Lip Plump
I've been a fan of BeneFit cosmetics for some time now. I think that they're quality products, and fabulously marketed ones, too. I love periodically perusing BeneFit's website to see what's new on the cosmetic radar, so to speak. When I purchased Lip Plump, I had high expectations, but unfortunately, BeneFit let me down with this one. Lip Plump is touted as a lip primer which smooths and fills in ridges while building up lip contour. It is a creamy, light-colored foundation-esque liquid, designed to match light skin tones. The directions on the tube say to apply to lips with the sponge-tipped applicator, pat with fingertips, and then wait two minutes before applying lipstick. Well, I've tried to figure out Lip Plump so many times, and it's always turned into such a mess, that today I waited a full five minutes before applying my lipstick, figuring that SURELY five minutes would be sufficient drying time for the creamy Lip Plump base. No such luck - when I carefully swiped the lipstick over the neutral-colored Lip Plump, the color of the base blended into the lipstick, turning it a pale, pasty color, which wasn't the effect that I was going for. As much of a BeneFit fan as I am, I'm afraid that after multiple unsuccessful attempts, I can't recommend Lip Plump.

review: 3/03

Sketching Pencils
For years now, I've been hesitant to use pencil liners on my eyes, because they always seem to tug and pull on my lids, instead of just gliding on softly. As a result, I've resigned myself to spending the extra time to apply a mahogany-colored eye shadow with an eyeliner brush, and I've always been happy with those results. I decided, however, that since I'm such a big fan of BeneFit products, I'd give their new sketching pencils a fair trial. I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised!

I tried the Sketching Eye Pencil in Royale, which is a very pretty navy blue/purple shade. It was a stretch from my normal (albeit boring) neutral palette, but I liked the color! Even more so, I liked the smooth way that the pencil ran across my lids, without skipping or pulling at my lids. The blending tip is just firm enough to smudge the line, but spongy enough not to wipe the liner completely off. What a nice result! I might just change my mind against eyeliner pencils, after all.

I was equally happy with BeneFit's Sketching Lip Pencil in Lush, a sort of brown-mauve colored lip liner. Another beautiful shade from the keen-eyed folks at BeneFit! Again, the pencil glided on smoothly, and the blended perfectly with the sponge tip. The only downside that I noticed with the lip liner was that it didn't seem to have "staying power." It seemed to wear off fairly quickly, which could of course have something to do with the fact that I've consistently got a water bottle tipped to my mouth! I tried setting the lip liner with a bit of pressed powder before I applied my lipstick, and that helped it to stick around much longer. I find that I only touch up my lip color once or twice a day now, and I'm able to keep great color without fail! When these lip and eye pencils are gone, I'll definitely surf over to BenefitCosmetics.com to restock. Maybe I'll even get adventurous and try out a few more of their great shades, you never know!

review: 8/02

She Shells Spring 2002 Collection
For years now, I've been stuck in my neutral-colored, matte eye shadow rut. Don't get me wrong, a good earth toned palette remains irreplaceable in my makeup case, but I'm beginning to break out of my "she-shell" a bit. I've always shied away from shimmery eye shadows because they remind me of the frosted blue shadow that my mother wore throughout my childhood. Even now, when the sane, fashionable side of me KNOWS that these springy, frosted shades are definitely back in, I've been reluctant to try them. BeneFit to the rescue! BeneFit is one of those great companies that has a fantastic marketing staff AND the products to back it up. I enjoy perusing the BeneFit catalogs and surfing their website just as much as I enjoy using their quality products. She Shells eye shadows and lip glazes did not let me down. I tried the eye shadow in she breeze, which is a pretty, dusty pink color. I've never really used pink eye shadow before, but this color wasn't a major shock for me because it gives your eyelid more of a shimmery neutral coat. The cream shadow spread nice and evenly over my lids, and resisted creasing as well. I used she breeze over my entire lid, up to my eyebrows, and then contoured with a medium brown powder shadow in my crease. I've been so pleased with this little gem of an eye shadow that I'm planning to order the other two colors to experiment with as well. I also enjoyed the she shell lip glaze in she coral. I'm not a big fan of heavy, sticky lip gloss, as it generally tends to annoy me over the course of the day. The BeneFit she shells glaze, however, is very light, and simply adds a tinge of color to your lips while keeping them moist and happy. I love the she coral shade - I think that it works really well with my fair complexion and primarily neutral makeup palette. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the small white shell compacts are just so darn cute! Yet another feather in BeneFit's cap!