Looks & Review: Benefit Makeover

On Friday, I finally got around to taking advantage of the voucher included in Glamour magazine for a free "Makeupper" at Benefit. I also got a nice large sample of "That Gal" primer, which I'm currently testing and will review soon.

Click after the jump for the list of Benefit products used on my face, my experience at the hands of the makeup artist, and my take on the products based on one-day's usage.

Products used (all Benefit)

• That Gal Primer
• Some Kinda Gorgeous Foundation Faker
• High Beam liquid highlighter
• Posietint lip & cheek stain
• Bad Gal eyeliner
• Bad Gal Blue Mascara

Product Reviews
Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of the products. They looked wonderful, and, applied over OC8, lasted all the hot day and way into the night with no touch-ups and only minimal blotting. I loved the luminous fresh look the combination of That Gal, Some Kinda Gorgeous, and Posietint created.

As I received a sample of That Gal, I will review it in full at a later time. But from that one use I experienced no breakouts, and I did love the fresh look it gave and he faint bubblegum scent.

Some Kinda Gorgeous reminds me of Max Factor's Miracle Touch - although it caused no breakouts (thank goodness), and was a lot sheerer. Only availble in two shades, this product does produce a lovely, long-lasting finish that appears like airbrushed skin. However, I doubt it has the coverage my blemished skin needs. The SA applied primer and foundation over my base of mineral foundation - so coverage is not something I can judge here. Still, the fact that it only comes in two shades because "it is so sheer" does not bode well for coverage issues.

Bad Gal eyeliner was really pigmented but also really smudgy. Not the kind of liner I prefer as I need one that stays PUT. Bad Gal Blue is blue. A dark, blue that is noticeable if you look closely. I didn't notice it making my eyes look brighter or my whites look whiter but I have a feeling it would look lovely on blue-eyed damsels. As I applied it over another mascara, I can't testify to its volumnising or lengthening abilities.

Oops, almost forgot High Beam! It really is a great, sheer highlighter. Not too OTT (over the top), it provides a subtle glow that produces instant cheekbones. However, there is no need to pay top dollar for Benefit's version. Great liquid highlighters are produced by many drugstore lines like Za and Revlon.

And now for the cream of the crop!

I'm sorry to admit that I've completely fallen in love with Posietint! And at £22.50 it's NOT a love affair I can afford! *cries* But I've always loved pinks and it is a pink that really suits me. Even incompetently applied (see below) it immediately brightened up my face, and when applied on my lips the entire look was so pretty! It looked natural but with Oomph. Plus it lasts forever, never fading, ever glowing. This is a product I will hope to one day invest in as I've never encountered a tint quite like it.

And just to prove my ravings are justified. Ten minutes walk away from the Benefit store and a man (good looking, young, blond and blue-eyed) walked up to me, gave me a daisy and said "you look absolutely lovely", smiled, and walked away. This sort of thing hasn't happened to me since I left Denmark and Amsterdam a year ago. I was convinced it doesn't happen in London. Talk about an ego boost! =)

Experience
Perhaps I'm unlucky, or just too demanding but I've never been blown away by the makeovers given by counter girls, and this one was no exception. Perhaps she was having a bad day but she was cold, unfriendly and acted very bored. Not quite the way I like to be treated. Even after introducing myself and trying to chat to her a bit, she didn't really warm up.

Also she applied posietint so inexpertly to my right cheek (the one with the dimple) that I had to beg her to blend it out by loading on more Some Kinda Gorgeous. Covering up is the only way to go, as once Posietint is on, it's ON, and not budging one bit. I did the left cheek, and in real life it was noticeably better blended and looked far more natural.

She was also so tentative about lining my eyes that I asked to apply liner and mascara myself. Having a wobbly pencil around my eyeball made me very nervous.

On the plus side though, there was absolutely no pressure on me to buy anything. My guess was, she couldn't be arsed.

Has anyone had really great experiences with counter makeovers? If so, do tell!