Generally speaking, I never use many products coming from the same brand at the same time. Not that I have anything against it, I’m just a curious bug and usually want to try a whole lot of different things together, so I end up having quite a range of brands in my beauty cabinet. Sometimes though, it’s nice to put everything else on hold and tidy up the number of formulas you toss on your skin to try and see how one range of products actually works. For me, this is the case when speaking of the sparkling Benefit skincare kit.
It all started when I was on the look for a light eye cream – my recent I-can’t-do-without-it obsession. You see, I’ve never used many eye creams before and I’ve never really felt the need for until now. But watching into the mirror, I’m starting to spot some dryness and dullness across the under-eye area – eeek! I’m not to the point of first wrinkles yet but you know, better safe than sorry. So, while snooping online and loitering in beauty shops, to my surprise I found myself in front of a shelf full of Benefit Cosmetics skincare products. I say to my surprise because to me, Benefit Cosmetics has always been the home of thick eyelashes, beautiful brows and flawless base but I’ve never really noticed they had a whole skincare selection too. So there we go, you can always learn something new and Benefit Cosmetics skincare is now one of these!
I have been doing marketing for years now and I should know how all of that works, but still I’m such a big buyer into packaging and seeing this whole stash of beautifully packaged bottles, with their princessy look and pastel light blue, could I not open lids and try a couple of bits? Of course not. My final loot has come down three products: the Moisture Prep Toning Lotion, the Triple Performing Facial Emulsion SPF 15 and the Firm it Up! Eye Serum.
Let’s start with an honest opinion: I love them all. Yep, straight to the point! I must tell, I had some reservations towards the moisturiser and the toner being both their formulas a bit thicker than what I expected. If fact, in my experience rich formulas don’t do well with my skin during the day, but I had read magic about both online so I did really want to give them a try – the back up plan being switching them to night skincare in case. I am now one month down the road and I can tell I am more than satisfied with the three of them, so if you asked me I would absolutely recommend them.
Beginning with the Toning Lotion, it comes as more as a gel than a proper toner so the first impression has been “wow, it’s never going to soak up”. But you know, never judge a book by its cover and while it takes a couple of seconds more to be absorbed it then magically disappears without leaving any oily residue. It is meant to smooth and revitalise the skin prepping it for any moisturiser optimising its result while reducing fine lines. Now, I don’t know if it’s the good weather approaching, less make up smudged on my face, the use of this toning lotion or possibly the three of them together but I can happily say my skin is doing pretty well and I am starting to forget the little dry areas on my forehead and chin. As to the ingredients it mixes up vitamin E, natural oat, meadowsweet on the soothing side and aloe leaf and yeast extract on the clarifying one.
Coming to the Eye Serum, it is my personal favourite in the triplet, being very light, delicate and soothing. When it comes to the eyes, I have a bit of a struggle in finding a good product – either they are too rich for a daily use or end up itching a lot or they are way too expensive (and until now I didn’t really feel the urge to invest a lot of money on it – yeah, I’m still under my thirties you guys!). With Benefit I found my happy place and I love going with it every day in the morning before my moisturiser – it soaks up well and leaves the area hydrated and ready for eye make up. Going on the honesty path though, I must tell you I haven’t seen a radical toning and highlighting miracle – after 9 hours in the office you will still look tired – but the area definitely looks less dull and dry. As to wrinkles I’m still in the lucky place where I have a lot of expression lines but nothing more, so I guess I’ll just preserve the situation as long as possible!
The Facial Emulsion is my last step before moving on to make up and right now it is a good candidate in my golden products bucket. It’s definitely thicker than Shiseido Pureness Moisturizing Gel-Cream (all-time favourite!), reason why I initially felt the urge to remove the excess with a liquid toner but using it a couple of times, it all came down to applying less product and just letting dry its oil-free formula. Et voila! It comes with SPF too (broad-spectrum SPF 15) which is a nice addition to the kit and its scent is light and delicate – the kind of treat your skin looks forward to in the morning. Just to be on a safe side, I always make sure I end up my routine with a puff of face powder, regardless I’m applying make up on or not, but that’s true with any moisturiser unless I know I’m going to sunbathe or I will be at home the whole day chilling. Other than that, the magic is done and my skin seems really up for it at the moment.
A final mention goes to the fact that these three all contain alcohol, so if you have a very delicate complexion you might want to check that out first. Taking stocks, you can tell I’m pretty content with my little skincare plan at the moment, which I find perfect for spring and autumn. I reckon though there’s a challenge left to these products: getting past the super hot and super dam Italian summer! A hard test guys, we’ll see how it goes!
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