REVIEW: Benefit Hello Happy foundation

I've been looking for some newness to embrace, so I thought I would try the new Benefit foundation. There are some mixed reviews of this out there, and you can probably guess some are sponsored. So no better place to be than to buy it yourself and try it and get a real ideas of how it performs! (Oh and Benefit, what's up with no samples?!)

First off, before judging this foundation, I read it's marketing claim. It is a 'sheer to medium coverage' and has 'soft blur' in the name. So expected a more matte version of a bb cream. And it is indeed very much like that!

You have to shake this quite vigorously before you open it. And because of that, when you do open it, it oozes out through the nozzle so you better be quick! I applied it with a beauty blender but didn't love the result - too sheer. So the next day I used my Zoeva 102 Silk Finish brush and that looked much better! 

FINISH

The result isn't magically pore blurring matte skin, but it is a lovely finish. It didn't make my pores look any larger, which is a good thing. It is a little bit on the matte side, perhaps satin? It wore well for about 5hrs then it did start to settle in my pores on my chin, and had broken up a bit around my nose. However, I'd expect that in this heat! And to be fair, the pores on my chin are rather cavernous so almost everything settles there now and then... It is by no means a long-wear foundation, however it doesn't claim to be.

SHADE RANGE

So what about the all important question nowadays - now many shades does it come in? Well, only 12. BUT as Benefit has defended, it's a sheer foundation that can suit a range of skin tones. I am not convinced the yellow colour I have is my exact match.. I was shade matched to #3, Light Neutral. Not actually sure it would classify as light neutral in many other brands but hey... It does blend out quite sheer so it's not a problem if it isn't the exact match. BUT I would say it did oxidise a little bit so go for the lighter shade if you feel you are inbetween two shades.

Shade #3

Shade #3, not blended and applied very heavy to show tone

The formula is nice and very light, not sticky or heavy. It has a very natural finish. For me, it does wear well for about 5hrs then it starts to fade.

FINAL THOUGHTS

All and all I do like this foundation, it's not the best one I've ever tried but it works for me at the moment. However, I won't be buying it again as it costs £25.50?! All Benefit makeup appears to becoming more and more expensive, whereas I used to feel it was a stepping stone between high street brands and luxury brands, it's slowly creeping up there with the high end brands... I would expect this bottle to sell for about £18-20, £25.50 is far too expensive. They do a mini version for £8.50 but seriously, that's again a rip-off for a mini... I did complain a bit about the pricing and the girl threw in a Boi-ing airbrush concealer mini, so I shall review that in a couple of weeks once I've put it to the test!

Have you tried this? If so what were you thoughts on it?!

LINA BUYS IT ON AMAZON: Gel nail polish

I'm using the ones labelled 4 (ring finger) and 6
on the nail wheel below !

Swatches and bottles are in the same order

I see all this stuff sold on eBay and Amazon, and I always wonder if it's ever anything like the big brands? The time comes when one needs to try things "just because", experiment then write about it. I felt it was time. These gel nail polishes are sold on Amazon, and quite highly rated if you read the comments. I thought "what's the worst that can happen?!". They are a fraction of the price of big brands such as Gelish.

Anyway, onto the first impressions. The bottles are a small 8ml, so no big fat 15ml Gelish-sized bottles here. You get six colours for £12.99. There are a lot of sets of colours to choose from. Putting the price into context, one single bottle of OPI Gelcolor will set you back about £15-20, as is the case with Gelish and Shellac, so six colours for £12.99 is OK even if it is a smaller sized bottle.

The application was OK, I found the lighter pink a bit streaky so I had to do thicker coats. The mauve colour has a nicer formula. These were both more thick and "gel like" than big brands I've used which have been slightly thinner and more pigmented. I used OPI Gelcolor base and top coat with these, asI couldn't be bothered getting another set of base and top to match. This is one thin coat of base coat, 2 coats of colour and then top coat. I did make some mess, but it was easy to remove with an orange stick.

Whilst these colours are not to my taste (too muted, not enough glitter) they are lovely colours if one likes a neutral.

The sales page promises that with "proper application" the manicure will last 2 weeks, so I shall return in a couple of weeks or so with a wear test review on these, if I can last that long. I hate wearing the same colours for more than a few days and also my nails are still growing very quickly due to my baby hormones so I may not last the full 2 weeks...

I'M BACK!!!

I've been gone for a loooooooong time... But it was for a good reason, honest! 😁

My lovely li'l daughter, Embla!

If you've followed the blog, you might know I found out I was pregnant back in September 2017. I had a good pregnancy but was soooo tired, and working full time, I just couldn't keep up with blogging. But my little bundle of joy has arrived, and she is already 7 weeks old tomorrow! I am finally feeling like I have time, and the need!! to return to blogging and beauty. I have some great posts prepped and planned for you in the coming weeks to start things back up 😎

I have been digging through my stash of nail polish and came up with the Sensationail gel polish kit. My friend asked me if I could do her nail with gel polish for her, as she had Amazon Prime'd some off-brand gel nail polish to try... Could be good, could be a disaster, we shall see! Stay tuned for a first impressions later in the week!

MANICURE MONDAY: H&M "Spacesuit"

This is yet another one from the H&M nail polish advent calendar! I have been out of the holographic nail polish loop for too long to remember what the definition is of this type of holo... Linear, scattered?.. who knows. It's lovely anyway!

I did 2 coats here but it really doesn't need it. It dries quickly, and unlike many other holos I've used, it doesn't scatter when you top it with a top coat. As with most holos I can't see this lasting more than a couple of days on me even with a top coat, but it's totally worth it!

Top marks again for my stash from this advent calendar! ⭐

REVIEW: L'Oreal Infallible Luminizing Primer

I've got very dry skin on my face at the moment, it's almost impossible to wear foundation as I permanently have little dry flakes on my skin which the foundation grabs onto. This means my skin is also rather lacklustre. Who said pregnancy gives you a 'glow'?! What a load of 💩

Anyway I've been searching for a new primer for a while. Something to just fake that glow. So I picked this up from Boots - mainly because of the bottle probably...

The salespitch on the bottle says "Instant super glow effect, extends makeup wear. Ultra lightweight formula. Use under or over makeup". Sounds promising. I pump some out and go... "is this a highlighter or primer?!" to myself. Definitely says primer. I rub it on. Oh yeah. Hello glow face! But at the same time, I'm a bit worried I'll end up looking like a heavy-handed highlighter fan... But nothing ventured nothing gained!

As it comes out of the bottle...

Blended with finger on the skin

I followed with my current favourite face product, the Urban Decay 'One and Done' complexion perfector. And I love the result! The primer may look shimmery and glowy on bare skin, but under a foundation/BB cream it makes your face actually look glowy but not oily, not glittery or highlighted!

My makeup also wore a bit longer, being a complexion perfector the Urban Decay offering wasn't going to last longer than 5-6hrs or so anyway before fading but I have since tried it with an actual foundation, which wore great past the 9hr mark.

I am loving this - I also noticed that there are four other primers in this range, from mattifying, pore refining to anti-fatigue and anti-redness, so there should be something for everyone. But this is definitely the one for me!

At £8.99 for 20ml at RRP, maybe I do feel it's a bit over-priced? If they charged the same for 50ml, I would be on board with that. But I will probably buy this again!

REVIEW: Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter "Molten Gold"

Swatch in natural light

So I had seen this new offering on YouTube (we've all been there!) and I needed to try it. In the UK this retails for £7.99 which certainly isn't going to break the bank. I found the "Molten Gold" shade in Superdrug - in Boots I could only find the "Molten Bronze" shade? Superdrug also had some icy purplish monstrosity in this range which I passed over as that would never work on my skintone.

The shine on this is phenomenal! It's a definite highlight, but blended out it's not too bold. Applied with a good brush (I use the Setting Brush from Real Techniques for powder highlighter) this is smooth and shiny and not glittery! It wore well for about 4 hrs then it seemed to start fading, but as it was cold I was wearing a hat pulled right down and I am positive that didn't help. But for powder, that's OK for me. If you are looking for a longer wear, you might want to try to layer this over a liquid highlighter.

The next day I layered this over Barry M's Liquid Chrome highlighter and I felt like a unicorn all day! 😍 Sadly I was working from home so no one saw it, but I aim to try this combo in the office this week.

This is beautiful and a good alternative to some of the really pricey high-end highlighters for those of us who can't fork out £32 for Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector!