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- Benefit Makeup Guide
Your 101 Guide to Benefit Makeup
By Gabriella Buckner -
It’s clear from a single glance at the cute packaging and punny names of Benefit Cosmetics’ products that the brand doesn’t take themselves too seriously—which fits all too well with their mantra that ‘laughter is the best cosmetic’.
What started out in 1976 as a coin toss between twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford went from a small beauty boutique in San Francisco called the Face Place (it would’ve been a casserole cafe if the coin had landed on heads!) to an international bestselling brand owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Proclaiming to be ‘not only in the makeup business, [but] the feel-good business’, Benefit is a makeup brand that tries to help people look their most beautiful by making them laugh, have fun and feel good. They offer everything from mascaras and brow products labelled with fun bright pink block lettering, to over-the-top holiday-themed gift set tins that are sure to make you chuckle, to multitasking lip and cheek stains that give you a ‘you but better’ look for the ultimate confidence boost.
The conscious beauty lover will also be pleased to know this brand is entirely cruelty-free and partners with female empowerment charities through their Bold is Beautiful project.
Here at Cosmetify, we love a brand that likes to have fun, but of course we all want style and substance in our makeup products. Benefit certainly delivers on both these things, but with all the goodies they offer, choosing the best of the best can be a little overwhelming.
So to save you a little time, we’ve rounded up some of the best products from this funky brand in some of their bestselling categories.
BENEFIT FOR BROWS
Whether you’re jumping on the skinny brow trend, still beholden to the carved out Instagram brow or love a natural, fluffy brow, Benefit has got the product for every type of brow out there!
The UK’s No.1 Prestige Brow Brand, Benefit prides itself in being an expert on all things brows since their humble beginnings as a little beauty boutique. Now they have boutiques all over the world with over 5,600 brow experts that offer services like brow waxes, tinting and mapping—so you know this is a brand you can trust to deliver the goods to get great brows from home.
SHOP THE TOP BENEFIT BROW PRODUCTS:
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil
£22.50 £27.43 (18% off)One of Benefit's bestsellers, this brow pencil helps you draw realistic, hair-like strokes for natural looking brows. The rich pigment is budge-proof and waterproof, and comes with a built-in spoolie brush for convenient blending.
Benefit Brow Microfilling Pen
£27.88When getting real microblading isn't an option, a pen like this waterproof microfilling pen is a quick and cheap option. The three-pronged tip of this pen gives you ultra-fine lines in a single stroke so you can fill in gaps for a super-defined brow.
Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil
£15.49Sometimes we aren't born with the hand of an artist and the ability to create ultra-realistic brow hairs with the products like the ones we just mentioned. That's okay! With this 'goof-proof' pen, everyone is an expert. It's super easy to fill in your brows with this soft, waterproof colour.
THE POREFESSIONALS
When nothing else will reduce the appearance of your pores, who do you call? The POREfessionals!
Benefit is well known for their range of pore-minimising primers products, helping complexions everywhere stay shine-free and foundation stay on longer. Choose the best primer for your skin’s needs, and then after applying all your makeup, set your look with the setting spray and/or mattifying powder.
The products in the Benefit POREfessionals range pair great with the fan-favourite Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation or Boi Ing Bright On Concealer.
HERE ARE OUR FAVOURITE POREFESSIONAL PRODUCTS:
Benefit The POREfessional Primer
£33.63The original POREfessional primer, this iconic Benefit bestseller is well known for how smooth and poreless it makes your skin look. It'll also minimise the appearance of fine lines and other blemishes and help your makeup go on smoothly.
Benefit The POREfessional Hydrate Face Primer
£33.63Having enlarged pores you want to cover doesn't necessarily mean you've got super oily skin. This product caters for dry skin, blurring your pores whilst hydrating your skin with hyaluronic acid and shea butter for a dewy glow. It'll also help prevent your makeup from flaking, creasing and caking!
Benefit The POREfessional: Super Setter
£33.63Lock in your makeup for up to 16 hours with this microfine mist as it blurs pores, reduces shine and refreshes your complexion.
BENEFIT MASCARAS
Like any makeup brand worth its salt, Benefit has got a mascara for every lash effect you could desire, from lengthening to curling to volumising.
Two well known ranges within Benefit’s mascara offerings are They’re Real!, which implies a false-lash effect and gives you mega length, and BADgal BANG!, a volumising mascara that turns you into a total baddie in both regular and waterproof versions.
Watch the video above to pick the one best suited to you, or choose from our favourites below.
SHOP THE TOP BENEFIT MASCARAS:
Benefit They're Real Magnet Extreme Lengthening & Powerful Lifting Mascara
£28.32Improving on the original They're Real! Mascara, this mascara using a new formula and innovative zigzag brush to catch all of your lashes and fan them out with lift, length, curl and volume for the most intense definition. The magnetically charged core of the brush helps pull the magnetic mascara to the very ends of your lashes to give them an extension-like flutter in 36-hour, smudge-proof jet black.
Benefit BADgal BANG Mascara
£28.32 £29.15 (3% off)Provitamin B5 in this formula thickens and strengthens your lashes as the mascara gives you major volume, lift and length in a few swipes from the specially designed slimline brush.
It's smudge-proof and water-resistant too, but if that's not enough for you, it now comes in waterproof version here.
BENEFIT LIP AND CHEEK STAINS
Did you know that Benefit’s best selling Benetint lip and cheek stain was originally a nipple stain made for a San Franciscan exotic dancer in the brand’s beginnings? Well, now you do!
Benefit have got several shades of juicy, smudge-proof stain, armed with a doe foot applicator for easy application of sheer, universally flattering colour. Super handy for throwing in your bag or taking on holiday as it serves as both lip and cheek colour, this is the cult product everyone needs in their collection.
SHOP BENEFIT LIP AND CHEEK STAINS:
Benefit Benetint Cheek & Lip Stain
£16.00 £21.50 (26% off)The OG lip tint gives you an instant flush of rosy colour on lips and cheeks that lasts for hours. Celebs and beauty gurus love it - and we bet you will too!
Benefit Floratint Lip & Cheek Stain
£23.45Build up this rustic, romantic shade to your desired level of coverage on your lips and cheeks.
BENEFIT BRONZER
Another cult-favourite from Benefit are their Hoola bronzers, which the brand dubs ‘Barbados in a box’ due to the holiday-like golden glow the matte powder gives your complexion. Soft and blendable, this award-winning bronzer comes in four shades that are free of shimmer, shine and pinky-orange shades that can make your glow look too artificial.
GET THE GLOW:
Benefit Hoola Lite
£35.40
Benefit Hoola Bronzer Powder
£18.58
Benefit Hoola Caramel
£35.40
Benefit Hoola Toasted
£35.40
Benefit Hoola Glow Shimmer Bronzer
£33.19For a limited time only, the Hoola bronzer in neutral bronze comes infused with superfine pearlescent pigments to give your skin a luminous glow.
BENEFIT MAKEUP SETS & KITS
When in doubt, pick a kit! If you’re still not sure what to pick or want too many things to count (we know how you feel), a Benefit makeup set is a great place to start. With full and mini sized products in the cutest packaging, you can get a taste of Benefit for less than each product would cost individually. These also make great gifts, and Benefit is always outdoing themselves with collectible tins around the holidays.
Try out palettes, blush and bronzer combos, pore-minimising bundles and more.
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITES:
Benefit Totally Glam Telegram Gift Set
£38.50In this kit (which makes a great gift, thanks to the adorable postcard-style tin), you'll get full sizes of Benefit's award-winning Hoola bronzer, the best selling POREfessional primer and They're Real! Mascara. There's also a mini size Gimme Brow+ to help you or a loved one finish off their look.
Benefit Pore Minimizer Squad Set
£24.34Try out three pore-minimising products from Benefit's famous POREfessional line with this mini set. It comes with two primers and setting spray for flawless makeup all day!
Benefit Blushin' Benetint Bundle Gift Set
£19.03 £19.50 (3% off)Sometimes just one blusher product isn't enough, especially with super rosy cheeks being so on-trend right now. Get a serious glow with this gift set, which contains a mini Staarla blush and full-size Benetint stain for cheek and lips.
Benefit Forward To Gorgeous Gift Set
£46.46 £46.50 (1% off)This full-sized set has everything you need for gorgeous and long-lasting makeup. Lift and lengthen your lashes, define your brows and give a seashell-pink glow to your cheeks - and then set it all in place with the pore-blurring setting spray.
Pair your flawless makeup with flawless skin! A consistent skincare routine made up of science-backed products will make all the difference to your complexion and how it looks both with and without makeup.
To help you devise the perfect routine, we've compiled guides to brands like Paula's Choice and PIXI Skincare, or you can read our recommendations based on specific skin problems in blogs like The Best Anti-Ageing Skincare Products for Fine Lines and Wrinkles and The 20 Best Face Masks for Blackheads.
Written by Gabriella Buckner
Gabriella is a junior content writer with a background in creative writing, content marketing and journalism. She’s passionate about all things makeup and skincare, but especially vegan and cruelty-free beauty that is effective and inexpensive.
