Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and the products featured were provided for review.One of my first department store beauty purchases was from
Benefit Cosmetics so naturally, I have a soft spot for the brand. Thanks to their youthful aesthetic and adorable packaging, Benefit products always caught my eyes when I'm browsing my local Sephora. Nevertheless, I feel that the appeal of the brand has waned somewhat over the past few years, at least for me. Perhaps due to its focus on branding and packaging over the type and quality of products that get released, Benefit is just not on a lot of people's holy grail list. Sure, there's a cult following for a few classics like the Benefit Benetint and the Hoola Bronzer, but most of the newer releases in the past decade have just come and gone, without leaving a lasting impact on the makeup world. So needless to say, Benefit is in need of a revamp and thankfully, the brand is doing just that with its Box o' Powders blushes. Introducing 1 shades of blush and an updated packaging, the newly named
WANDERful World Blush Collection (C$39 for 6 g each) is available now. I've got reviews and swatches of most of the shades to share with you today. To read on, click......
Packaging:The old Benefit Box o' Powders packaging is pretty iconic at this point thanks to its distinct boxy design. Love it or hate it, things haven't changed that much with the WANDERful World Blushes. With a slimmer profile, the box s is still made out of cardboard with a mirror on the underside of the lid. Benefit has cut down the bulk as the blush no longer comes with a mini brush applicator. Personally, I love this change as I never used those little brushes but felt wasteful at the same time for throwing them away. See below for a comparison of the new WANDERful World Blush versus an old Rockaeur Box o' Blush that I just don't have the heart to throw away.
I recall years ago some controversy surrounding Benefit cutting the weight of the Box o' Blushes from 8 grams to 5 grams depending on the shade so I'm happy to see that the brand has settled on a middle ground with all the new shades weighing in at 6 grams. Although I do want to note that there are still exceptions with some of the boxed blushes/powders. For example, the Dandelion Blush and the Hoola Bronzers are 8 grams each while the Dandelion Twinkle Highlighter is 3 grams. Quite honestly though, even if these blushes were 5 grams each they would still last me a long, long time.
Formulation:
Available in 11 brand new shades and 1 pre-existing shade (Dandelion), the WANDERful World Blush is described as a "silky-soft, buildable, blendable blush that feels ultrafine and weightless". Formulated with powdered pearl and sapphire, the blushes have a beautiful floral scent. The texture of the blushes is indeed super silky and lightweight. The application is smooth and non-patchy and the color lasts all day with minimal fading. The pigmentation is quite strong for most of the shades so a little goes a long way. Additionally, the formulation is pretty consistent across the board so no matter which shade you choose, you are going to end up with a great blush!
Shellie: This is a very pretty coral pink with a hint of fine shimmers. The color is pinker and brighter than it appears in the pan.
Sunny: A soft orange with a satin sheen, Sunny appears a lot more coral in the pan than it wears on the skin. Interestingly, Sunny is the color that I expect Shellie to be and vice versa, so don't be fooled by how the colors look in the pan. Please note that my Sunny blush came completely shattered so I had to mend it using the rubbing alcohol method, hence why it looks the way it does in the image above.
Crystah: This is a very bright strawberry pink with a hint of shimmers. The blush looks almost neon in the pan but it's more wearable than you think. Nevertheless, a little goes a long way so you can't be too heavy-handed with this one.
Willa: One of my personal favorites from the bunch, Willa is a beautiful rosy mauve with a subtle shimmer.
PomPom: Another flattering shade, PomPom is a warm dusty rose with a natural matte finish.
Moone: This is a rosy berry blush with a light dash of shimmers. The color looks quite deep and intense in the pan but it's a lot more wearable than you think.
Butterfly: Hands down the most unique shade of the bunch, Butterfly is a shimmery golden orange that you would find on the wings of a monarch butterfly. As much as I love the saturated color, this is definitely not a shade I can pull off. However, I can see this working beautifully for those with a warm medium to dark complexion.
Terra: A rosy brick red, Terra has a golden shimmery sheen. Again, this is one of those shades that look a lot more intense than it actually wears. Personally I think Terra is more suitable for darker skin but a sheer application can work for lighter skin tones.
Java: This is a matte mocha brown with a rosy undertone that would look beautiful on medium to dark skin tones.
