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You Might Need a Row of Diplomas to Open the Benefit Crescent Row Coffret Set

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Benefit Crescent Row Coffret Set with box

Don’t let these sharp dressers fool you. The adorable tiny bottles in the Benefit Crescent Row Coffret Holiday Kit ($36) look like they’re begging to be spritzed, but you might need a degree in rocket science to get ’em open.

The limited edition set comes with four almost impregnable bottles of 0.34-oz. eau de toilette — the light and fresh Laugh With Me LeeLee and Garden of Good and Eva, and warm and cozy Lookin’ To Rock Rita and So Hooked on Carmella.

The official fragrance notes…

  • Garden Of Good And Eva: pear, watermelon, ozone accords, muguet, rosebud, jasmine petals, green violet leaves, freesia, sandalwood, musk and cedarwood
  • Lookin’ To Rock Rita: lemon, coconut, freesia, fig, hyacinth, violet, sandalwood, Brazilian rosewood and vanilla
  • So Hooked On Carmella: lemon, grapefruit, rhubarb, cyclamen, peony, tiare flower, vanilla, sandalwood, amber
  • Laugh With Me LeeLee: cassis, melon, citrus, black violet, lily, jasmine, blonde wood, amber and santal

I’ve been fiddling with them for days and still can’t tell if the tops are designed to snap or screw shut. I like all four of the long-lasting fragrances, but truth be told, the packaging’s been a bit of a distraction. Maybe they need a special chant or a sacred dance to close, haha!
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What’s Different About the New Benefit Full-Finish Lipsticks?

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benefit wanna full finish lipstick on karen of makeup and beauty blog
Wearing Benefit Full-Finish Lipstick in Wanna

Benefit’s boxed blushes aren’t the only girls getting new outfits for spring. In January the company’s Full-Finish Lipsticks ($18 each) are also getting gussied up, with thicker bullets and shorter tubes.

Benefit is phasing out all but one of the existing shades (UPDATE: I just received info from Benefit saying that they will not be phasing out all the existing shades of Full-Finish. Instead, they’ll be adding these 12 new shades to the current line. Some of the colors in the current line will remain and be repackaged into the new tubes. I’ll update you once I get word of which shades will be staying and which ones will be going.) Fame Game (from the It Girl Collection, Fall 2009), and introducing 11 new ones. But all 12 of them have the exact same moisturizing, creamy formula Full-Finish fans like us know and love.

The (NEW) Benefit Full-Finish Lipsticks…

  • Pillow Talk: a hot pink
  • Wanna: a raspberry
  • Espionage: a black cherry
  • Pinking of You: a pop of pink
  • Rumor: a rose quartz
  • Slow Zone: a tropical coral
  • Shy: a ballet slipper
  • Saucy: a sparkling tangerine
  • Fame Game: a dusty rose
  • I Tink I Love You: a bronze rose
  • Mod Squad: a shelly pink
  • Oh Currant: a berry wine

Don’t tell El Hub, but tonight I made out with Wanna, Shy, Espionage, Slow Zone, Pinking of You and Fame Game.

Benefit full finish lipstick review swatches photos spring 2011 closeup
Benefit Full-Finish Lipsticks from the left front: Slow Zone and Wanna; Back: Espionage, Pinking of You and Shy
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I Flipped My Lid Over the New Benefit Bella Bamba Face Powder

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benefit bella bamba review swatches photos

Bus riding babes and y’all on-the-go lovelies, feast your eyes on this: the new Benefit Bella Bamba Face Powder ($28) promises to change the face of quick touchups this spring.

You know how Benefit’s boxed blushes have that unattached lid (see: Sugarbomb and Coralista)? Well, as much as I love the colors, I’m always afraid they’ll open in my bag. Once, while I was applying blush on the train to work, one of the lids got away from me and shot straight up in the air, OOPS! Luckily it landed in a cute boy’s lap, but I digress…

benefit bella bamba review swatches photos

Bella Bamba comes with new improved flip-top cap that uses a magnet to stay shut. And that’s not all. It even has a mirror inside, so you can stare at your sassy self while you’re sweeping on this shimmery golden pink.

Benefit’s old-school lids are going, going gone. They’re phasing them out, so the seven other shades in the Face Powder line will also be wearing the new flip-top packaging soon.

Benefit calls Bella Bamba a 3D, multi-dimensional pink face powder (what is this, Tron? LOL!), and it’s designed to brighten, sculpt and define.

I don’t know much about 3D, but I do like using this as a blush. 🙂
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Three Fun Makeup Sets to Add to Your Christmas Wish List

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Follow me on TwitterFriend me on FacebookWritten by Audrey

Today freelance makeup artist Audrey of Makeup by Audrey has three ideas for fun makeup sets to add to your Christmas list.

Three Fun Makeup Sets to Add to Your Christmas Wish List

I have such a weakness for makeup sets. They usually suck me in with cute packaging and then seal the deal by offering a good price.

During a recent visit to Sephora (ahem, purely for educational purposes), I discovered a bunch of fun makeup sets that tickled my fancy. Did I need any of them? No. But did I want them? Of course! And guess what? It’s that perfect time of year for frivolous expenses!

To help you write your letter to Santa (or be a gift-giving Santa yourself!), here are my top three favorite makeup kits this holiday season:

Benefit Cosmetics Her Name Was GlowlaBenefit Cosmetics Her Name was Glowla $36 Benefit delivers yet another cutely packaged set (although let’s face it, not very durable or travel friendly) designed to give you a glowing face. It’s quite comprehensive with a set of very pretty shimmery eyeshadows in neutral shades, the popular Coralista blush, mascara, and a coral lipgloss. It even boosts the “glow” factor with a set of High Beam and Moon Beam highlighters.

This kit is very novice-friendly as it includes a fold out instruction card that shows step by step where you would place each of the products, even describing which applicator should be used! Speaking of which, it should also be noted that this set includes a blush brush and a double ended eye shadow brush. In my experience, these are decent brushes that are definitely usable and not the “throwaway” kind you usually get in other sets.

Who Would Love This Gift: Pretty much any gal! The colors are universal and would make a great daytime look for anyone.

Smashbox Eye Wish PaletteSmashbox Eye Wish Palette $45 My eyes were first drawn to the stunning gold packaging of this eye palette. After a closer look, I fell in love with the mix of shades and finishes. It comes with 12 eyeshadows, and you’ll probably never guess which one is my favorite. Ready? The matte bone shade! — otherwise known as the most boring color in the set. But it is also the shade that I use 99% of the time on my browbone. I’m all for experimenting, but it’s also nice when you can do a complete eye look with one palette and they almost never include that basic matte shade. It’s usually all shimmer city, and I’m not really one to bust out disco ball eyes.

The bottom four shades are cream eyeliners that can also be used as bases. One drawback is that this kind of packaging is not ideal for creams as they’re more likely to dry out. You’ll have to be careful with that. This kit really thought of everything and even includes mascara and the always-essential eyeshadow primer (I have the full-size version at home — works great, but might be a little drying).

The big bonus here? Similar to the Benefit kit, this one also comes with instructions. The difference here is that Smashbox provides a set of instructional eye charts for 10 different looks that are all nicely stored in a little slot under the mirror.
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Benefit Instant Brow: I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost…Brows

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Benefit Instant Brow Pencil

ghost brows |gohst brouz|
noun
1 A phrase which has come to mean “sparse brows,” but in my particular case describes brows that start dense above my nose but fade away as they taper toward my ears : ooh, that girl’s got some ghost brows!

Chock it up to Halloween and/or my overactive imagination, but I’m convinced I’m being haunted by a kleptomaniac makeup ghost — one with a weird brow fetish! For real, though!

To fill my brows I usually reach for two things: MAC Concrete Eyeshadow and the 266 Small Angle Brush. But then my pan of Concrete went missing a few weeks ago, and now I can’t find my 266!

Something wicked this way comes…

But whatever malevolent force is at work, it motivated me to try the Benefit Instant Brow Pencil ($20).

karen from makeup and beauty blog reviews benefit instant brow pencil
I ain’t afraid of no ghost…brows!

This dual-tipped brow saver’s been a member of the Benefit fam for quite some time. On one side, a soft pencil to fill sparse brows; on the other, a spoolie brush for brow blending. It comes in three shades — Light, Medium and Deep. The one I use is Medium, a creamy dark brown.
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These New Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners Live Exclusively at Sephora

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benefit creaseless cream shadow swatches review purple snap tidal wave silver spoon

I feel like I’ve been robbed of a Tuesday afternoon. Seriously, where’d it go? One minute I’m playing with a few of the new Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liners ($19 each; exclusive to Sephora), and the next minute it’s dark and I hear crickets outside!

benefit creaseless cream shadow swatches review purple snap tidal wave silver spoon back

Maybe I was just having so much fun finger painting my lids that time got away from me.

I know I’ve gushed over Benefit’s Creaseless Creams many times before. I’m like a broken record with them, “Benefit Creaseless Creams! Benefit Creaseless Creams!” Sorry. It’s just that I like ’em that much.

More on the Benefit Creaseless Creams…

And now with Purple Snap, Tidal Rave, Silver Spoon and Icy White showing up at Sephora, I better warn you — I’m going to do it again!
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New Benefit Sets, and a Liquid Foundation and Fragrance from Clarins

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Benefit Her Name Was Glowla packaging

We had a few minutes to kill before the movie tonight, so I popped over to Macy’s to see if they had anything new and interesting in the cosmetics department.

The Benefit counter was abuzz with some new limited-edition sets, Clarins had a new liquid foundation (at least it’s new to me), and I sniffed a new citrusy scent.

Benefit Her Name Was Glowla, $36

LOVE love the packaging of this limited edition set. Isn’t it spicy? I actually have a pair of sunglasses that look almost like the pair the woman on the box is wearing.

The kit comes with a bunch of Benefit standbys like Coralista blush, High Beam highlighter, Moon Beam highlighter, a powder eyeshadow palette with six neutral shades, Badgal Lash mascara and a lipgloss in Life on the A List.

A Benefit makeup artist at the counter said that these were selling out fast… It does look like a pretty great deal for the price.

Benefit All You Need is Gloss, $26

Remember the dual-tipped lipglosses from last year’s Glitz Glam & Gloss set? They’re baaaack! 🙂
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