Review: Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow

I had always lusted over Benefit's cosmetics- their lovely products encased within eclectic yet pretty packaging always drew my eye. The more I heard and read about Benefit, the more I wanted their gorgeous makeup. But there was just one huge obstacle that stopped me from purchasing anything, and that was its price. Absolutely absurd prices were slapped onto all its makeup instore, which was a huge deterrent (eg. a boxed blush was $52!). However a cousin of mine from the UK was visiting and was able to get some Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows for me, and I am now in possession of three shades "No Pressure", "Skinny Jeans" and "Bronze Have More Fun".

Gorgeous cardboard packaging

The little pots of cream eyeshadow in a sturdy tart-shaped glass topped with a lid that resembles the casing for the "tart" deserves a 5/5 for packaging. I chose these three shades as I thought I would get the most use out of them, and I absolutely love nudes. I avoided the popular shade "Birthday Suit" as I decided that it would not show up well on my skin, and quote Lena from sleepandwater, "it's barely visible and very underwhelming" when on the eyelid.

Clockwise from top left: No Pressure, Bronze Have More Fun, Skinny Jeans

The Creaseless Cream Shadows are Benefit's award winning crease-proof and budge-proof eyeshadows which glide on smoothly, and can be used with the fingertips for a soft wash of colour, or with a brush to build up intensity. The first time I tried these shadows, it was nothing like I had tried before! Its super buttery texture paired with an effortless application definitely makes these my favourite cream eyeshadows- these are heaven in comparison to my Maybelline Bad To The Bronze (despite loving this cream eyeshadow for ages, it has failed me by hardening a little...). The colour payoff was amazing and of the three, I can safely say that No Pressure is my favourite. Bronze Have More Fun disappointed me a little- it felt more greasy than the other two shades, and if you look carefully, its swatch is a little patchy too. I found it a little strange that the different shades could have different textures, but I'm hoping it'll improve the more I use it!

Single swipe L-R: No Pressure, Bronze Have More Fun, Skinny Jeans

Favourite shade!

The Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows are a joy to use and there is no doubt that its pretty packaging contributes to this as well. I highly recommend giving these cream eyeshadows a swatch, I guarantee you will fall in love with its butteriness! Its longevity was amazing, and definitely lives up to its crease-proof and budge-proof claims. If I were to add another one to this collection, I would probably go for My Two Cents, but I might hold off for now. A little off topic, but sorry again for not regularly posting! I have been on a summer placement at a hospital for past few weeks, and in another two weeks time, I am on a rural placement. Hopefully after all this I can get back into blogging again :)

Have you tried Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadows before? What is your favourite shade?

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Review: Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection

I swear I wasn't meant to write about Korres products in two posts in a row but I've been too lazy to take pictures of my other recent buys! One day as I was browsing through StrawberryNET I came across what I thought was a great deal- an eye collection by Korres which included two eyeshadows, a small tube of mascara and an eyeliner pencil. I kept telling myself that I did not need this collection but I convinced myself that $10 for 4 products was great value. So there it was, this Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection was in my shopping cart.

The Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection ft. my floral t-shirt :)

Sunflower and Evening Primrose Eyeshadow in Brun and Bronze Brown
The two eyeshadows in this collection were from the Sunflower and Evening Primrose range- a velvety, easy to apply pressed eyeshadow with sunflower and evening primrose oils that care for the delicate eye area. The two shades I got were Brun and Bronze Brown.

L-R: Brun, Bronze Brown

The retail price of these cute eyeshadows are $29.95 a pop in Australia, from kitcosmetics, so I must say I am very pleased with the price I paid for the eye collection with these in it! The photo above I have to admit is quite misleading, the colours of the eyeshadows are a little off and I tried my best to capture their true shade but it was difficult given the lighting- but both these shades appear much lighter than they actually are. The texture was nice, no fall out and easy to apply. In terms of pigmentation, they were just decent, nothing really amazing.

L-R: Bronze Brown, Brun

L-R: Brun, Bronze Brown single swatch- a better representation of the colours. Also forgive me for this bad photo, I am yet to master taking pictures of swatches!

The Brun shade actually worked well as an eyebrow filler, the colour was perfect for my eyebrows! I quite like Bronze Brown as it is a nice wearable, neutral shade. The formulation is nice, albeit I wouldn't spend $29.95 on them.

Provitamin B5 & Rice Bran Mascara 3.55mL in Black
I have far too many mascaras to be used but a small travel sized one will always entice me! Described as an easy-to-layer, creamy mascara for volume, extra length with provitamin B5 and rice bran to to strengthen the lashes and intensify the colour for a rich finish, who could resist? The full size of 9mL retails in kitcosmetics for $35.95.

Simple brush

To be honest I haven't tried this mascara yet as I have quite a few others to finish off first. I have a feeling it might not be anything special, but don't take my word for it until I try it.

Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Last item from the Antioxidant Eye Collection is the smooth cedar wood pencil. The key ingredients are 100% natural based, rich with herbs and vitamins with a lead diameter of 4mm. This surprisingly retails for $29.95 from kitcosmetics and I'm definitely face-palming at the ridiculously inflated Australian prices for cosmetics. From an instant look, I knew I wouldn't be too fond of this eyeliner- purely because traditional eyeliner pencils smudge like mad on me, no matter how much primer I put on beforehand and however much I surround it with concealer.

Simple black eyeliner pencil

After a trial, I indeed was right. Smudged like crazy and gave me panda eyes all day. Disappointing, and to think this eyeliner is retailing for basically $30 is insane! Application was terribly, dragged across my eyelid and pigmentation was mediocre. Nothing really good to say about this eyeliner. A much better option for a black eyeliner choice would be the Revlon's Grow Luscious Lash Liner which is absolutely creamy, super pigmented, doesn't smudge and retails for $23.95 which definitely can be cheaper if you buy it on offer.

Despite being on the fence about buying this Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection, and the disappointing eyeliner pencil that was included, I am still quite satisfied with the purchase as the eyeshadows make the $10 I paid for (an otherwise quite expensive collection) worthwhile.

Have you tried any of these Korres products? Any tips that I can do to make the eyeliner pencil work?

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