Benefit Cosmetics launched their full brow collection today at Sephora and Ulta. I got a deluxe sample of their ka-BROW! Cream Gel Eyebrow Color, their cream-gel formula with built in brush. It retails for $24 USD ($30 CAD) and contains 0.1oz of product. There are currently 6 shades and I got it in 05 Deep, which works well with my brows.
Here's my demo and first impressions of it:
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Packaging
Benefit always has the most unique packaging. I like how they included a brush but I doubt I will use it because it doesn't give a precise application.
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Review
I love how it glides on smoothly and it's so easy to fill in my brows. It also makes my brows look natural, which I like. It's also long wearing and lasted me throughout the day. By the end of the night, my brows still looked good. I'm very pleased with the formula. I don't really like the brush because it doesn't give me a precise application. However, I can still use it to fill in my brows and clean up afterwards. The brush can come in handy when you travel or forgot to carry a separate brush.
Left: Filled in with ka-BROW!
Right: No product
Overall, I think it's a great product but I don't see myself purchasing the full size because of the price. The formula reminds me a lot of Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, which retails for $18 USD ($23 CAD) and contains 0.14 oz of product. Benefit ka-Brow! retails for $24 USD ($30 CAD) and contains 0.1oz, so it costs more and comes with less product. Personally I will stick with ABH dipbrow pomadebut I'd love to try out Benefit brow pencils.
Pros
Creamy
Natural
Waterproof
Long wearing
Easy to use
Cons
Expensive
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ABH Dipbrow vs Benefit ka-BROW!
I find the formula of ABH dipbrow pomade and Benefit ka-BROW! is very similar to each other. However, ABH one costs less, comes with more product and shades. Only advantage is Benefit product comes with a brush but personally I don't see my spending more for that. I will stick to ABH dipbrow pomade.
Here's how I clean my beautyblender and brushes (deep clean and spot clean) and dry them. You can use liquid cleaner (liquid brush cleanser, dish soap, facial cleanser, etc) but I personally love using solid cleaners. I love the beautyblender solid cleanser but recently I found Sephora one that does the exact same job but costs less. I usually deep clean my brushes once a week but I spot clean my brushes after every use. I also clean my beautyblender after every use. However, I deep clean my foundation brushes and concealer brushes after every week.
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What do I use?
Solid Cleansers: I personally prefer solid cleansers because they clean my brushes & beautyblender faster than liquid cleansers. I find they also easily remove the stubborn beautyblender stains.
Here are some of the solid cleansers I use:
Sephora Collection Solid Brush Cleaner$14 USD ($17 CAD) - This is less expensive than beautyblender solid cleanser and does the job done. It comes with a silicone pad, which I sometimes use to clean my beautyblender. The only downside is the strong scent. It bothered me at first but now I got used to it.
beautyblender solid cleanser$16 USD ($22 CAD) - This is my favorite! It also comes with a silicone pad like the Sephora one and cleans my beautyblender and brushes so fast. I love it! It's slightly more expensive than Sephora one though.
Liquid Cleansers: I've tried using dish soap before and that works well with my brushes but it takes me longer to clean my beautyblender, so that's why I prefer using solid cleansers. Some people use facial cleanser or even baby shampoo but I haven't tried those products. I've usedbeautyblender liquidand that works well but honestly I still prefer solid cleansers.
I use this all the time to deep clean my brushes and I love how my brushes clean so fast. Usually my foundation brushes take longer because I use liquid/cream foundations. However, the eye brushes and face brushed used mainly with powder products are so much easier to clean especially with this. I'm also interested in the mat that they have.
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How to dry brushes & beautyblender?
Don't place the brushes back in the brush holder because that can damage the brushes. You can place them flat on a table and if you want to retain the shape of the brushes, then make sure the bristles don't touch the table.
I recently discovered brush holders that can be used to dry brushes. These are now sold on my website(ships to U.S. & Canada). The one I used in the video has 26 slots and it retails for $22 CAD but I have another one available for $14 CAD.
As for beautyblender, make sure you let it air dry. You can place it flat on a table or on top of the pedestal that comes with beautyblender.
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How do I spot clean brushes?
There are many brush cleaners that can be used to spot clean brushes but my personal favorite is the Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner.
Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner (travel size)$8 USD ($9 CAD) - This one cleans my brushes so fast and I love that it dries quickly. If you use liquid/cream products, then that might take longer to clean. However, I usually just deep clean my foundation or concealer brushes after every use. This also has a strong scent, which might be bothersome for some people.
This shade is named after Bollywood actress, Alia Bhatt. It's a beige nude shade that will work well on someone with light to medium complexion but it doesn't complement my tan skin tone (for shade reference I'm NC40-NC42).
However, I love pairing it up with lip liner or another lipstick. I've recently used it with MAC Soar lip liner and I love how it turned out. I also wore it on top of the shade Katrina.
This one is also named after another Bollywood actress, Katrina Kaif. I love it! It complements my skin tone and I've been wearing this one a lot lately. This is the first Sahi Cosmetics lipstick that I've tried and I immediately fell in love. It was so comfortable on the lips and I love the color!
This is my favorite from the collection! This beautiful red shade will complement a lot of skin tones. I love this red shade! It's also so easy to apply and feels very comfortable on the lips. It's named after Bollywood actress, Kajol.
All proceeds of this shade go to UN Refuge Agency, which is amazing! I'm personally not a fan of this neon pink shade but a friend of mine paired it with Katrina and I loved that combination on her, so I will give it a try myself. However, I don't like how it looks on me when applied alone.
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Review
Finish: Matte with hint of gold shimmer (shimmer is barely noticeable)
Formula: Lipsticks are opaque and pigmented. They're easy to apply and go on so smoothly. I wore Katrina and Kajol on different days and they were quite comfortable on the lips. They're a bit drying but not as drying as most other liquid lipsticks (Kat Von D, ColourPop).
Wear Time: These lipsticks last throughout the day but if you eat oily/greasy food, these do slightly come off. I wore Katrina and it lasted me for 4-5 hours but then when I ate, it started to fade off. However, I love the fact that they fade away nicely and there's very minimal transfer.
Overall, the lipsticks are pretty good! I'm impressed with the formula. I like how they are long wearing and don't dry out my lips compared to many other lipsticks out there. I can't wait to see what other lipstick shades that Sahi Cosmetics will launch!
Shade Reference: MAC NC42, Indian/Pakistani/Brown skin/tan skin
This concealer launched today on Too Faced website. It retails for $28 USD ($32 CAD) and contains 0.23 oz of product. It should be available at Sephora in July.
Product Claims
Instantly Hide Imperfections
Vanish the appearance of dark circles
Blur the look of lines and wrinkles for complete coverage so undetectable
Oil-Free
Coconut Water helps replenish skin's moisture levels without overhydrating - for a radiant skin
Infused with the resilient Alpine Rose to brighten the skin's appearance and promote elasticity
Hyaluronic Acid helps balance skin for a smoother, more youthful appearance
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Packaging
The packaging is very similar to Born This Way Foundation, which I absolutely love. I have it in shade Golden and it's a great coverage foundation that looks natural.
It comes with a doe foot applicator and it's flexible.
I wanted a shade that can be used to highlight, so I went with Medium. It worked out pretty well for my deep skin tone. For shade reference, I'm NC40-NC42 in MAC.
Swatch of shade Medium
Shade Reference: I don't own any MAC foundation but I should be around NC40-NC42 in MAC.
Here are some of the foundations that match me well:
It's creamy, lightweight and gives a radiant finish but I just wish it provided a better coverage. I was expecting it to be like Born This Way Foundation, which gives me a good coverage but it didn't. It's easy to blend but it doesn't look natural. I applied it under my eye area and I was able to tell where I applied it.
Pros
Creamy
Lightweight
Natural
Radiant
Smells like coconut
Cons
Doesn't provide that much coverage
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Too Faced vs NARS
I decided to compare NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($29/0.22 oz) with Too Faced Born This Way Concealer ($28/0.23 oz). Both of them come with doe foot applicators but Too Faced Concealer applicator is more flexible, while NARS applicator is more stiff.
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealeris more opaque and has a better coverage than Too Faced concealer. I personally prefer NARS concealer because I like the coverage but it's not as lightweight and radiant as Too Faced Concealer.
