Monday, July 29, 2013

Benefit Stay Flawless: 15 hour primer

Benefit Stay Flawless: 15 hour primer

Keeping your makeup on all day long can sometimes be a challenge. It's not only the heat that can cause makeup to run, but the natural process of our skin's renewal can leave us looking and feeling rather shiny. Using a primer can help create a barrier between the skin and makeup, helping to prevent it from budging or absorbing your skin's natural sebum - it's a must in the warmer months, but also for days when you need your makeup to last you from morning until night. I'm a great fan of Hello Flawless, the original foundation that creates a dewy and natural glow, so this accompanying primer's launch was music to my ears. Packaged in a stick format, Stay Flawlessprovides an unusual application method; primers usually come in little tubes or pump bottles, but this allows you to simply draw across your face exactly where you need it and blend in with fingers.


Claiming to 'act like a magnet' and keep foundation in place for up to 15 hours, it provides a super light finish which is easily absorbed into the skin. It leaves a slightly clammy feeling on the surface, aiding the 'magnetic' action and allowing foundation to really stick in place - I felt the foundation I've been using for many months applied more flawlessly and provided an even finish with little blending. If primers are a new area to you, or you don't want anything too heavy, then Stay Flawless is a great introduction to the concept from Benefit; it's easy to use, is invisible on the skin and is pretty much impossible to apply too much. Although this did aid application and act as a 'magnet' to my base, it didn't prevent the shiny look from creeping up on me throughout the day: in the afternoons I'm still needing to touch up my makeup and apply a dusting of powder to remove the excess oil.

In my opinion, this isn't a primer in the traditional sense. It doesn't create a barrier between makeup and skin, but just aids application and enables your base to sit in the way intended. Although it's a great introduction to those not so familiar with how to use primers (and a great accompanying product to one of my favourite foundations ever,) for me it's not quite strong enough. I like to be able to leave the house confident that 12 hours later my makeup will still be looking great - with this, I know I'm going to need to touch up before hitting the cocktail bar. Although that's not a huge issue, it would stop me using this on days when compromise just isn't enough. What do you think of Benefit's latest launch?




Stay Flawless is available from Benefit counters nationwide, as well as online, for £24.50  

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