Review Time! Benetint

Benefit's Benetint is rose-tinted lip and cheek stain.

Our original rose-tinted stain is kiss-proof, see-through color for lips & cheeks that lasts for hours.  Naturally sheer & sexy on all complexions... it’s innocent yet provocative.  Originally created for an exotic dancer in the 1970s, benetint has soared to cult fave status. It's loved by celebs, makeup artists and gals around the world. It's the sexiest flush you can get from a bottle!

Cost:

$30 for 12.5 ml 0.40 US fl. oz.
A bit steep for my taste, but I'll splurge on it if its AMAZING.

Why I wanted to try it:

I'm really pale, and blush is important for me because I look like I'm at Death's door without it. But, I prefer minimal makeup when at work because I'm running around and sweating and all kinds of unattractive stuff.  So I figured cheek stain would be perfect! For my lips, lipstick is NOT an option.  I have a lip gloss addiction and must reapply every few minutes, which smears any lipstick to hell. So, stain should be perfect, right? Awesome!

My expectations:

I pretty much figured I would put this stuff on and think it was amazing, but way too dark for me, like other stains have been.  I usually wear very light corals or pinks, (because I'm like porcelain) and I've stuck to powder blushes because I need the blendability.

First impressions:

When I first saw the color, I was like "HA HA HA. No." Its a pretty straight up red.  It smells like roses, not like fake rose smell, it smells like real roses.  I sat for a whole minute huffing it, yum!
I tried a little bit on my hand first. Its watery, and it doesn't immediately soak in. I initially put a whole drop on my hand and tried to rub it into a small circle, but it wouldn't all rub in! I ended up extending my circle across half my hand.  Interesting. I experimented and figured out that using more just meant I had to spread it more, it didn't create a darker color.  If I wanted a darker color, I had to let it dry and apply more layers.  Good to know.  After playing on my hand for a while, I was confident enough to try it on my cheeks.

Application:

The website reads:

Brush three strokes on the apples of your cheeks & blend quickly with fingertip. Apply on lips & blend. For a deeper "pop" of color, repeat.

Since I'd experimented with it on my hand enough, I wasn't too scared about the "quickly" part. I knew I had sufficient time to blend.  I'll be honest, I don't follow directions well, so I didn't do three strokes, I just did a nice line across my cheek.  I kinda rubbed it across my cheekbone, and in circles to blend.  To be completely honest, its an absolutely PERFECT color. It doesn't look like you have blush on, it looks more like you are blushing.  Its basically the same color as the blood that would rush to your face if you were blushing.  I stood in the mirror after doing one cheek, and tried to figure out if you could tell I had anything on.  It pretty much just looked like half my face was sick, and the other had a healthy flush.  I think one swipe would probably be enough if I was normal, but I wanted to SEE it, so I applied a little circle of it on the apples of my cheeks and darkened the color there.  At one point, I had a mini heart attack cause I thought I'd applied way too much, but it really blended in and you couldn't tell I had anything on still.  I played that game where you apply too much to one side, so you try to add just a little on the other side and end up adding too much, so you try to add a little on the other side, and its a vicious cycle.  Pretty much no matter how much I added, it never looked like makeup. In the end I kinda looked like I'd gotten a very slight sunburn more than anything.
When I applied it to my lips, I just put a stripe down each lip and rubbed it in. Even I couldn't mess that up.  One layer was a good color for my lips, but I think two was too dark.
Warning: You'll end up with stained fingers and it doesn't wash off.  It smells great so I didn't really mind. I just kept smelling my fingers, so I probably looked really creepy. My sister suggested I use a cotton ball to apply it instead, but I was like "that would waste product!!"

The all day test:

I put Benetint on my cheeks and lips in the morning, and did not reapply all day. It did fade over time, especially on my lips (probably from constant lipgloss applications over it) but I still had some color at the end of the day. I think it would have truly lasted all day with one re-application around lunch. Which is pretty damn impressive!

The swimming test:

I wanted to really put this stuff through its paces.  So, I decided to see if it would last through a day of swimming. *evil laugh*
I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed when it really did last through the swimming. I was all prepared to have finally found its weakness! Unfortunately, it appears to have no weakness. Damnit! Now I'm going to have to go spend $30 on this stuff!

Bottom line:

Benetint is as advertised.  I expect it to be a perfect color for anyone, because it doesn't put color over your skin as much as it adds a flushed look to your own skin tone.  It lasts significantly better than a powder or cream does.  Its expensive, so you have to decide if its worth the investment for you. For me, blush I can wear everyday at work is totally worth it!