You know, as much as I love Etsy and all of the wonderful handmade things it has to offer, I am also an enormous fan of hopping on Sephora, and browsing all of the wonderfully luxurious things that — let’s face it — many of us can’t afford. It doesn’t stop me from buying one or two every now and then, though, and this one is from a witty company called Benefit. This isn’t the first of their products that I’ve owned, and I have found myself in love with all of them.
PRICE: $20 big ones from Benefit, and Sephora, and wherever other Benefit products are sold.
PACKAGING: Cuuuute. This is a .33oz tub balm. A little glass pot with a screw-on lid. The top label on the lid shows a very happy, smiling lady. Makes you think, “Wow, I betcha I’m gonna be grinning from ear to ear just like her when I use this shtuff.” Around the bottom half of the pot, there’s a striped label, featuring the product name. That’s about all there is to say about this, though. Nothing super fancy, but it’s cute and that lady makes me smile.
TEXTURE/GLIDE: Okay, I will tell you right now that applying this stuff via finger is not a pleasant ordeal, especially if it’s been heated, even slightly. Holy smokes. A suggestion I have for Benefit is to put this in a tube-form, either a squeeze tube or one of those doe-foot applicator tubes (see here), because the pot really isn’t cutting it, especially when you don’t have a handy dandy lip brush sitting nearby (say, when you’re on the run). Anyway, so you already know that it’s a royal pain in the arse to apply. It has a pretty thin, goopy texture just out of the pot, and while it’s easy to spread on your lips, it is also prone to make a mess of your finger. Really not all that pleasant at all. But I digress. The texture on your lips is actually fantastic, somewhat thin, and smooth. It also leaves a hint of a natural sheen, and obviously, it’s tinted.
SMELL/FLAVOR: Roses. Not “holy crap, I’m gonna sneeze” roses, but “ah, this is nice” roses. It’s not strong at all, and I’m actually a pretty big fan of the way this stuff smells.
LASTING POWER: Because the texture is just a wee bit thin, the lasting power isn’t super impressive. Maybe an hour and a half or so. Which just annoys me just a bit more about the texture of the stuff ’cause I’m really not a huge fan of the application process here.
INGREDIENTS: Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate) 7.50% Others: Diisostearyl Malate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacylapidate-2, Bis-Behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Polybutene, Trimethylolpropane Triisostearate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) wax, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Carmine (CI 75470), Fragrance (Parfum), BHT, Geraniol, Tocopherol, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Benzyl Salicylate. (taken from Sephora)
ANYTHING ELSE: This has SPF 15 in it, so that’s definitely a plus there. Also, even though I’m colorblind, I can definitely tell that this tint is highly buildable. Apply a little, and this’ll be very sheer. Apply a lot, and you’re talking pretty heavily pigmented. I know some people like this aspect, so there you go.
OVERALL: I don’t dislike this product by any means. I think it’s a great, high quality addition to any tinted lip balm collection. But honestly, the whole application process really keeps me from using it. If this was packaged differently, I’d be a lot happier with it. And if they’re gonna make you use a brush or your fingertips, for $20 they could at least throw in a lip brush or tissues.
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