Benefit cosmetics for beginners

biohaiid

So, I've always liked the look and idea of benefit make-up, and they're stuff has some really good views, but it's usually too expensive for me to afford.
But I've finally saved some money and I wanna buy something (or a few things) from them ...
Any suggestions?
POREfessional looks pretty good, and erase paste .. does anyone know if these products are worth the hype/money?
They have a few kits with minitures too that I think could be good to try out a few different things ... is there any in particular you would reccommend?
And finally. where do you buy your benefit products? Where's cheapest? Stores, online .. etc?

Novella

My favourite Benefit product is They're Real mascara, love how it makes my lashes look. I am also a huge fan of the blusher called Coralista, and the highlighter High Beam.

As far as Porefessional goes, I think it's okay. I've purchased it twice.

Erase Paste is good if you need quite a heavy duty concealer.

I've bought all of my products at Benefit counters, both here and in the US.

If I was you, I'd go to a counter and swatch some products, just to see what appeals to you most. Also, check out what you have first so you can see what you really need make up wise.

biohaiid

Novella wrote: »

My favourite Benefit product is They're Real mascara, love how it makes my lashes look. I am also a huge fan of the blusher called Coralista, and the highlighter High Beam.

As far as Porefessional goes, I think it's okay. I've purchased it twice.

Erase Paste is good if you need quite a heavy duty concealer.

I've bought all of my products at Benefit counters, both here and in the US.

If I was you, I'd go to a counter and swatch some products, just to see what appeals to you most. Also, check out what you have first so you can see what you really need make up wise.

I was considering that mascara, but I bought a mayebelline one the other day so I'll hold off for a while.
I might go and actually have a look at some of the products like you suggested, thanks.

missguided

I have (had, since it got stolen) Porefessional, it is super creamy and found it really good both under and over make up, as I have a dry patch of skin under my eyes, it really helped.

They're Real is brilliant too, I found it worked really well and didn't clump too much, really lengthens eyelashes too.


If its your first time getting Benefit stuff I'd recommend a kit, I had one called 'She's so Jetset' - came with smaller versions of Porefessional, They're Real, a lipgloss,(wasn't too fond of this, came in a shiny baby pink colour which looked vile on me) brown/gold/pink shades of eyeshadow and a highlighter/blusher.

ChloeElla

I second trying one of their kits - I got Sexy Little Stowaways with mini Porefessional, Bad Gal mascara, Bella Bamba blush, Hoola Bronzer, Moonbeam highlighter, Cha Cha Tint, Stay Don't Stray eye primer, Ooh La Lift, That Gal primer & eye cream. I don't know if its still on sale but their sets are usually brilliant value to try out new products.

4lovestreet

I think if you are planning on spending your savings on high end make I certainly would not isolate yourself to Benefit. I have used many of their products, and some are good, but I do think they are very gimmicky, yes the packaging is cool and all that but is adds unnecessary cost when all you really want is good make-up.

Also I think their products are very small for the price you pay - i.e 'playstick' foundation and 'highbeam' highlighter. There new 'Wow oxygen' (or something like that) foundation is dreadful - stay away. The porefessional is indeed very good at masking pores but the girl at the counter market it as a primer aswell, and I can assure you it is not a very good primer. Also, if you have dry skin, I would stay away from face primers, they dry the skin more. I'd look into a good quality moisturisers as a base instead.

In short - Benefit are good, sometimes, but there are better products out there for the money. If your looking for very good products I can list you some of my personal tried and tested brilliant products - Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer, Make-up forever HD foundation. If you really want a primer try the ones by Revlon, they are very good. Lancome Hypnose mascara. Urban Decay Shadows are very good (but can be TOO glittery).

Or if you insist on Benefit, start small, ask for samples, ask for the artists to try and demo the products. Consider the packaging - Can I get every drop out of this? (the Benefit High Beam comes in a really annoying glass jar, kinda like a nail varnish, so when its finished there is SOOOOO much product left inside that you cant get! And its like 27 euro..

Best of luck..

kandr10

Definitely get a set. I can't recall exactly which ones are out now but you'll know better than anyone what appeals to you most. I got a set years ago (don't think they sell anymore) but I found the mini sizes of powders, eyeshadow and concealer literally lasted a year or more. I still have some left in the tiny pot of crease less cream shadow I got with mine. I think sets are a great way to sample a few items at reasonable price. Compared to other brands, they don't offer great value for money on individual items do you'd want to be sure of liking it before forking out! I'm not sure if the new formulation of shadows is out in Ireland yet but wasn't getting great reviews so Defo swatch before you buy.

Miaireland

If I was you I would visit the benefit counter and ask them to put the products you are considering to buy on you. I find that some benefit product wear great where as others don't on me so I always try before I buy. Benefit seen to be very open to you trying the products.

Twee.

Steer clear of the foundations unless you can get a sample to take home and try. I've never found them any good.

Coralista is a beautiful blush, I use it every day. They have a nice selection of colours so I think they're definitely worth a look.

A +1 for They're Real, my favourite mascara.

They are an expensive brand, and the products can be hit and miss. Make Up Alley is a good site to read reviews on.

bscm

The mascaras, blushes and eyeshadows are amazing. I miss my Bad Gal lash dearly and use Coralista practically daily. I'd definitely recommend the special blush packs they do at Christmas

I liked the Porefessional, leaves a silky feeling and definitely minimises pore visibility.

Erase Paste I'd avoid with my life. I bought Erase Paste as my first concealer over 3 years ago, it's still sitting in my make up bag with over half of the product still there. I found it hard to work with, settled into lines very easily and didn't stay put (within an hour, I'd have most of it transferred from a blemish/under eye bag to the nearest crevice/line/surface it could find despite using primer, powder or trying it under/over my foundation). Very disappointed for the price of it I've tried every Youtube tutorial/blog tip going and will more than likely be throwing it away soon.

Their foundations haven't been the best either. At school some of my friends used to use the Some Kind-a-Gorgeous, Hello Flawless and/or the Play Sticks. None of them had great lasting power (their shirt collars were covered every afternoon with the foundation) and the shade ranges in some of them are ridiculously limited (3-4 shades does not cover most women, despite what they may say. The lightest shade is quite orange for an Irish complexion).

For the price of Benefit foundations, you'd be better off looking at other brands who do much better foundations with a much better shade range (Nars, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Laura Mercier etc).

Also Dr Feelgood is a pretty strange product. Smells nice, like lavender, but used to take half my make up off whenever I tried to use it as a finishing product (as it claims to be). I got it as part of a set, so I don't feel as disappointed as I did with the Erase Paste but I still don't think it's a good product. It flakes very easily and is very difficult to place on top of makeup without removing/messing up some of the foundation.

degausserxo

biohaiid wrote: »

POREfessional looks pretty good,

I haven't used it long enough to notice any visible differences in my pores but it's a brilliant primer, would definitely buy it again.

and erase paste .. does anyone know if these products are worth the hype/money?

I have wicked dark circles under my eyes, and while Erase Paste does cover it up, I hate the texture, it's way too thick. I use a Dior concealer, and it's probably the best I've tried so far.

They have a few kits with minitures too that I think could be good to try out a few different things

Confessions of a Concealaholic is a good one, it comes with a trial size of Erase Paste, two other concealers, Lemon Aid eyeshadow primer (I use this on my lids without eyeshadow as it brightens them), a cream highlighter whose name escapes me and a trial size of a primer. Their smokey eye kit is pretty good, has all the shadows and brushes you need, plus an eyeliner, brushes and a waxy colour for your eyebrows, similar to Browzings (which is just a brow kit). The only problem I have with it is that there's something off with the eyebrow stuff - it's not the same as Browzings, whether that's due to the brushes or not I'm not entirely sure.

... is there any in particular you would recommend?

Their blushes are lovely. I've about seven of them and the one I'd recommend most is Coralista - it looks good on everyone! I'd steer clear of their foundations (with the exception of Playstick, which is actually quite good) as they never sit right on my skin, they seem to just rub off. High Beam is a good staple product to buy, if I remember correctly it's about €25 but it lasts for ages, especially if you're like me and don't wear makeup every day - the bottle I have now has done me for over a year, and it's not even half empty. They're Real is a decent mascara too but tbh for the price of it, I'd rather buy either Chanel Inimitable Intense or Diorshow Extase, which are much better imo.

And finally. where do you buy your benefit products? Where's cheapest? Stores, online .. etc?

I usually go with Brown Thomas as they're slightly cheaper than their department store (I'm lookin' at you, Debenhams!) counterparts. I dunno if there's a Benefit in Dublin Airport, but if there is, stock up there. I usually give family a small list of stuff to get because when you're buying a few things at once, you really notice the difference in prices.

Glowla

- I love Coralista (for nighttime) and Sugarbomb (daytime) blushers
- They're Real mascara is like none I've ever used before, its super and its not that expensive for what it does I think
- High Beam is the best highlighter I've come across and works really well with Coralista
- Playsticks foundation is meh ... when I got it first it was super and I don't know if they changed ingredients or if my skin changed but it seemed to look dirty or something on my face so I stopped using it.
- Erase Paste is good but if you suffer from dry skin under your eyes I'd advise against it cos I find it emphasises the dryness and makes it crumble
- Boi-ing Concealer is quite good but again can show up dry patches of skin
- Bad Gal mascara is nice
- That Gal and their shimmery primer (can't remember the name - Pearl something?) are nice but they have this annoying twisty-top packaging and I suspect you waste some product cos you can't get it out
- Their lipglosses are quite nice too

I didn't realise what a sucker I've been all those years for Benefit until I look at the amount of products I've used :P

Roesy

With regards to the foundation, I've tried most of them. I regularly use and get compliments on 'Some kind-a gorgeous' and 'Hello flawless oxygen' , they just seem to suit me coverage wise and don't feel heavy at all. I would avoid the Playstick foundations and You-Rebel tinted moisturiser though.

I also like Fine-One-One for cheeks and Sugarbomb. I have 'They're real' mascara and think it looks great on but is an absolute pain to take off(for me anyway!). Pore-fessional is good but I don't think its an essential. Not gone on their skin care products either.

It would definitely be worth your while going in for a chat at one of the counters and getting them to try on some of the products for you. The girls at the Benefit counter in Patricks Street in Cork are great to take the time to go over the products with you as long as they aren't up the walls.

biohaiid

Thanks for all the comments and advice.
I think I'm going to go with a giftset .. Leaning towards confessions of a concealaholic, although shes so jetset looks amazing too!

biohaiid

ChloeElla wrote: »

I second trying one of their kits - I got Sexy Little Stowaways with mini Porefessional, Bad Gal mascara, Bella Bamba blush, Hoola Bronzer, Moonbeam highlighter, Cha Cha Tint, Stay Don't Stray eye primer, Ooh La Lift, That Gal primer & eye cream. I don't know if its still on sale but their sets are usually brilliant value to try out new products.

That set looks amazing! Unfortunately I can't seem to find it anywhere .. does anyone know where I could get it?

ChloeElla

biohaiid wrote: »

That set looks amazing! Unfortunately I can't seem to find it anywhere .. does anyone know where I could get it?

It's on the benefit website but you'd be crucified by shipping! Feelunique & Debenhams seem to have offers on a lot of their sets though

biohaiid

ChloeElla wrote: »

It's on the benefit website but you'd be crucified by shipping! Feelunique & Debenhams seem to have offers on a lot of their sets though

I couldn't find it on any websites, I'm guessing it was limited edition or something.
But feelunique has the confessions of a concealaholic for the cheapest price I could find so far, so thanks.

biohaiid

Just purchased the confessions of a concealaholic kit from feelunique
Also got a sample of the Be Right Moisturising Facial Emulsion ..
All that, paired with a 50% off elf order makes me a very happy person.