The Perfect Summer Blush: Benefit GALifornia

Benefit's boxed blushes are pretty much cult products and I was very excited to try my second one - GALifornia, the newest blush in the lineup. I bought it back in February and have applied it almost every day since I started using it (for a while I couldn't bring myself to use it, because it's so beautiful!)

Benefit GALifornia is a beautiful shade of peachy pink (a 'sunny golden pink' as Benefit call it) which really flatters and brightens up my pale skin, and I think it would look gorgeous on a a wide range of skintones. It's bright without being unwearable and is really easy to apply and blend. It's also just the right amount of pigmented, allowing you to easily control how much you want it to show up on your face.

The packaging is also bright and eye-catching, with 'artwork inspired by vintage California surfer girls', while the actual product is beautifully presented in an Aztec sun design, alongside a gold overspray which fades after a few uses (which is great if you're worried about the product being too shimmery). Benefit has been criticised for always using cardboard packaging, and while it does make it more vulnerable to damage, I personally find the packaging sturdy enough. Included within the box is a built-in mirror and a small, soft brush. Again, most people aren't a fan of these brushes but I actually think it's quite decent, especially for travel (and if you've misplaced/been too lazy to wash your normal blush brush).

Something else I love about this blush is the smell - Benefit describe it as having 'notes of pink grapefruit & vanilla' but to me it smells quite tropical. Either way, it smells amazing, and is another factor that makes a joy to use.

Benefit GALifornia swatched

I'd also say that GALifornia has good staying power, lasting probably up to eight hours on my skin (so I'd probably need to top it up after a full day at work).

Any downsides?
I think it's quite cheeky of Benefit to shrink the size of their blushes but the keep the price the same* - and at £24.50, it's not exactly cheap. GALifornia is the same price as Benefit's CORALista blush, but you get 3g less product, so that's not great. However, while this blush is expensive, I've already got a lot of use out of it (and it's not showing the slightest dent, as far as I can tell). I think this will be a staple in my makeup bag and I could potentially see myself using it all up. If this happens, I'll definitely feel like I got my money's worth!

To sum up, this is an absolutely stunning blush, especially for summer, so if you feel like treating yourself to a new blush, I'd highly recommend getting this. It looks beautiful and brightening on the skin, lasts well, applies well and smells great. I'm going to be wearing it on my cheeks all summer, and beyond.

Benefit Galifornia is available at FeelUnique, normally £24.50 (but look out for occasional offers to get it cheaper!)

Have you tried this blush? What do you think of Benefit's boxed blushes?

 *It's happening with chocolate too :'( 

Five Current High End Favourites

Hi! So in this post I'm going to talk about high end products that I'm loving at the moment. I've done a similar post on my 10 Favourites Under £10 and this post only has five because I don't own all that many high end products.

Everyone likes a bit of luxury and I try to get a lot of use out of expensive products to get my money's worth! I didn't choose a particular MAC lipstick for this post, but they are pretty much firm favourites anyway - I did a post about my collection here.

1. Miss Dior Eau De Parfum

I don't talk about perfume much on my blog but I absolutely love this one, which I bought with my 21st birthday money. It was a close call between this and the Chanel Coco Mademoiselle as both are classy, feminine scents which come in gorgeous packaging that would look great on any dressing table (in Miss Dior's case, with a reflective bow.)

I'm not good at describing smells so I'll let Dior field this one. The notes are: Top Notes: Mandarin Orange, Middle Notes: Turkish Rose, Bulgarian Rose, Base Notes: Patchouli, Amber. I've tried a sample of the 'Blooming Bouquet' version as well which is lovely, and as the name suggests a bit more floral.

There's currently a '1000 points when you buy 2 or more selected Dior, 1 to be mascara or foundation' offer on at Boots, so that's £10 worth of points when you buy two Dior products!

2. Benefit Lollitint

My boyfriend kindly got me this for Christmas and I've really enjoyed using it ever since. I've tried mini versions of the other Benefit tints (Posietint and Benetint) and I really liked the pink one, Posietint and got a lot of use out of it. I didn't fancy splashing £24.50 on the full size Posietint though when I could just get the MeMeMe Poppy Tint dupe of it, which is available in Superdrug although I can't find it online. I'm not aware of any less expensive dupes for this 'candy-orchid' shade but it would be great if anyone knows of one?

However, you do get two uses for one with this gorgeous stain. It takes a little while to get the hang of applying it to the cheeks - Sharon the Makeup Artist did a really helpful tutorial here of how to apply cheek stains with a brush, since Benefit's own advice about applying it is a bit dodgy! It seems to last longer on the cheeks but I still like applying it either on its own or with another lip product; Mac's Pink Popcorn Lipstick and this stain are a combination I've been loving. It's quite a cool toned purpleish-pink so I think it's very pretty on pale skin in particular, but it would still probably suit a variety of skintones. The packaging is also adorable. I would love to own the mango/coral shade 'Cha Cha Tint' as well. I just wish these tints weren't so overpriced!

Here's a picture of me wearing Lollitint on my lips combined with Pink Popcorn lipstick on top, as well as on my cheeks, although it's not showing up in this photo! I'm also wearing the MAC Prep and Prime Highlighter which I'm going to talk about next...

3. MAC Prep and Prime Highlighter in Radiant Rose

I've actually owned this for quite a while now and I use it a lot. It seems to be lasting a long time (I'm getting my money's worth!) so I wonder when it will run out. This is basically a YSL Touche Eclat copy, which in my shade is a pale pink that works really well at adding radiance. As you can see it has a built in brush applicator and you simply click the product in, which has always worked well for me.

I typically use it around the eye area, so on my brow bone, over my concealer and sometimes on my eyelids to brighten them up and provide a base for my eyeshadow. It is very creamy and blends well. It's the best Touche Eclat dupe I've tried and I'm definitely going to repurchase it when it runs out, and hold on to the empty product so that I can do 'Back 2 MAC', returning 6 empties for one free lipstick!

4. MAC Patina and Satin Taupe Eyeshadows

Patina (left) and Satin Taupe (right)

I don't own many Mac eyeshadows but I find myself reaching for my pro palette quad more often than the famous Urban Decay Naked Palette, which I like but find a bit too warm toned for my skintone. I'm mentioning these two together as one favourite because they go so well together. As you can see I've used Patina more, but I do love both. Patina on me is a very wearable gold-ish brown which is amazing either on its own or paired with Satin Taupe, which is a slightly plummy taupe. They are neutral but still interesting shades - check out how Satin Taupe catches the light in the picture below!

Left: Patina, Right: Satin Taupe

If you've never tried Mac eyeshadows before these are the two that I would recommend as they are not only beautiful and versatile everyday neutrals but very easy to work with (Patina is slighly less pigmented compared to Satin Taupe, but still good.) I think the hint of plum in Satin Taupe would make it particularly stunning on green eyes while the gold tinge of Patina really brings out my blue eyes. Speaking of gold, I am very tempted to buy Amber Lights, a coppery bronze, as I've heard it's lovely on blue eyes. I'm slightly unsure about it though as it may be too warm-toned for my skin! If you own that one I would love to know what your thoughts are on it?

5. NARS Gaiety Blush

This is a gorgeous, cheerful, blue-toned bubblegum pink blush which looks a bit intimidatingly bright in the pan but is actually very wearable. It looks great on my fair skin and also seems to last a long time on my oily skin. It is great quality as you would expect from Nars, with just the right amount of pigmentation to give you a very flattering healthy glow without being overpowering.

Swatched and Blended 

That's it! If you fancy treating yourself, then I'd really recommend these.

I think I'm going to go on a makeup spending ban throughout June as I have more than enough makeup already and don't need any more, so I'm sorry but there won't be any new makeup bits to share for a while! I will probably review lots of products nevertheless though :)

What high end products have you been enjoying lately?

Sabrina xx

Ten Makeup Favourites Under £10!

Hi! So I thought since I've mentioned high end brands in my other posts so far that it was about time I balanced it out a bit and talked about really good affordable products (I'm sticking to makeup, because it would be hard to talk about skincare as well and fit into a list of ten products!) They're all available at your local Boots or Superdrug unless stated otherwise, and they're all in no particular order. For each product I'll mention if there's a high end product it compares to and if I have any minor gripes with it. Enjoy!

1. Collection Ultimate Wear Lasting Perfection Concealer, £4.19

I'm starting with an obvious one! I mentioned this in my last post as I'm currently trying out the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and I'm curious to see how it compares with this. This concealer is really, really good - there's a reason it gets so much hype in the beauty community (blogs and YouTube.) It gives you a high coverage and doesn't look cakey. It can sometimes be drying and settle into fine lines under my eyes, but other than that this concealer is amazing. I've repurchased it many times.

Here is a swatch along with the NARS one. The NARS concealer is making the Collection concealer look kind of orange but it's not! The fairest shade is a good match for my skin tone.

Top: Collection. Below: NARS.