Review Time!: Little Love Potions set by Benefit

Review Time!: Little Love Potions set by Benefit

It's no secret that I really like Benefit. The packaging is adorable, the products themselves are great and it's hard to find something in the line-up that I don't really like. 

So I had a wedding coming up that I was working and I really needed to snag up a primer and a bronzer. While perusing the counters, I stopped at this set up...

Already I knew that I've used and loved about 8/10 of these products. And frankly, when it comes to packing a kit for a wedding- it's kind of nice to have smaller sizes of things. You have more room for your airbrush, you can pack a more condensed kit, and if you think the bridesmaids might be shady- you're not going to be devastated if that fab $20 blush goes missing.

And like I said, I needed stuff that already came in this kit anyway.

So inside the Little Love Potions box comes:

- 0.25 oz The POREfessional

- 0.1 oz It's Potent Eye Cream

- 0.08 oz High Beam in Luminescent

- 0.08 oz Posietint in Poppy Pink

- 0.08 oz Stay Don't Stray in Light/Medium

- 0.08 oz Watt's Up

- 0.14 oz BADgal Lash Mascara

- 0.25 oz "That Gal"

- 0.1 oz Hoola Bronzing Powder

- 0.22 oz Ultra Plush - Hoola Lip Gloss

Ok, so here's my thoughts:

The POREfessional- 
This primer is pretty standard- silky finish, covers pores and doesn't leave a cloggy gross feeling. It definitely has some silicones in it (as an FYI).

What I love- it does its damn job and holds makeup in place. Also, it's great for dabbing over pimples and things like that because it fills in any ridges if you're a picker (LIKE ME, AND I'LL NEVER STOP).

What I hate- I don't think it's great for dry, flaky skin. It's has a bit of an oil controlling factor that maaaaaybe isn't super great for dryness.

It's Potent Eye Cream
A nice moisturizing eye cream. The end.

What I love- Again, it does its job. It moisturizes the eye area, and helps to sort of brighten everything up.

What I hate- Sweet Jesus, if this stuff gets in your eye IT BURNS. So annoying. I usually apply by dabbing it AROUND the eye area and let blinking and gravity move it around for me. Otherwise if you apply too close to your eye- IT WILL HURT AND DRIVE YOU CRAZY.

High Beam (Luminescent)
Liquid highlighter with a pink undertone.

What I love- Oh my God. What don't I like about this? It's perfect for anyone on the fair or cool side of the skin spectrum. It's an amazing highlighter. You can apply it to the high points of your face for a reflective look, apply it to the cupids bow to make your lips look STUPID BIG, or at the brow bone for an instant eye lift, or mix a little into your foundation to make your skin look INSANELY beautiful and dewy. It's so flattering. Side note: if you're warmer or deeper in skin tone- they make another version called Moon Beam that has a golden undertone or you can use Watts Up, which we will talk about later.

What I hate- I can't think of anything.

Posietint in Poppy Pink
A liquid-gel blusher that you can use on cheeks and lips.

What I love- The consistence is pretty cool, it goes on kinda thin and then thickens and gets tacky as you blend it in. I think this would be great for just a quick color for running errands or something or for putting makeup on someone who's very young so they don't look overdone. It's actually pretty good for layering as well because it gives powder blush something to stick to. The color is a great hue for pretty much anyone. It's nice on the lips because once your lipstick wears down, the stain is there to help underneath.

What I hate- It's sooooo soft in color. There's not a lot of opacity in it and I think it would get lost on anyone with a medium to dark skin tone. It's great for someone who's fair but beyond that it's kind of like- ehhhh no.

Stay Don't Stray (Light/Medium)
Eye Primer.

What I love- IIIIIIIII like this. I like this a lot. It has a tiny bit of color to it so it evens out your eyelid color, a little goes a long way, and it really holds everything in place. The full sized bottle even comes with a pump so it's hygienic to use professionally. I can't say enough nice things about this. I've even just used it to hide the veins in my lids and then slap on some liner and get out the door- and it still looks nice. I'm a fan.

What I hate- My ONLY gripe is that the pump bottle form, when you press down, pumps out enough product for like, 3 sets of eyes. If you do a half pump, its still even a little too much. So- FYI, try and barely touch it.

Watt's Up
A golden-hued stick highlighter.

What I love- The color, the way it looks on the skin- everything is so flattering. I even like it on cool skin tones. I like it on everything! The stick form is super convenient too, because you can just slap it on there and blend with your fingers.

What I hate- You kind of have to warm it up a little to get it to apply super nice- either by rubbing it with your fingers or around your cheeks. Otherwise, it doesn't glide perfectly. Still, I really like this.

BADgal Lash Mascara (in black)
Mascara

What I love- Uhhhh, I don't know about this one you guys. It does make my lashes look great but it takes a bit of work to get there.

What I hate- The brush is so damn enormous that it makes it SUPER HARD to maneuver around the eye area. It's tough to get the lower lashes, and you sort of end up with mascara all over your lids. You might not have that problem if you have nice thick lashes to hold the brush back- BUT I DO NOT POSSESS SUCH QUALITIES. The formula is alright, but honestly I've found nicer mascaras without the big price tag and without the big brush.

That Gal
Primer/Illuminator/Skin-revver-upper

What I love- This primer is pretty nice. It smells amazing, and first applies smoothly and then begins to get tacky. My foundations stuck to it with no problem and didn't budge all day. The thing I like about this primer in particular is that it has a little bit of hydration so it's more dry skin friendly. The pink tones perk up your skin and make you look more awake- which I also really like. I dig this primer a lot and I have a feeling it's going to be more universally flattering on anyone.

What I hate- Not a whole lot. I mean if you're looking for something to cover imperfections and pores and that sort of thing- POREfessional is maybe more your speed, but I think That Gal is more flattering and doesn't leave your skin looking really flat.

Hoola Bronzing Powder
Bronzer

What I love- Ok, I remember a time when Hoola used to be straight up orange and sooooo hideous. For whatever reason it was a cult favorite and I never understood that. However, somewhere in the time frame of the last 5 or so years- they reformulated and this is probably the most flattering bronzer I've dealt with. It looks great on fair skin and doesn't make your face look muddy or dirty. Because it's not shimmery, I've actually been using it for contour on myself and it works so great. I really like this and a little goes a long way.

What I hate- In it's full sized packaging it's in those adorable and yet cumbersome box blushers and powders. It annoys me a great deal that it doesn't come in a package that's sleeker or easier to store. I'm tempted to shred the box apart until I get to the pan and then put it in my Z-palette or something.

Ultra Plush - Hoola Lip Gloss
Lip Gloss

What I love- Benefit is so great about making a color selection that's easy to follow and pretty much foolproof for people who are new to makeup. They made lip glosses that match the colors of their box blushers and bronzers and have the same name. I love it. So for this set they give you the bronzer and matching lip gloss- and let me tell you, this is one of the nicer glosses I've tried. It's not sticky or goopy, a little goes a long way, it looks good pretty much over every lipstick color I've tried and it even looks good on it's own.

What I hate- I wish it was more opaque so when you wore it alone the color is a bit stronger- but honestly, I don't think it's a deal breaker.



Here's what I love about this kit:
- You have almost all the basics.
-If you used everything in the kit, you'd still have a makeup look that goes together and looks great.
-They give you 2 primers and 2 highlighters to cover almost all ranges of skin tones and types.
-The sample sizes are actually pretty great and will last you AWHILE. I've had my kit for 3 months and it looks like I've barely touched it.
-Perfect sizes for someone wanting to expand their kit but not take up a lot of room, someone who travels a lot, or for someone who gets bored easy and tries a lot of different kinds of makeup (IE, me).
-A great and easy gift idea. I mean, look how adorable it looks all put together!

-SamanthaK