Fig & Watermelon

When Tarazz held a $10 flat rate shipping from Sephora a few months ago, I couldn't resist placing an order with a friend. Among the items I purchased was this BECCA Beach Tint Duo, consisting of 2 x 4ml tubes of their Beach Tints in Fig and Watermelon (the full size is 7ml). Apparently the duo is a Sephora exclusive, making it seem like a worthwhile addition to my cart given how arduous it normally is to ship from the US Sephora website to Australia. (I may have also been swayed by Liz's review on them.) The set was just over $20 which I found to be decent value for money, considering the regular size retails for $42 a piece and the amount of product in each is close to an Illamasqua cream blush (4.5g) or Stila Convertible Color (4.25g).

l-r: Becca Fig, Revlon Soft Nude, NARS Biscayne Park, Illamasqua Zygomatic, NARS Douceur

I'd read reviews of how light Fig was, but I took a gamble and hoped it would show up on my skin. No such luck. My attempt at something approximating a cheek swatch shows how barely detectable the colour is. It's not completely invisible, but it's more or less negligible in terms of any effect that you'd normally want blush to give, and blends out into nothingness. It leaves a slight pinkish brown tint, but mainly just looks like extremely subtle shading or the faintest tan. I originally suspected it would be nearly identical to Illamasqua Zygomatic, but Zygomatic actually can be seen on the cheek and is darker, pinker and dewier.

l-r: Becca Watermelon, Revlon Soft Rose, Napoleon Perdis 'Color' from the Ultimate Contour Palette, Bourjois Rose Éclat, Illamasqua Naked Rose

Watermelon is on the opposite end of the spectrum to Fig. This one is hella pigmented. You really need only the tiniest amount, otherwise it's easy to put on too much and risk looking ruddy. It leans quite red against my skin tone, which is a colour I usually try to avoid when it comes to blushes. This is what I imagine a red-leaning blush like Tarte Natural Beauty would look like on me, except Watermelon might be more berry pink than classic red. While it might not be my favourite colour, at least it provides more variety to my blush collection and a change of scenery from the "peachy pinks" that tend to dominate it.

I tried two coats of both shades on the lips and wasn't particularly impressed with the results. I found them to be surprisingly very drying. Once the product sets, it turns from thin, emollient and slippery in texture, to a matte cream, almost what I imagine the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams would be like. Once it turns matte, it starts to become quite flaky, accentuating dry patches and unevenness. It was difficult to get even coverage as the product is so thin and lightweight but easily spreadable. I just felt it was sliding around everywhere and application was extremely patchy when I used my fingers. The problem isn't as bad when applying the Beach Tint on the cheeks, but I still don't find them as forgiving and easy to work with as other cream formulas. I think the trick is to use minuscule amounts spread as evenly as possible in thin layers, gradually building up to achieve your desired pigmentation.

Fig was too light on my cheeks and on my lips was terribly unexciting. Watermelon reminded me so much of Revlon ColorBurst lipstick in Soft Rose and sure enough, they swatched almost identically. Watermelon is just a touch more muted and subdued compared with the more pigmented and opaque Soft Rose. The texture and application issues don't encourage me to favour these Beach Tints as a lip colour over the multitude of proper lipsticks or lip crayons I have that are similar in shade. While they're marketed as a "crème stain", they weren't at all staining on the lips and could be completely removed with a tissue, as if all the product was merely sitting on top of the lips, ready to be wiped off.

Another strange thing I noticed was my tube of Fig had these sparse, tiny black granules in it, visible when I squeezed a small amount out, that made it weirdly grainy. I have absolutely no idea what they were or whether it was a product defect, but it did little to ignite my enthusiasm.

Much like the BECCA Eye Tints, my overall experience with these Beach Tints was underwhelming. On the plus side, I do like the candy/fruity scent and the packaging is both novel, convenient, hygienic and aesthetically pleasing. But Fig is a nonevent and Watermelon is passable, but not really my thing. While I do watch the odd video or read a blog post featuring these Beach Tints in a way that makes me think "what am I doing wrong?", I just haven't found myself warming up to them or utilising them to their full potential.