regular basis? for my part i usually skip it in a work make up, but if i have more time, i always like to add some dimension to my face ;)


May 9, 2011

FOTD contour effect

 

i did this look on the weekend, of course to test some new products but i also took pre- and post-contour pics and was quite surprised about the result!
i was never a bronzer person, but i think this year i might get to like them - what do you think?

Hourglass Veil foundation in No.1 + Clarins Everlasting Foundation in 105 Nude + BeautyBlender
Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Real Sand + A'Squirrel Pure Squirrel Powder Brush
Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer in 010 Ivory + Hakuhodo 212 + Shiseido brow pencil in GY901 + Alverde brow gel + Shu Uemura lash curlers + The Body Shop Big&Curvy mascara + L'Oreal Super Liner + UDPP
MAC Vex with Sigma ss239 in inner corners + Artdeco #206 with Hakuhodo B532BkSL on the lid and lower lashline + Barry M Dazzle Dust in #89 Oyster Grey with Hakuhodo S142 in the crease + Rouge Bunny Rouge Crease Brush to blend

and this is how i looked at this point, without any blusher or contour.

Benefit Hoola with MAC 138 as cheekbone contour
Edward Bess Ultra Luminous Bronzer in Daydream with Paula Dorf Powder Brush to warm up the skin on the outer parts of the face and to soften the contour.
MAC Mocha blush + A'Squirrel Pure Squirrel Blush Brush
Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Mosaic with A'Squirrel Pure Squirrel Angled Blush Brush

here is the finished look:

again, to compare:


i think it brings a lot of life back into the face. i also like the warmth the bronzer gives me. it doesn't look as scary fake as i have associated with bronzer before (my trauma of seeing too many palest girls slapping on their whole bronzer compact to fake a sun-goddess-tan - of course it only looked worse) - i should have listened to Galen ;)
sola dosis facit venenum!



May 4, 2011

Benefit Hoola & comparison of contour powders/bronzers


i'm not really a bronzer girl (but i notice i'm becoming one this summer...) but i have always wanted to try Benefit's Hoola bronzer. i heard many good things about it being very versatile, a great contour shade etc...

so i ordered this from lookfantastic.com when they had a free shipping campaign and a sale + a 3£-off coupon. i paid about 16-17£ for it, normally it costs 23.50£ there but they don't seem to ship Benefit products to germany anymore. here it costs 32€ for 11g of product (i heard they will re-work the old Box O'Powders to the 8g-size like their new Bella Bamba blush). i had to pay with almost 4 weeks of waiting for these savings, but lookfantastic charges right away. i know some people had problems with this online shop, so i would recommend you not to buy higher amounts there (like GHD's). i have always received my orders, but i have always only purchased smaller amounts and always waited not less than 3 weeks.

back to topic: Hoola comes in an ugly and impractical cardboard packaging. looks like a kid's shop equipment. i really dislike these, they cost me so much precious storage space with their bulkiness and the packaging will be used off quickly, especially if you decide to bring it on the way.
it includes a little flat brush of natural white goat hair, it's quite soft but i won't use it.
the powder itself is not scented like Benefit Bella Bamba or Coralista, i can even detect a slight horse-like-scent when i sniff at the pan. like insuline for subcutaneous injection. urghh... but applied, it's not noticeable at all, i think it's only the glue.


the powder is a matte bronzer with yellow undertones, without too much red (makes an orange face) or pink / grey (makes a dull/dirty face) in it.
it's finely milled and has a medium pigmentation. i apply it with my Paula Dorf Fan Brush or a big pointed & tapered powder brush (MAC 138 or Hakuhodo S103) in the typical E/3 areas. it applies sheer and even and blends out nice.
the tan looks quite authentic, also because Hoola has a satin-matte finish.
it doesn't oxidize on my skin and keeps the colour throughout the day.
i find it ok for a contour shade, mainly because it's non-shimmery and not orange, but i prefer more greyish shades (i still like my NYX blusher in Taupe, but i'll get too tan for it to show up soon). in the summer it works better as a contour than it will the winter.
a good thing for the price i paid and the amount, but i would have never paid full price for it (and a fortiori not for "only" 8g). i'm too much of a packaging-pedant for it and would rather pay a bit more for Dior/Chanel/Guerlain and get a product i'm really satisfied with.

Benefit Hoola in cloudy daylight: swatched heavily&blended out
Benefit Hoola in cloudy daylight: swatched heavily&blended out

this is how it looks applied:
no bronzer - with Hoola

some more pics with bronzer:


and now a small compilation of my bronzers/contour shades. there are Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer and Dior Aurora Bronzer missing, also i will get the Chanel Bronze Rose of the up-and-coming summer look as well. the Estée Lauder Sea Star powder or Guerlain Terra Inca i have not included since these are blush/highlighting products to me. maybe i will have to do a "summer powder"-post then...
oops, i also forgot to include the NARS Cap Vert Bronzer Multiple ... :P (but you can look it up on here)

first row: Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sun Light - Benefit Hoola - MAC Harmony - NARS Zen
bottom row: NYX blush in Taupe - contour shade in Zoeva Contour Palette

Rimmel bronzer - Benefit Hoola - MAC Harmony - NARS Zen - NYX Taupe - contour palette



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