Benefit Face Date

Hey kittens! 

If you remember, a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to an exclusive Benefit event for the premiere of their Glamouriety tour – and if y’all don’t remember, you can read the blog post here. 

Since then, I’ve become a little more than obsessed with Benefit and, being fairly new to the brand, I thought it was only fair I go into Harvey Nichols (posh, eh?) in Manchester to try out some products for myself. The beautiful Jenna was kind enough to book me in for a “face date” and the rest, they say, is history!

Now, I’m not sure about you, but I can sometimes find make-up concessions a bit intimidating. I mean, lots of gorgeous made up girls, loads of products on display that you’re never quite sure whether you can swatch or not and quite a few other customers wondering about, too. I’m not the shy type, but I sometimes have those moments where it’s hard to approach a concession and ask about a product without the fear of looking silly of being pressured into a buy – well, this certainly wasn’t the case at Benefit, Harvey Nics!

Jenna welcomed me into the store with open arms and asked me what I knew about Benefit. When I replied that really, I didn’t know a whole lot (cringin’ hell) she wasn’t put off at all. Instead, I think she loved the fact that she could teach me all about Benefit’s make-up and skincare products, which she started with by removing my current make-up and cleansing and moisturising my face. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m new to the brand, but I had no idea Benefit did skin care and I was pleasantly surprised by how soft my face felt after applying the Porefessional primer.

As Jenna went on to apply the base make-up to my face, including the new(ish) Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation – which was almost(!) pale enough for my ghostly skin – and the Boi-ing concealer, she talked me through each product. I admired the packing of, well, everything; it’s all so kitsch, cute and retro which obviously really appeals to my sense of style. After all, I see make-up as an extension of my personal style and the packaging does matter to me.

I even had the opportunity to try out the new “wow” product on the market, Benefit’s Fine One One – even I’d heard of this. It seems like every blogger and their nan has tried this and loved it, so of course I couldn’t wait to try it. I have to say, it did give my cheeks a lovely subtle glow but I prefer I brighter pink in the apples of my cheeks, to try and liven up that ghostly of mine. I also have become quite fond of highlighter so Jenna went on to put the Watt’s Up highlighter on my cheekbones, brow bone and above my eyebrows (that was a new one for me) and I have to say I loved it! I’d heard of High Beam before but never Watt’s Up so it was a fab new discovery.

Jenna then went on to fill in my eyebrows with the dark Brow Zings eyebrow kit and used a neutral Big Beautiful Eyes eyeshadow palette to give me a brown smokey eye. The eye make-up was darker than I’d usually do myself, as I tend to give myself a winged eyeliner flick and leave it at that, but I did really like the way it looked. She also completed my eyes with the number one bestselling mascara, They’re Real, which I loved so much I had to buy! It’s now my Holy Grail mascara and, although it is twice the price of most drugstore mascaras, I wouldn’t turn back now. It’s earned a permanent place in my make-up bag! 

So, here we have the finished product, what do y’all think? It’s a different look for me – I usually do bold red lips with a subtle retro eye, but I think this look actually makes me look younger. I especially love how glowing my skin looks and for the rest of the day I caught myself shimmering (in a good way) in window reflections. Thanks, Jenna, for making me glow!

This “face date” not only taught me a hellova lot about Benefit products, but it also taught me to experiment with my make-up a bit more. I can’t wait to visit Jenna again soon – I already have my next appointment booked – and try out the launch of their new products…

So kittens, do you use Benefit products or have you not tried many yet? What’s your Holy Grail make-up product? Leave me a comment below and let me know! And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, like my Facebook page and subscribe to my Youtube channel to keep up to date with all things fashion!