Summer in A Box

On the first day of my September New York holiday, I found myself at the Sephora in Times Square and spotted this Benefit Go TropiCORAL Lip & Cheek Kit on the shelves. It had two items that I was wanting to buy individually (Cha Cha Tint and Coralista), so purchasing the set was a no-brainer. Even though the products included are smaller sizes (Cha Cha Tint is 4ml, compared to the 12.5ml of the full size, Coralista is 3g while the full size is 8g), I figured I'd most likely never use up the larger sizes, so having a chance to sample both at a fraction of the cost was ideal. I managed to buy this in the US for around $30 — it retails in Australia for $59.

As with all Benefit products, a lot of care and attention to detail has gone into the packaging. The Coralista blush comes with its own mini brush which is adorable, though perhaps lacking some functionality. I never use the brushes that come with Benefit boxed powders anyway, but they're not too bad for travel. The kit also comes with "Tips and Tricks" cards attached to the top flap that provide instructions on how to use the included products. There's a mirror behind the cards (which I never realised until I was photographing the box for this post).

Cha Cha Tint straight from the bottle, then blended

A word of warning about Cha Cha Tint: BLEND QUICK. If left on the cheek for even 1.5 seconds, it'll leave a stain. I learned the hard way when I dotted it on my cheeks and didn't blend immediately. There was an orangey red blotch on both cheeks that I couldn't conceal with foundation or more blush. The best way I've found to apply it is to dab some from the brush directly onto your finger, then quickly blend it onto the cheeks straight after. Lots of coral/orange blushes can look overly red, but this one doesn't. It's the perfect summer tint for the cheeks.

I've mentioned High Beam a couple of times (see How Much Is My Face Worth? and October Favourites), so I won't go into too much detail, except to say that it lives up to the hype.

I didn't really have any expectations about the Coralista Ultra Plush lip gloss, but I found myself pleasantly surprised. I could've done without the inclusion of this gloss altogether, but it's sheer and inoffensive enough to wear casually without looking like you're obviously wearing lip gloss. It's not sticky and feels moisturising on the lips. It isn't very pigmented. It's more like a sheer wash of colour, leaving a warm orange tint to the lips with just a touch of shine. The only thing that bothers me is the sickly sweet scent it has.

l-r: Coralista, the stain that Cha Cha Tint leaves, Cha Cha Tint blended

The mark in the middle of my hand? That's what Cha Cha Tint looks like if you leave it on for just a few seconds. And it's impossible to get off without some serious makeup remover. Coralista is a glowy, slightly sheer, soft coral. It's much lighter in colour than Cha Cha Tint, and more shimmery. I didn't expect that it would swatch the way it does — it's lighter than how it looks in the pan and almost seems like a brightening powder that gives a touch of pinky orange if build up in intensity. I find it a bit too luminous as a blush. It has a tendency to enlarge the appearance of pores if applied to the cheeks. If only the shimmer were turned down a few notches, I'd reach for Coralista more to lift and warm up the complexion without looking overdone, as the colour and softness are exactly what I'm after.