Corail Idyllic..

 I'm quite shy and reserved when it comes to lip colour and I rarely venture away from nudes and pearlescent pinks, so the fact that I even purchased a coral lipgloss is a huge deal. Seriously. But summer is most definitely here with a bang and coral screams summer to me and so this Bourjois 3d Effet lipgloss in the shade corail idyllic found its way into my makeup collection. 

The shade itself is gorgeous, ridiculously coral and with a slight shimmer. It is genuinely beautiful to look at. The gloss comes with a brush rather than a doe foot applicator which I quite like, and the formula is smooth to apply. This product also boasts Balm Action Moisture and I can confirm that it feels hydrating on the lips, and doesn't cling or exacerbate any dry patches. Win, win. 

Yet this is where my love affair with the lipgloss ends. I found the shade to be beautiful - just not on me unfortunately. And I really really wanted to adore this! I imagine it would look gloriouis with a tan, sitting in the park, sipping Pimm's and eating strawberries - but just on someone elses lips. 

I think my issue with applying colour to my lips is the sheer size and pigmentation of my natural lips. I have quite plump lips and they are naturally very red, so I kinda feel like they unintentionally steal the show. Even if I am just wearing a coat of mascara on my lashes, I feel like there is too much going on and I need to calm my lips down with a (light!!) dusting of concealer or a nude lippie.

If you are bold with your lip makeup, then go ahead and snap this beauty up. There is not a thing wrong with the product and if this was a nude shade, I'd be all over it. 

Bourjois 3D Effet is available ; here

with flash

natural light

Sugar Sweet

I'm not going to lie, I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Benefit products! I love their ideas, the colours, the quirky packaging however I hate the price. I find Benefit to be very overpriced and since I'm forking out for the product, I have high expectations of them and quite a lot of Benefit products fall short, in my opinion. It's not that they're bad products or anything, its just that sometimes they aren't exceptional - which is what you want when you hand over £20-30 for 1 item.
With that in mind, I decided I would try out a Benefit box, where you get a range of complimentary products for £23. (find it here)
I opted for Sugarlicious which is the nude kit, as I wanted something I would get plenty use of. 
Within my kit, I recieved a mini Sugarbomb blush + brush, mini Benetint and Highbeam and a tube of Sugarbomb lipgloss. The box also has a handy mirror on the lid, plus a little fold out booklet of tips and tricks - very nice touch!

Now.... How did I feel about the actual products themselves?

Sugarbomb - I'm not going to mince my words here, I was very let down by this blush. The sheer lack of pigmentation in this blusher is horrdenous...it barely shows up on skin (and I am very pale), it basically just provides shimmer and sheen. I think I have used this once since purchasing the box - all I can say is I am grateful I didn't fork out £23.50 for the blusher alone, at least there are other products for me to try. 

Benetint - Benetint was a tricky one for me to figure out as its not a cream or powder formulation - its a stain. The consistency of the liquid is quite runny so you need to be quite quick at blending it out but once you get used to it, this is a nice product to use. It provides a nice, natural flush to the cheeks and is nowhere near as dark as it appears in the bottle! 

High Beam - High Beam is another funny product for me. I know its a total cult product and everyone raves about it, but I just don't get the hype. Don't get me wrong,  I don't dislike this in any way and its a good highlighter, but thats all it is...good. Perhaps I am using it wrong? I like the colouring of this highlighter though, its pearly and irridescent and suits pale skin very well. 

Sugarbomb lip gloss - Another product in the box I don't use! As this is a nude kit, I expected the gloss to be nude - its not! It is a kind of plummy, brown colour which just doesn't flatter my skin tone at all. The consistency of the gloss is lovely, it goes on smooth and doesn't dry out the lips, its just the colour I dislike. I probably would purchase this lipgloss but in another shade - perhaps Dandelion or Coralicious? 

from top to bottom - sugarbomb blusher, benetint, high beam, lip gloss in natural light with no flash.

from top to bottom, suagrbomb blush, benetint, high beam, lip gloss with flash

All in all - the box wasn't all that. I use 2 of the products quite often (Benetint + High Beam) and the other 2 remain untouched. 
I am glad I got the box though as it means I didn't splash out on the expensive full size versions!

Have you tried any products from this Benefit kit?