A few days ago I found myself at the Benefit counter in Debenhams while waiting for my mum. I posted last week about Benefit’s Most Glamourous Nudes Ever, one of their World Famous Neutrals Kits. I saw, I swatched, I purchased. I’m not even going to make excuses, I resisted for all of 9 minutes before I allowed the sales assistant to convince me I needed this palette. I clearly have no self control this week.
On the way to the till I was accosted by the lady at the CK One counter (Calvin Klein’s new beauty range) and after swatching 6 shades, I came home with a nude gloss in the shade Tender ( like i said, NO self control!). I took the following images in natural light and they’re unedited so hopefully they’re a good representation of the shades. Here are my swatches:
The CK One gloss looks quite deep in the tube but on the lips it’s a quite sheer pinky nude. The formula wasn’t at all sticky which really pleased me as I can’t stand sticky lip products. Your hair gets stuck to your face and it’s generally gross.
As for the Benefit shadows, I’m a little disappointed. While the colours are pretty, unfortunately the colour payoff isn’t great. They shades come off quite sheer and I had to build each swatch up four times to achieve the opacity in the photo above. Maybe I’ve become spoilt with the fantastic pigmentation offered from other high end brands but for the price of this palette I really expected more. There’s so many high street or drug store brands like Sleek and MUA that are able to offer highly pigmented shadows for a relatively low cost, i’m disappointed that Benefit couldn’t offer better pigmentation for the price point.
As for the shades themselves, the first, Call My Buff, is a shimmery pale champagne. This is so close to my skin tone that it’s barely noticeable on me. I think it will be beautiful on any skin tone darker than mine but it’s still a pretty highlight shade.
Kiss Me, I’m Tipsy is a described as a ‘spiced brown’ by Benefit. It looks a little muddy in the photograph but is beautiful on the skin.
It’s Complicated is a beautiful peachy pink with a slight golden shimmer. I’m not usually a fan on pink shadows but this is a gorgeous colour that works really well with the other shades in the palette.
Gilt-y Pleasure is a stunning warm gold with a subtle shimmer that’s very wearable for day time. This shade is my favourite in the palette and I’ve been using this with Kiss Me I’m Tipsy for a few days now and `i’m not bored yet.
The image above shows the two creaseless cream shadows in the palette. The first, Birthday Suit, I already own in it’s full size. It’s a gorgeous neutral shade and very wearable alone. My Two Cents is a lovely copper that fits nicely with the other shades in the palette. I wouldn’t wear it alone as it’s a bit too bright in my opinion but its lovely when paired with Birthday Suit. The formulation of these bases is fantastic, they blend well and have great pigmentation and staying power.
Overall I’m happy with both of these products and I’ll definitely get lots of use out of both, I just wish the Benefit shadows were slightly more pigmented.
Charlotte x
Blush and be Beautiful 
I think those swatches look really strong. But as you say – 4 layers! Like the shimmer on it. What was the retails price for the palette? I agree 100% with MUA repping hard with great colours and great prices. Swear i’m their biggest fan!
Good post, I’ve subbed 🙂
The Make Up Hound x
The Benefit palettes retail for £23.50 which is definitely on the pricey side but the inclusion of two creaseless creams helps to justify the cost a little I think. So glad you liked the post, thanks for subscribing! 😀
I think all the colors will look amazing on your skin tone. You just have to take some time to play with them. And I love the packaging on the gloss! I had no idea CK had a beauty line
The CK beauty line is quite new so the range is pretty limited but I was really impressed with the glosses so i’ll be picking up a few more when my will to resist weakens. I’ve been using the Benefit palette for the last few days and I’m liking it more and more. It’s gives a nice polished everyday look and the shades do look lovely on my skin tone. I’m really pleased with both my purchases and so glad I popped into Debenhams!
Charlie x