Brighten Up Your Skin

Having tried and found Benefit's lip and cheek stain Benetint too dark for my skin tone, I was really intrigued about using their complexion highlighter - High Beam.

I'd heard a lot of good things about High Beam before I purchased the product for myself and many times I discovered that friends had rushed out to buy the latest edition of a magazine, as it came as the free sample.

Once I tried High Beam, I could see exactly why everyone had been raving about it for so long, it was subtle yet effective and gave my skin a dewy, healthy glow.

It is designed to be worn over your usual make-up, in order to accent your cheek and brow bones, whilst enhancing your complexion, giving it a natural, glimmering finish.

In order to apply High Beam, carefully dot it along your cheek and brow lines and gently blend it with your existing make-up.

With this product I find that less is more, as if you use too much, it can detract from the make-up underneath. High Beam is a wonderful finishing product and ensures that your skin looks healthy and lustrous.

If you prefer a darker highlighter or want to add more of a golden sunkissed shimmer to your complexion, Benefit have also created the highlighters Sun Beam and Moon Beam.

To Tint Or Not To Tint?

I know that Benefit Benetint is a favourite product for many out there, but I haven’t really felt it’s lived up to expectations...

Personally, I think that there are lots of other products on the market that do a better job than Benetint; but then again that’s just me.

As a lip and cheek stain, it’s designed to give your cheeks a gorgeous glow and a your lips a warm tinge. I must admit, it worked far better on my lips than it did on my cheeks.

In order to use this product on your cheeks, you are told to draw three small stripes onto the apples of your cheeks and blend in circular motions with your fingertips.

After trying this for myself, I found that it made my skin look blotchy and uneven; far from the effect that I was going for. In my opinion, powder or pressed blush are much better products to use in order to get rosy, glowing cheeks.

For lips, the effect is slightly different. I have tried using Benetint in two different ways and one certainly worked better than the other.

Firstly I tried using Benetint on its own. I found that initially it gave me a nice, warm, even colour; however, it wore off extremely quickly, quicker than any lipstick or lip stain I’ve ever used.

Secondly I tried it under lip gloss. This worked extremely well and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to try Benetint for themselves.

Unfortunately, as you may have read in one of my previous blogs, I don’t really like wearing lip gloss. So while it’s fine round the house, I wouldn't want to use this method when venturing outside (especially in windy weather!).

There is a third way to use Benetint on your lips, (which I haven’t tried yet) and that is to use it underneath lipstick. Therefore, when your lipstick wears off, you’ll still have a lovely, warm colour left on your lips.

I think that the third way is probably the best idea, and would be a great way to always have beautifully coloured lips.

However, I have come to the conclusion that Benetint is not an ideal product for me and I very doubt that it will ever feature on my must have list!

If you have a different opinion on Benefit Benetint, feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your views!