Benfit Hoola Bronzer Review

 

Benefit has really been my beauty brand favourite lately, and I really felt that a review of one of my all time favourite Benefit product was in order!

So, above here are a few snaps of my Benefit Hoola Bronzer.
 

This bronzer is really all sunshine and rainbows - which is ironic because it really does give your skin that sun kissed glow. Personally, I think this bronzer is the best out there. I haven't yet tried the Nars Laguna bronzer, which accordingly is a very good one - so I'll have to try that out soon and see how it compares. But I would definitely 100% recommend this bronzer over the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish bronzer, which I find to be a little too orange toned and not that good at creating a shadowy effect ; subsequently meaning it isn't any good for contouring. Luckily, the Benefit bronzer is it's complete antithesis - it creates amazing dimension and shadow, and is definitely more suited for people with pale skin (which is me, very unfortunately). For a high-end brand, I'd say this bronzer was fairly priced at £18 from my local House of Fraser, but I'm sure prices may vary. The product comes with it's own appliance brush - which at first I was rather adverse to, but I've come to terms with using the brush as a guideline for the area I want to contour, and then going in to blend and bronze with the above pictured tapered blush brush from EcoTools. Although yes, I do believe this bronzer is better suited for pale skin than the MAC bronzer, I still feel that it's a little too dark for my skin without carrying out some serious blendage (not that it is even a word..) and carrying it around to bronze the whole of my face, which can be a little annoying when the make-up look I'm trying to achieve is doesn't need a tanned face. But hey - you win some you lose some, and I can't say I regret spending the money on this bronzer. I'm, positive it will last a while - especially seeing as though I purchased it in January and I haven't even hit the pan yet! On the whole, I really do love this bronzer, despite it's few drawbacks, and would certainly recommend it to anyone with a need for a bronzer re-vival.

 

I'd love for anyone to comment with a new bronzer that I could try out, that's perfect for pale skin! And, let me know if you love this bronzer too, and if you thought it was worth the money!

 

Daily Make-up Routine

Step 1 - First, using a Real Techniques expert face brush, I blend a small amount of the YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation all over my face.

Step 2 - Then, I apply a small amount of the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer to my under-eyes and any blemishes/red areas with an EcoTools concealer brush.

Step 3 - Now, I add a sufficient amount of Benefit's Hoola Bronzer to a BareMinerals Blush Brush and sweep it over my cheeks, temples, forehead and jaw line. I also use this to contour my cheekbones.

Step 4 - Going in again with my Expert Face Brush, I take a small amount of Topshop's Cream Blush in the shade Afternoon Tea and apply to the apples of my cheeks. Sometimes I miss out this step if my skin is already quite red toned.

Step 5 - After this is completed, I then use either my Topshop Magic Liner, or MAC Liquid Liner (depending on how thick I want my line to be) and create a cat eyed look. If I'm pushed for time, I tend to just quickly line my lash line without a flick.

Step 6 - My eyelashes are naturally pretty long, so I just need a little lick of Benefit's They're Real mascara to add a little thickness to my lashes.

Step 7 - These last two steps can be missed out, but I usually either wear MAC's lipstick in Angel or Topshop's Hazard lipstick. If my lips are dry, I sometimes prep them with a lip butter from Nspa.

Step 8 - I've been love, love loving glossy lips recently, so after applying my lipstick, I either go over it in MAC's Lipglasses in the shades Oyster Girl or Russian Red!

Barry M Nail Paint Collection



Left to Right: Blueberry, Amethyst Glitter, Yellow Topaz Glitter, Raspberry

So recently I've been taking to painting my nails a new colour nearly every day, and my holy grail colours have been my four pots of Barry M colourful goodness. And, in light of my new nail varnish craze, I decided to put it out there to everyone who isn't as familiar with Barry M products as others, how spectacular these little babies are. I really should give Olivia from oliviaericaryanxo.blogspot.co.uk a huge thank you as her recent post about her recent Barry M purchase inspired this post (check it out here!), so thank-you! All of these colours are so pigmented, and are so easy to use. Usually one coat is definitely enough, especially with the shade Blueberry, as I find that has a different type of consistency than the rest. The glitter polishes are absolutely perfect; one coat over another gorgeous colour and it gives your nails glamour on the go, especially with the fast drying time. I felt like I certainly had to do this post, because I don't see nearly enough beauty guru's talk about Barry M polishes, and with their high chip resistance and vibrant colour range, you really can't go wrong.

I hope my post inspired you to take a look at the Barry M counter in your local Boots or Superdrug, and if you happen to buy any funky new nail colours, let me know in the comments! I'm still looking for Book Review ideas, so please let me know what you'd like to see. Until next time!