December 29, 2011

Benefit Hello Flawless! SPF 15 in the shade Honey -- swatches, before & after, pics, review

Hello, Beautiful!

I'm in a panic because I've lost the piece to my camera that controls my studio lights. I removed it on Christmas morning to photograph my son open his presents and it's been gone ever since. I do have a way to make it work if all else fails, but it's not an easy way (required a cord to be attached to the camera to the lights, and it's not a very long cord.). I'll be tearing my house apart today to find it; I have so many things I want to photograph before I use them (like some new L'Oreal, Maybelline and Sally Hansen items - plus my GoGoGirlfriend shipment). Luckily I have plenty of photos I've already taken of other products so I am able to continue blogging until I can work something else out.

In this post I'll share with you Benefit's Hello Flawless! SPF 15. I had to make a return at Sephora and for some reason I can never just return something and walk out of the store; I always make it an exchange so I can pick up new items. I had wanted to try Benefit's Hello Flawless! SPF 15 for awhile now, so I knew that would be one of the items I would select. I didn't know which shade to choose but ultimately went with the shade Honey.

Check out my pics, swatches, stats, and review...

Benefit Hello Flawless! SPF 15
Shade: Honey
Shade Description: Natural honey/for light beige complexions.


 







 




















Benefit Hello Flawless! SPF 15
Before & After
* click on pic to view larger *





Basic stats for Benefit Hello Flawless! SPF 15:
Formula: pressed powder
Coverage: buildable; sheer to medium
Wear: average
Shade Info: 9 shades available
Cost/Availability: $34 (0.25 oz  full size). Available on Benefit's website, Sephora's website, and everywhere else Benefit Cosmetics are sold.
Packaging: square compact; mirror on inside; brush & sponge in area under the powder
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Kisses


Formula:
This pressed-powder foundation offers buildable coverage; from sheer to medium and an SPF of 15. Applies beautifully and blends nicely.


Coverage:
Sheer to medium coverage depending on application method. Apply with a brush for a sheer finish, or apply with a sponge for medium coverage. It does say this foundation provides full coverage with the sponge application, but this is not full coverage.


Wear:
Average wear; I didn't need to touch up a billion times but it's also not formulated to be a super long-lasting product either.


Shade Info:
Currently offered in 9 shades. I selected Honey and it seems to work okay for my NC30/NC25 skintone.


Cost/Availability:
$34 (0.25 oz  full size). Available on Benefit's websiteSephora's website, and everywhere else Benefit Cosmetics are sold.


Packaging:
Square compact that opens up to reveal a mirror and the pressed-powder. Under the pressed-powder is an area for the included sponge and brush applicators.


Benefit Hello Flawless! SPF15 Review:
This is a powder I've wanted to try for a very long time. It's a best seller at Benefit and I've read reviews of many people who use and love it. I recently saw this presented on HSN and loved how it looked on the models, so when I had to return some items to Sephora I knew I'd want to try this out.

I was hoping for full coverage, like it says it has with the sponge application, but it's not full coverage. It's medium coverage at best, but I still like this product. Once my skin improves and the hyper pigmentation fades, this will be a wonderful powder to use. It applies nicely, blends like a dream, and looks natural.

The only way I could wear this on its own is using a concealer ahead of time, then using the sponge application. You could also use a kabuki brush to buff this into your skin, building the coverage that way. I don't really like the brush applicator that is included with this product because I like to buff a powder into my skin and I can't do that with the brush they include; I will use it for touch-up's when I'm out and don't have anything else with me. I've been using this foundation as a powder to use as a finishing touch to my liquid foundation and I keep it in my purse as my go-to touch-up powder.

One bad thing I want to point out: when you decide to use a brush with this powder be prepared for a mess; it will go everywhere!! It gets very messy, very fast. There aren't any sides to the powder area to keep the powder in one place, so instead it flies out and gets all over. It would be great if Benefit could re-design this compact to make it less messy to use with a brush.

If it weren't for the mess it makes when using a brush, and the lack of full coverage it says it provides, this powder would get 5 out of 5 kisses from me but it's only getting 4.

I would recommend this, but not if you're looking for full coverage.

Now let me know what you think...
What do you think of this foundation? Have you tried this or would you like to? Discuss in the comments below.



1 comment:

  1. I tried it in a sample and I think the same way: it's definitely not a full coverage but it's nice.

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