I have always loved Benefit’s clever products and punchy packaging. “Her Glossiness” the A-List Lip Gloss Set does not disappoint in those categories.

The set includes 3 full size wands of lip gloss that are dual-sided, giving you 6 different colors to choose from. The range of colors is pretty broad. From neon pink (“Who Are You Wearing?), to iridescent lilac (“Talk to My Agent”), everyone is sure to find a fave. Although the colors look bright in the tube, once applied a sheer wash of color is achieved. This makes them that much more wearable on everyone, no matter what your skin tone or lip color. My pick? “Next Question Please”, a shimmery brick red. The glosses wear well, and are pretty long-lasting without that sticky, “Did I just eat glue?” feeling. I love the fact that they have two sides. I will be mixing and matching my combinations then planting one in my purse, one at work, one in the car…

At first, it was really easy to overlook Benefit’s 24K Sexy Gold lipgloss. I wasn’t sure how this lipgloss would fit into my everyday usage… until I actually took a moment to read the product’s description:

“This glistening-gold gloss brushes on a sheer veil of treasured color – wear it alone or over lipstick for a subtle sexy sheen.”

Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that… In the name of research, I bought it and tucked it away in my purse. Last week, I finally gave it a try. It was my first day at my new job and I was in a hurry so I pulled this out. I instantly loved the results. I put it over Bourjois Lip Stain pen in Praline Dis-moi Oui 4 and I had pinkish brown lips with just a touch of golden shimmer. It’s the same formula as the Her Glossiness lipglosses, which I enjoy so no complaints there. The gold in this lipgloss was not overpowering and I’ve had a lot of fun teaming this product up with some of my favorite matte lipcolors, it’s a great way to jazz up those matte shades.

Here’s another product from Benefit that seems interesting…

Benefit’s Cupid’s Bow is product that helps you enhance the shape of your helps, giving you a sexy, shapely pout. It includes a double ended pencil and a double ended brush. On one end of the pencil, you have a pearl pink tip. When applied to the bow of your lips, it defines the center part of your lips making them appear more pouty. The other end of the pencil is a soft mocha pink tip you can apply right under your bottom lip, this helps the define the bottom lip. The double ended brush helps you blend the color applied to each lip. This has been a makeup artist’s trick for years, now you can have a tool with step by step directions to help you at home.

Don’t the results look great?

Usually I skip primer in the morning but when a primer can help brighten my skin, I can be persuaded to fit it in. This is exactly what Benefit’s That Gal does, it’s a primer that can brighten your skin even if you skip foundation for the day. A few of the things I love the most about this product is it’s scent and packaging. While the scent may not be ideal for some, I like it a lot. It reminds me of laundry fresh out of the dryer, the scent of fabric softener on clothes. Then the packaging… remember those glue sticks used in school? That’s what this reminds me off, it’s fun to use. In addition to brightening my skin, I also liked how it left my skin feeling. It was very soft and smooth to the touch. It also helps your skin retain moisture, so gals with drier skin will love this on their face.

Now Benefit is sponsoring the “Are You That Gal” contest with Sephora. They’re looking for the girl who dreams of being a star, has a great personality and loves makeup! That could be you, right? To enter, make a 30 second audion tape that shows why you should be “That Gal” and head over to www.sephora.com/thatgal to upload it. You could win a guest hosting spot on Extra, your photo in Lucky Magazine and on Sephora.com, an audition for talent representation with the William Morris Talent Agency and a year supply of Benefit makeup. That is a prize I would not mind winning.

Benefit recently came out with a Love Your Look Collection, a selection of products that feature “makeup to match your lifestyle”. This collection does the work for you has 3 looks to choose from. The Lana look features light neutral shades, the Gabbi Look features medium neutral shades, and the Betty Look deep neutral shades.

One of the new products in the Love Your Look collection is Benefit’s new Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner, pretty self explanatory title. I’m sucker for these types of cream eyeshadows, I picked up two right away. I picked up Flatter Me, a toasted mauve, and Skinny Jeans, a shimmery pewter shade. The cream can be used as an eyeshadow or as a liner. I’ve been using it as an eyeshadow mainly, just taking my ring finger and patting the color on my eyes, making sure to really pack it in. The application can be as sheer or as heavy as you would like, which is how I have been applying it. I’ve used Skinny Jeans this way and created a really good smoky eye. The cream is long lasting and comes in a wide selection of shades, all very pretty and shimmery. I’d love to see some matte shades introduced into the line though.

This collection is a great idea for those of us who need a little hand holding when it comes to selecting a shade. I really like the whole retro feel to the collection as well, something Benefit has down cold. It also features their Sheer Cream Blusher and Silky Finish Lipstick.

From one multipurpose product to the next, meet Benefit’s newest product, Rush Hour. This product claims it’s an instant makeover for lips and cheeks, a product for the “girl on the go”.

In reality, this product is really nothing new. It’s a lipstick that you can dab on your cheeks, countless women have been doing this for years… including my mother. Depending on the shade, she would even put it on her eyes. But were those lipsticks as creamy as this product? I’m going to guess and say “no”. It’s got this really creamy consistency that makes this product easy to use on cheeks and lips. It also comes in a great universally flattering shade called Sunberry. It’s a soft plum rose shade that will look great on anyone and we put the color to the test. Three of us tried this on and it looked great on all of us… and we have extremely different skin tones. If plum based colors are your thing, pick this up.

I’m not a lipgloss fanatic (I’ll leave that to the experts) but sometimes a nice lipgloss comes along and you just have to recognize for what it is, a good lipgloss. Benefit’s Her Glossiness is a sheer lipgloss that keeps lips soft while it adds shine. It contains jojoba oil so what it lacks in pigment, it tries to make up for in moisture. It’s not too thick and  sticky so your lips won’t feel like they’re being held together with glue. It’s also not too thin either, I could have sworn I felt like I was wearing lip balm at one point. You can skip the constant need to re-apply your gloss with this one… although you may want to because it smells like sweet peaches. I’ve been using this a lot under stains and I prefer this gloss to the one Pocket Pal comes with… this is much easier to spread around. Try pairing Life on the A List with Benetint for a soft glossy lip.

It may look like nail polish but Benefit’s High Beam is much, much more than that. It’s an awesome highlighting product that you can use anywhere you want to add a little something special to. I tend to use it on the top of my cheekbones and on my temples. I wasn’t a big fan of the nail polish approach to this product but once I started using it, I realized that this really is a convenient way to apply the product. It lets you control exactly how much of this you use a time. Mixing a little bit of this with your moisturizer is also a great way to use this, I picked up this tip from the website.

If you like this product, you can also check out Moon Beam, High Beam’s golden and aware winning highlighting twin. I tend to prefer the pink one though.

To continue with the Benefit love fest, here’s another product that I adore:
LemonAid. What is it? It’s like concealer for your eyes but you will not find your shade in this product. Instead, this a yellow cream you can pat on your eyes to give them an instant lift. The coloring in the product is perfect for concealing any discoloration on your eyelids, it neutralizes them perfectly. This instantly makes you look more awake. It doesn’t hurt that it smells like Nivea either, I’m quite partial to that product.

On those days where I don’t want to really do my makeup, this is one of the first products I turn to. I keep this in my makeup bag at all times. My only problem with this product is that it does crease on me but with oily skin, there’s not much I can do to avoid that with a cream based product. A spot check is in order every now and then but that’s also true of quite a few other products. In my opinion, this product absolutely does work as advertised.

I don’t know why but every time Benefit comes up with a new product, I just have to try it. If this was like crack, I would be an addict. In the tradition of Hoola , Dandelion (Reese posted about it here) and Georgia, they now introduce Dallas.

The website says “This sun-kissed rose glow is pure cowgirl chic” and I would have to agree. Since I got this, I reach for this every time I do my makeup. This product is the perfect combination of a blush and bronzer in one. For a pale girl like me, this product is perfection. At $26, it’s a wee bit expensive for a blush or bronzer but it’s worth it. I bet if you tried it, you’d love it too.

Also, just in time for Mother’s Day, Benefit Cosmetics is having a Mother’s Day contest. They are looking for mother and daughter Benefit groupies. The lucky winners will receive $500 in products. Damn… I can’t get my mother to try anything but lipstick!

For three years now, I’ve been a loyal Benefit user, and no product makes me happier than their Dandelion cheek color.

What I love about this stuff is how unpretentious it is. Just sweep and go. No fussing, no color overload, no mistakes. For a fair-skinned gal like me, these features are vital, as normal blush usually creates a Joan-Crawford-eque look.

Dark-skinned girls might find Dandelion too faint for their skin, however, it works great as an all-over “brightener” so if you are darker, consider using it on your forehead, nose and chin for a nice glow. Best of all? Dandelion lasts FOREVER. I’ve had mine for two years and counting.