It was a lovely surprise earlier last week, when queen of cosmetics ‘Benefit’ tweeted me asking if I could email over my address, as they wanted to send me a package of goodies. I am already a huge fan of Benefit, and especially love their eye shadow and brow palettes, so I couldn’t wait to see what they had sent me.
Sure enough, on Saturday morning a package arrived on my doorstep and I eagerly tore it open (hence why the box in the pictures looks slightly ripped). Inside, among a mountain of sequins and tissue paper was three of Benefit’s latest eye shadow kits – their brand new ‘World Famous Neutrals’ collection. With glamorous and gorgeous packaging (like the vast majority of Benefit’s products), each kit contains six colours, including four powder shadows and two creaseless cream bases.
Now, I don’t know about you, but despite owning several eye shadow palettes (some of which have over 100 colours in), I have absolutely no clue about how to put them all together and make it look wearable. I have tried countless times to achieve a smokey eye look, I have watched YouTube tutorials galore and still – I end up looking like I’ve been in a fight. Luckily, Benefit have helpfully provided a ‘tips and tricks’ guide in each palette, which with a simple diagram, is really easy to follow and re-create (if I can do it, anyone can – promise!).
I’m not a big fan of doing ‘swatches’, because not only is it a right pain to clean off, but eye shadows aren’t made for hands, so I hope you don’t mind that I have included an image for each of the palettes where I have tried either one of the ‘daytime’ or the ‘playtime’ looks on my eyes.
Eyenessa’s Sexiest Nudes Ever
Best for: Super Pigmented Smokey Eyes.
This palette was definitely my favourite as the colours are gorgeous and super pigmented, so you get a really bold, daring but very natural look.
Creamy bases – ‘holy smokes’ and ‘bikini-tini’, one each for the day and night looks.
Powder shadows – ‘milk it!’, which like it’s name, is a milky, creamy white, ‘raincheck?’ which is a glittery light aubergine, ‘pause for applause’ which is a sparkly pink, and ‘blingo!’ which is a gorgeous shimmery silver.
Eyenessa’s Most Glamorous Nudes Ever
Best for: Old-style Hollywood Glamour and Sparkly Eyes.
This palette, with its rich, sparkly and illuminating shades is definitely very reminiscent of old-school Hollywood glamour, which I suppose is already expressed in the name.
Creamy bases – ‘my two cents’ which is a lovely shimmery gold and ‘birthday suit’ which is a burnt bronze shade.
Powder shades – ‘call my buff’, which is a creamy colour, ‘kiss me, i’m tipsy’ which is a chocolate shimmery brown, ‘it’s complicated’ which is a sparkly pink and ‘gilt-y pleasure’ which is a glittering gold.
Eyenessa’s Easiest Nudes Ever
Best for: sultry smokey eyes.
When you think of ‘smokey eye’ looks, you quite often relate it to darker, pigmented shades with a shimmer on the brow bone. This palette reflects this best, yet still provides natural, neutral looking colours so that the smokey eye finish doesn’t look ‘drag-queen esque’, which I find is the case with a lot of shades.
Creamy Bases – ‘r.s.v.p’ which is a shimmery bronze and ‘no pressure’ which is a milky brown.
Powder Shades – ‘call my buff’ which is a peachy pink, ‘thanks a latte’ which is a shimmery brown, ‘pinky swear’ which is quite suitably a baby pink and ‘quick look busy’ which is more of a dark brown.
At £23.50 per set, these are obviously a little pricier than your average drugstore palette, but for Benefit, I feel this is a really well priced product – and with six gorgeous colours and a fool proof guide, you can’t really go wrong. The only problem is, I now have no excuse for not doing my eye make-up properly!
* Disclosure: I just want to reiterate, like with any of my reviews, my opinion is not affected by the fact these products were sent to me free of charge by the PR company. I am 100% honest in all of my reviews (and if there’s anything negative to say, you can guarantee I will let you know – hence some of my other reviews).
