Last week I caved and picked up my 4th boxed blusher from Benefit! At £24.50 it wasn't cheap but after seeing glowing reviews of Benefit Galifornia I simply couldn't resist it, especially with summer well on the way!
With quite a collection forming it crossed my mind, are Benefit boxed powders actually worth it? Or are they a bit of an impulse buy due to their pretty packaging and scented feature? So here is a look at my modest collection and what I really thinking of Benefit's cardboard boxed cheek products!
The Benefit Box O' Powders collection consists of eight full size blushers and two bronzers (£24.50 each). With the addition of two mini products (£12.50 each) and a two Box O' Powders palette both consisting of 5 shades each (new edition £49.50) (older edition £29.50 - my next buy!). These blushers can also be found in various Benefit makeup kits.
Products Owned: Benefit Bella Bamba (discontinued), Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Benefit Dandelion Blusher (mini) and Benefit GALifornia Blusher.
The Discontinued One
Bella Bamba (meaning "Pretty Dancer" in Italian - cute!) was my first blusher from Benefit but has sadly been discontinued. I would describe the shade as a warm pink with a frost finish that appears quite juicy and watermelon like on the cheeks. Perfect on all skintones and ideal for summer, I really did enjoy this blush however it is quite flaky compared to the other blushers I've tried from Benefit.
The Boxed Bronzer
This award winning bronzer has been a staple in my makeup collection for the past few years. It's a medium warm brown with a matte finish making it perfect for light contour. I also find Hoola works well as an eyeshadow! However for anyone with fair skin there is now the Lite edition, which is a much paler bronzer. You can also pick up a personalised Hoola Bronze direct from the Benefit website, Hoola mini for £12.50 or in the lastest Benefit Blusher Palette along with Hoola Lite.
The Mini One
Dandelion is currently the only blush shade along with Hoola bronzer that's available in a travel size, which is a shame if you ask me as they are oh so cute and the perfect size! Containing 3.5g vs. 5.0g full size this still offers a good amount of product but for half the price, at £12.50, much more affordable if you ask me. Dandelion is described as a baby pink brightening face powder that comes with a light floral scent which I love! This neutral pink is perfect on fair skin as it doesn't look harsh but light and slightly glowey without having a shimmer/frost to it. A very soft pretty blush here!
The One for Summer
There's no denying Benefit's latest blush release with Galifornia is one pretty product - from the 70's summer vibes of the packaging to the sunbeam relief of the blush itself. Once the gold spray has been swept off after the initial application this blush could only be described as sunshine in a box! Okay, Benefit describe it as a sunny golden-pink blush which I have to agree with as it gives such a lovely glow to the cheeks. Perfect on all skin tones, especially darker ones, this is the blush to pick up to enjoy over the summer months and as a staple holiday blush.
Reasons to love Benefit Boxed Blushers
Unique - Unlike a lot of other blushers there's a lot of detail and attention that goes into them, making them unique and something you will pick up over other cheek products in your collection!
Fun to collect - I have to say there's something fun about collecting boxed blushers. It's almost like a family or wanting the complete set. It doesn't make too much sense but if you have a few blush products from Benefit you will know what I mean!
You can find your perfect shade- Benefit really do cater for all skin tones with some lighter blusher and some more vibrant blushers, it's all about swatching and finding the ones that perfectly suit you!
Boxed packaging means you don't loose excess loose powder - When swirling your brush over most powder products a lot of excess powder on the brush gets flicked off into mid air, however with this style of packaging you are able to contain that excess. Maybe this is why Benefit blushes last so long! Another benefit is they all come with their own brush which are actually pretty good.
Reasons to avoid Benefit Boxed Blushers
Cardboard packaging that does become tatty over time - This is without a downside to these blushers that always makes me wonder if they are worth the price tag. Whether you store the product on your dressing table or in a makeup bag the packaging will start to look tatty, which is a shame!
Inconsistent product amounts - When it comes to product amounts I really don't know what Benefit are doing and I don't think they know either. Just looking at three blushers alone - Dandelion (7g), GALifornia (5g) and Sugarbomb (12g) they contain very different amounts, but cost exactly the same. I mean a weight difference of 7g is a pretty big deal! I simply don't get it! Fine if you are wanting to go for a blusher that contains more product but what if you want to go for the shade with the least product? You are slightly getting ripped off, right?
I think it's fair to say I love Benefit's Box O' Powder products however in writing this post it has made me realise that individually they aren't amazing value for money, however, the minis and the cheek palettes are!
For that reason, if you are new to Benefit blushers or want to expand your collection I highly recommend checking out Benefit cheek palettes before picking up one of their £24.50 single blushers!
Fee xo.