Benefit Roller Lash Mascara Review

Day 3 of Mascara Week on BeautySwot.com sees me reviewing the brand new mascara from Benefit - Roller Lash. 

The one pictured above was a special sample sized mascara that was given away with the March issue of Elle Magazine. Unusually it was given away before it hit the shelves!

Well I couldn't resist trying this new mascara out and so I promptly went to buy the magazine. The packaging on the sample version is slightly different from the actual full sized mascara. The lid on that one has a hair roller design.

Benefit say

Why we love it!

It’s a roller for lashes! The eye-opening Hook ‘n’ Roll™ brush grabs, separates, lifts and curls…while the instant curve-setting formula holds for 12 hours.

Curl Power!
97% said it visibly lifts lashes*
87% said it gives long-lasting curl*
94% said eyes look more wide open*
*consumer panel survey on 31 women after 4 weeks

How to apply
Gently wiggle the wand from base of lashes to tip. Repeat across your lashline, making sure to catch every lash.

Easy-to-remove
Contains Provitamin B5 and Serin, ingredients known for their lash-conditioning benefits
Water-resistant
Ink black
Satin finish


My thoughts 

Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara is one that has really split opinion, it seems to be one that you either love or hate. I personally LOVE it. I have so many comments asking me if I am wearing false lashes when I wear it so I give it a major thumbs up.

However whilst I like this mascara, I just like it. I don't think I would be tempted to shell out almost £20 for it as I don't think the after warrants the price tag (on my lashes).

There is no doubt it does what it claims, it does lift and curl the lashes but I would have liked to have seen a bit more thickening properties for me to have given it 10/10. It does also add pretty decent length as you can see in the pics below. The design of the wand means that application does get quite messy which is a bit of a pain.

However it does also get extra points for its staying power, the curl holds all day. It also doesn't smudge or flake.

Have you tried this mascara?

Before 

After 

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara £19.50

Which Benefit Highlighter Is For You?

Benefit certainly know the benefit of highlighting the face as they have no less than five highlighters for sale. As I have four of them here I thought it would be useful to do a comparison and let you see what they look like alongside each other.

Now readers of BeautySwot.com will know that I pretty much use like to use highlighters every day. I adore the radiance that it brings to my skin and now I have seen what it can do.. I don't want to live without it.

Benefit Highlighters Swatched - From L-R - Highbeam, Sunbeam, Watt's Up and Girl Meets Pearl.

Highbeam is a Benefit best seller - this liquid highlighter is described as a luminescent complexion enhancer it can be used to spot highlight or added all over for a radiant glow.

Benefit say 
Our satiny pink liquid highlighter accents cheek & brow bones for a radiant glow. Use as a spot highlighter or delicately blend all over your complexion. Looks perfectly radiant on all skintones. It's the "supermodel in a bottle"!

My thoughts 

This is a cool toned, icy highlighter that personally I would save for the evening as during the day it can look a bit unnatural. Evening time is when anything goes!

Sunbeam - This is a golden bronze toned liquid complexion highlighter. 

Benefit say

This golden bronze highlighter gives you a natural, sunkissed radiance. Dot & blend over makeup on to cheek & brow bones for a bronzed glow that complements all skintones. It’s liquid sunshine in a bottle!

My thoughts 

I think this is best used in the Summer and Autumn months when skin is naturally sunkissed, Sunbeam complements and enhances the skin with a beautiful golden, natural looking glow. I love the warmth of this shade and for me it is a summer staple. 

Watt's Up! - Described as a soft focus highlighter for face. 

Benefit say

Our soft focus highlighter turns on “watt” ya got with a delicate champagne glow that’s gorgeous. With a cream-to-powder finish...it’s a switch on “wow” for all complexions. You’ll adore the smooth applicator & luminous sheen.

My thoughts 

I love this cream to powder finish stick highlighter. It is easy to apply and work with and it blends beautifully for a really natural year round glow. Liquid highlighters I find can remove powder blushers or powder foundations but this doesn't happen with the creamy Watt's Up. The champagne shade is gorgeous for all tones as well. My favourite for every day use. 

Girl Meets Pearl - Liquid pearl for face. 

Benefit say

This soft golden-pink liquid pearl glides on for a breathtakingly luminous complexion. Twist up & pat on over makeup or wear alone for a dewy luxurious lit-from-within glow. It's pure pearly pleasure!

My thoughts 

Girl Meets Pearl is a liquid highlighter that sits between High Beam and Sunbeam and actually is very similar to Watt's Up in shade. It provides a subtle natural radiance to the skin. 

Which is your favourite?

Beauty Look - How to do Sultry

I love playing with and trying out make up and of course creating different beauty looks. I love seeing just how different my face can look with the help of a few colours and tricks!

The look above is one that I particularly adore - A bit sultry, a bit sex kitten. This is a look where the focus is predominantly on the Kohl eyes but the rest of the makeup has to be soft but sculpted for real impact. I think this is great date night make up.

The products I used 

Foundation - Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Champagne 
Bronzer - Little Mix by Collection Bronze It Jesy Bronzer
Contour Blush - Smashbox Blush Silhouette in Rush - Create fabulous cheek bones
Blusher - Cargo Cosmetics Blush in Tonga - A neutral blush
Highlighter - Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc Pink Tourmaline - I love this shimmer bloc as a radiance enhancer.
Lip Gloss - Beautiful Movements Cosmetics Nude Lip Gloss - The perfect peachy pink nude gloss allowing the eyes to shine.
Mascara - Benefit They're Real Mascara
Eyeliner - Maybelline New York Master Kajal Kohl Liner in Pitch Black - For added interest I have drawn two flicks coming out at the corner of my eyes.

What's In My Makeup Bag - Weekend Style!

Although I technically didn't go away for the weekend I was away for 2 nights and three days, this was all the makeup and skincare that I took. It looks like a lot pictured, however there were a lot of minis included in this stash and I absolutely LOVE my Cath Kidston bag which holds a lot, there was still some spare space in there!

I should add I flew to Dublin and so had to comply with the flying rules on liquids. Liquids & Gels were placed in a clear bag whilst going through security and obviously each item was less than 100ml.

Skincare

L'Occitane Cherry Princess Hand Cream Travel Size 
Lanolips 101 Ointment
From the Elemis Brilliantly Beautiful Travel Set - Pro-Radiance Cleansing Balm 20ml
                                                                                 Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsules 14 caps
                                                                                 Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 15ml

Makeup

From the Benefit How To Look Best At Everything Set - 
POREfessional PRO balm to minimise the appearance of pores 7.5ml
Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow “cheers to me” in Champagne brightening makeup 7ml

BURBERRY Warm Glow Natural Bronzer in Summer Glow 04

Smashbox Blush Rush Powder in Silhouette

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in LILAS D'OR
Palladio Herbal Eye Shadow Trio - Chocolates (the 3 shades take me from day to night)
Boots No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Daydreamer - a barely there nude

Clinique Long Lasting Lipstick in All Heart - A beautiful bright

Estee Lauder Stay Perfect Concealer & Sumptuous Extreme Mascara Duo 

Fragrance - Burberry Body EDP Perfume Sample Spray

Seven Nude Glosses and Lipsticks In My Handbag - With Swatches

My handbag is a treasure trove of mystery, it always seems so heavy and in an attempt to lighten the load I realised that it was being weighed down by makeup and more accurately umpteen lipsticks and glosses.. I thought I had removed a few of the offending items (yes, there are even more nude shades that are not shown here) but it seemed when I yet again emptied my bag that there were no less than 7 nude shades of lipsticks and glosses that I came across. I might add I do also have two bright shades of lipstick permanently in my bag, you know for those just in case moments!

Pictured above are the 7 shades that seem to live in my handbag or get thrown in when I fancy yet another shade of ..nude.

Swatches 

Pictured from left to right

New CID Cosmetics i-gloss in Honey Pot

Burberry Lip Velvet in Pink Apricot 

No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Daydreamer

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist

Collection Little Mix Jade's Lipstick

Benefit Hoola Ultra Plush Lip Gloss 

No7 High Shine Lip Gloss in Coral Kiss

Benefit Countdown To Love Beauty Advent Calender - Flash Sale!

Beauty lovers will rejoice in this first ever and fabulous Beauty Advent Calender from Benefit, 24 windows behind which is a fun beauty treat, featuring all your favourite Benefit make up products and more. I have seen the exact contacts and this calender really is a feast for any beauty fan.

Sure to be a sell out when it is released -* FLASH SALE on 2nd November 2013 this calender costs £50 and will be available exclusively from selected Benefit Beauty Boutiques, selected Debenhams Stores and online at www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk *

Makeup For Afternoon Tea - FOTD

Last week I went for Afternoon Tea at Paramount and I thought I would share with you the makeup that I wore. As I was making a day of it in London I wanted to make sure my make up lasted. It was a pretty warm and sunny day so I wanted to avoid the big melt and still look fresh for when we sat down to tea at 3pm. I tend to go for a strong/bright lip when I go out and specifically do something as I just think they look great and stand out in photographs - The Shard was proof of this.

Products used 

Dermalogica SkinPerfect Primer SPF30
Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream SPF in Light
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
Smashbox Blush Rush in Silhouette
Cargo Blush in Tonga
New CID I-Shadow Quad in Florence
Clinique Quickliner Intense for Eyes in Intense Chocolate
Max Factor Clump Defy Volumising Mascara
Estee Lauder Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick in Apricot Sun

What do you think?

What's Inside My Makeup Bag - A Summer Look

I thought I would share with you a Summer Makeup Look that I have been wearing quite often in this hot sunny weather, all the products fit nicely into the Sew Lomax Sweet Cheeks Blusher Make Up Pouch which is just adorably cute!

The look I have gone for is fresh, flawless and Summery. It features peachy/orange shades and is perfect for everyday. Fast, taking just seconds to apply and simple, I am loving it.

Inside my makeup bag from left to right -

EcoTools Bamboo Blush Brush - Super soft and great for blending.
Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara in Black - I will do a separate review for this with before and after pics.
Sisley Phyto-Blush Eclat in Mango - read my review here - http://www.beautyswot.com/2013/05/sisley-phyto-blush-eclat-in-mango.html

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream - If you haven't read my rave review (where have you been!), you can read it here -http://www.beautyswot.com/2013/04/ginvera-green-tea-nude-cover-bb-cream.html

Kiko Cosmetics Milano Pearly Eye Base - I like to apply this alone to brighten the eye area but will be testing it out as a primer for shadows in due course.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer - A great matte bronzing powder

Miners Tin o'Tint in Mango - A delicious lip tint in a natural looking orange/coral shade 

Bronze & Glow - Benefit Hoola & Sunbeam

Ah Summer you have well and truly arrived in Style!

To help me with that all important 'Summer glow 'I have been rotating between using 3 of my favourite bronzers and applying a highlighter as I do love the radiance that it provides across my cheek bones and how it lights up my face when the sun hits it.

A recent discovery of my mine is Benefit's Hoola Bronzer - This is a fabulous matte powder bronzer that is exceptionally smooth and silky to apply. It is easy to blend, looks natural and is buildable depending on how brown/sunkissed you want to appear and gives a lovely warmth to the skin that is ideal in Summer.

Swatch of Hoola 

I have reviewed Sunbeam before but needless to say I am using this as it has a wonderful golden/bronze tinge to it that just complements bronzers so well for that authentic golden glow.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer £23.50

Benefit Sunbeam Highlighter £19.50 

Beauty With Bettina - A Lasting Look - Makeup That Lasts!

July's issue of iN Mag is a special Duke Of Essex Polo bumper edition. 

With Summer heralding plenty of event invitations, many of them being outdoors taking full advantage of the glorious weather (yes we are having some! Heatwave anyone?), you will be wanting to keep your make up in place.This month I have handpicked some great products to ensure you will remain looking fresh from morning till night, whatever the weather :-)

Click here to read my beauty page in this month's magazine.

http://issuu.com/in-magazine.com/docs/inmagessexjuly_augdigi/28

Bright & Glowy - Make Up For Summer

The sun's out (at last) and this is one of my favourite looks for daytime. Coral blush awakens the face and is super flattering and bright coral lipstick intensifies and enhances the whites of the eyes. I wear it with a light brightening base ( GINVERA BB Cream is excellent - coverage vs lightness is the best I have tried) and add a cream based highlighter for extra glow. Pair with a bronzer and lashings of jet black mascara and you are set for Summer.

Swatches

L-R

Pur Minerals Beach Bum Gloss Stick - Super glossy hint of colour that works with your own lip colour, bright coral but wearable. I wear this in the mornings for the school run as it is less punchy than a full on lipstick.

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Coral Reef - This fluoro bright lipstick with a sheen finish is packed with colour, one swipe and you get gorgeously creamy rich, even coverage. Coral Reef is not a colour you would wear if you want to hide away, it is so bright and punchy, instantly awakening the face. I love it. Shades optional.

Liz Earle Healthy Glow Powder Blush in Nectar - Words cannot express how much I love this blusher, unfortunately I dropped it the day I received it so the packaging broke but it's what's inside that really counts.  Nectar is described as a rose pink but I think there is definitely a hint of orange in it. I finger swatched it so you can see just how bright and stunning this is. So complementary to my skin tone, Nectar brightens my cheeks effortlessly with a pop of colour and provides a healthy glow. The formula is sheer but buildable so it looks really natural on the skin and not powdery in the slightest. If you haven't tried the Liz Earle blushes I can highly recommend them.

Benefit Watt's Up Soft Focus Highlighter -  One of my all time faves, this is a champagne toned highlighter that is in stick formula, just glide across the top of the cheekbones and blend. Simple but effective natural looking radiance.

Benefit How To Look The Best At Everything - Light

I have mentioned a few times that I am a fan of the Benefit Kits, they make great gifts and also they provide an excellent introduction to products within the brand. What I love is that the kits are really well thought out with the items included in them, meaning that you are likely to use everything included in them and the packaging is fun to boot.

Benefit have the How To Look The Best At Everything kits - (Flawless Complexion MakeUp Kit) in 3 shades - Light, Medium and Dark.

Packaged like a book, you flip it open where you will find the mini size products, a mirror and a handy step by step guide on how to use the products.

Inside -

Kit includes:

• The POREfessional PRO balm to minimise the appearance of pores 7.5ml
• Hello flawless oxygen wow “cheers to me” champagne brightening makeup 7ml
• Boi-ing 01 & 02 industrial-strength concealer ( mix to achieve your perfect shade) 2 x1.5g 
• “hello flawless!” “me vain?” champagne custom powder cover-up 4g

I have already reviewed three of the items that are contained in the kit, the reviews of which you can read by clicking on the links below.

Porefessional 
Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup
Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer 

The product that was new to me was the Hello Flawless "Me,vain?" Powder in Champagne (custom powder cover up with SPF15) which I am glad that I have now discovered. As a finishing powder this is pretty fabulous, so light to be almost undetectable and yet it provides a subtle matte finish that keeps shine/oil at bay. I like it a lot.

Used together the kit does provide a perfectly flawless appearance, I do rate the foundation very highly. I love the minis, they are perfect for weekend's away, I do like the book style packaging but to be honest I would probably have ditched it except for the fact that the powder cannot be removed to be stored separately.

Swatches of Benefit's How To Look Best At Everything - Light

From left to right: Porefessional Primer, Hello Flawless "cheers to me" Champagne Foundation, Boi-ing Concealer shades 01 and 02, "Me Vain" Champagne Hello Flawless Powder.

Benefit How To Look Best At Everything Kit costs £24.50

*PR Sample

Benefit Sun Beam - Review

I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't apply some kind of radiance booster or highlighter on my face, I just adore the glow that illuminates from me when the sun catches it. With the days being mostly grey at the moment I couldn't resist using some "sunshine in a bottle" to give me a bit of a boost and brighten up the dull days...

Benefit Sun Beam

Benefit says 

This golden bronze highlighter gives you a natural, sun-kissed radiance. Dot & blend over makeup on to cheek & brow bones for a bronzed glow that complements all skintones. It’s liquid sunshine in a bottle!

My thoughts

Two dabs from the nail polish like brush applicator, blended on the tops of the cheeks provides a beautiful natural golden and glowy sheen to my skin. A perfect warm shade that delivers on its promise. A great highlighter that is even better in the Summer. One of my faves. Benefit really know how to produce perfect highlighters.

Tip - use this before applying powder as the liquid will remove the powder.

Benefit Sun Beam costs £18.50

Benefit Peek-A-Bright Eyes Eye Illuminating Kit - Review

I was recently sent the Peek-A-Bright Eyes Illuminating Kit from Benefit to try out. I was quite excited about trying it out as I have small eyes and anything promising to make my eyes appear wider appeals to me!

The front of the outer packaging is exactly the same as the inner and the back tells you exactly what is contained inside.

I do have a fondness for Benefit beauty kits, they are portable and eye catchingly packaged. They also make great gifts.

Benefit say

“Wake up” your look with this portable makeup kit! Illuminate, highlight and contour with three complementary shadows & famous creamy brightener, eye bright. It’s your secret to big, bright eyes!

Inside you will find a mirror and the following products and tools

buff base shadow (matte)
warm chocolate countour shadow (matte)
pearly pink highlight shadow (shimmer)
eye bright
concealer brush
contour brush / liner brush

My thoughts

Small enough to fit into one hand (and my hands are small!) this kit comes with a step by step how to guide, a generous size built in mirror, applicators, 3 shadows and eye bright. In essence this kit  has everything you need to get wide, bright eyes. The shadows are pigmented, easy to wear, flattering and do exactly what they need to do. With a good texture that is easy to work with, blending nicely and with no fall out and it lasts, I have been impressed. I have been reaching for this kit more often than not, I particularly like to wear the buff  base shadow alone for instant wide awake eyes. 

Swatches 

With flash

Without Flash

Benefit Peek-A-Bright Eyes Eye Illuminating Kit costs £24.50

Eyes Of The Day - Purple Smokey and Smouldering

Products Used - 

Sleek Oh So Special Palette - Shades Wrapped Up and Celebrate 

Eyeko Purple Graffiti Eyeliner Pen

17 Photo Flawless Eye Pencil Black Blue 

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Purple shadow/liner against my green eyes is one of my favourite combinations - it is incredibly flattering. The purple enhances the whites of the eyes, makes the eyes pop and increases the depth of the green.

Benefit See & Be Seen Sasha Eau De Toilette

Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. I absolutely love this fragrance and have been wearing it every day since it arrived in the post.

None of the other Crescent Row scents have grabbed me previously (I found them either too sweet or too musky) but I was smitten with See & Be Seen Sasha from the very first spritz.

The outer box is arty and attractive and the print on the cute cocktail shaker style bottle is stylish and fun.

As with all the Benefit Crescent Row fragrances it has an accompanying poem to describe Sasha's personality

Sasha…

modern, still life, florals a gallery of delights…

classic urban luxury her expression excites.

a work of art, Sasha transcends age

a vision, a showpiece “she takes center stage.”

Top notes: orange flower absolute, apricot, pink freesia Middle notes: ylang ylang, tiare flower, white peony, jasmine sambac Base notes: crystal amber, liquid musk, vanilla

A clean and fresh, light fruity floral, I find that I can really smell the Jasmine and there is a little nod to the original Michael Kors fragrance. This fragrance has captivated everyone I have introduced it to. Plus, it also has the all important husband approval!

A perfect transition from Summer to Autumn.

Benefit See & Be Seen Sasha Eau de Toilette costs £29.50 for 30ml

*PR Sample

Holiday Makeup By Night

You may have already seen my 'by day' holiday makeup, pictured above are the items that I wore in the evenings.

I didn't have much time from leaving the pool or beach, showering and getting myself and my 4yr old son ready for dinner to sit and apply makeup at my leisure. I had to choose items that I knew would create the look I wanted to achieve as fast as possible with as few items as possible.

The look I was going for in the evening was radiance, illumination and a flash of bright colour on my lips - not a million miles away from my day look but just ramped up with more definition :-) A sun kissed and healthy looking glow is always a winner when you are on holiday in my opinion.

YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation - My current favourite foundation. Coverage is light but even and radiant. I popped some into a sample pot so that I didn't have to take the full size glass bottle with me.

Benefit They're Real Mascara - Rather than take the full size version, I took the rather travel handy mini version that came with the Anniversary set.. Another current favourite, love how black and defined it makes my lashes, real flutter worthy and they stand out a mile!

17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze This shimmer brick made it into my evening makeup as it is so versatile and multipurpose. I used the different shades as eye shadows, the second one really made my eyes pop. I also used the lightest shade as a highlighter on my cheeks. Best bargain product of the Summer by far!

I took two lipsticks with me as I wanted to have alternatives depending on my outfit!

Lancome L'Absolu Rouge Lipstick 152 Rouge Mars This is a favourite Summer lipstick of mine, brightens the whites of my eyes and wakes up the whole face. Seriously, it is that good! It looks gorgeous with a warm tan too (I get mine with bronzer ;-))

Clinique Long Last Lipstick All Heart Such an easy to wear bright lipstick although it doesn't look that in the tube, it appears quite dark. In reality this is a very pretty and flattering pinky red toned shade.

Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer and Liz Earle Healthy Glow Powder Blush in Nectar I was sent these items just as I was about to leave for my holiday so decided to take them with me and use them every evening, full review coming shortly...watch this space!

Just a final and quick mention for my holiday nails - I used Rimmel London 60 Seconds Coralicious on my fingers and toes! Bright and cheery.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara Anniversary Set - Review

It is hard to believe that Benefit They're Real! Mascara is just a year old, such is its status and popularity in the beauty world (UK's no1 best selling mascara!) that it feels like it has been around for years. To celebrate the one year anniversary Benefit have released a limited edition set which features the full size mascara (8g) and a bonus deluxe mini size mascara (4g) for the same price as the usual mascara. The mini will come in very handy for travel!

Benefit say

they're real! lengthens, curls, volumises, lifts & separates. Our jet black, long-wearing formula won’t smudge or dry out. A specially designed brush reveals lashes you never knew you had!

My thoughts

Wow, just wow! This mascara is fantastic, 2 coats and I look like I have sexy, flutterworthy lashes that are so long they look false and can be seen from afar... I found the mascara to completely live up to the hype, it didn't clump, smudge or flake. Impressive.

The mascara is neither too wet or dry, just perfect and a nice, deep black shade.

Thanks to the design of the brush you can really coat each and every lash if you want to, I just prefer not to get too close to my inner eyes..

Of course a mascara review is nothing without before and after pics! What do you think?

Before 

After

Benefit They're Real! Mascara Anniversary Set costs £18.50 and is available nationwide from the 18th August.

*PR Sample