Benefit Cosmetics Ultra Plush Lip Glosses in Coralista and Hoola Review

The concept behind Benefit Cosmetics's Ultra Plush Lip Glosses are that they match Benefit Cosmetics's best selling box blushes and bronzer- clever right? 

Although these lip glosses look bright when you squeeze the tubes they are actually sheer lip glosses. When they are applied to the lips they look like clear lip glosses with a slight tint. Hoola looks like it will be as brown as Benefit's Hoola Bronzer in the tube but in fact is a soft nude shade with micro glitter. I don't mind this as nude is probably more flattering. Coralista looks like it's gonna pack a punch of bright coral but gives a peachy-orange natural looking tint to the lips. Unlike Hoola there isn't any glitter in Coralista. If you apply one layer of these lip glosses it will look like a clear gloss with a slight tint. But if you apply one thick layer it will look more opaque but it can look uneven and the pigment can start to bleed. It's best to apply these lip glosses in light layers for more coverage and colour.

The formula is not sticky and feels smooth on the lips. They have a fruity taste to them, Coralista tastes just like nectarines. They both smell fruity too but sightly plastic. They will transfer onto cups and glasses a little but most of the gloss will remain on your lips. The Hoola Ultra Plush lip gloss survives drinking and snacking and lasts around 2 hours. Coralista wears for around 1 and a half hours and while it lasts through drinking, fares less well when snacking. They don't last through a meal so you will have to reapply afterwards.

As I mentioned earlier the branding on the tubes matches Benefit Cosmetic's boxed blushes. The semi transparent tubes show you how much product you have and the slanted tip is more hygienic than using a doe foot applicator. However I think I'd prefer a doe foot applicator because it will give you more control over how much to apply to get an opaque colour. The lip glosses above are sample sized 6.5 ml, while the normal full size is 15 ml, more than double in size and sold for £15. The amount is fairly generous compared to MAC Cosmetics lip glosses, but MAC probably has more pigment in their glosses.

I think that Benefit's idea of producing a collection of lip glosses to match and complement their blushers is genius! However I think that the lip gloss formula should be improved so that they are much more pigmented on the lips as well as in the tube. What they are good for is when you want to top your lipstick with a layer of gloss. Overall I'm a bit disappointed about these lip glosses because you can get a clear lip gloss or a tinted one much cheaper.  I don't think the quality matches the high price tag.

Benefit Cosmetic Ultra Plush Lip Gloss is £15 available at Benefit Cosmetic UK website here.

If you have tried Benefit'S Ultra Plush Lip Glosses what did you think of them?

I Heart Make Up Go To Hell! Palette & Amazing Sheer Lip Glosses Review & swatches

As the name suggests I Heart Make Up Go To Hell is a rock look inspired eye shadow Palette. Just like the other Go palettes this is handy for travelling because it's compact and light. There are 19 shades with a total of 8.5g of product. Twelve of these shadows have a shimmer finish, six are matte and there is one glitter shadow in the centre. The layout of the eye shadows is definitely unique! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit a brush into the smaller pans in the middle circle but I was able to fit an Urban Decay shadow brush, a Sigma concealer brush and a fluffy Boots No. 7 brush. When I swatched these I went anticlockwise from the topmost/further shadow.

The outer ring contains the darker colours, there are three matte colours, although the two matte blacks seem to be exactly the same. The other matte, a vibrant fuchsia/purple was very pigmented and was easy to swatch. The shadow second from the left is actually grey although it looks almost black in the swatch. The blue (fifth from right) is gorgeous and just pops in the pan but while it is true to colour it's not as smooth or easy to swatch/use. The green (third from right) was a lot darker than I expected from the pan but I liked it- perfect for a smoky eye.

The middle ring has three matte shadows in a row. The peach was really hard to get any colour from the pan. It is a nice neutral colour that actually shows up on my skin when I could get it to. The colour that's third from the right looks like a violet but swatches very red and reminds me of Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoo in Pomegranate. I also like the colour next to it which is like an antique gold colour, unusual but also fairly neutral. The shadow in the centre is the only glitter and I'm pleased I managed to capture it on camera. It is the most pigmented of all and while there's definitely glitter it is not as strong as some of the Urban Decay/ Too faced glitter shadows, which also means there's no fallout using this shade.

The wear time of these shadows is average without a primer (7 hours, they fade later on in the day.) This palette comes without a brush or sponge applicator which I don't mind as they're never very good anyway- however if you're using this on the go then you need to bring a separate brush. Altogether the colours of these shadows make for a very versatile palette which can give a rocky smoky eye, a neutral eye and a bright eyed paler look. The shimmer shadows perform better than the mattes which is often the case in low end palettes (and even some high end!) The full price of the Go To Hell palette is £6.49 but it's currently on sale for £3.99 here which isn't bad for 19 shadows (or 18 excluding the difficult peach shadow) and you get a mixture of dark light, shimmer and matte and a glitter.

Make Up Revolution Amazing Sheer Lip glosses

Since these lip glosses are marketed as sheer I feel you can't expect too much from them.
Must Be Strong is almost like a clear gloss (even though there is a clear gloss called Free in the collection) while a thin layer of Not Naive gives a My Lips But Better look, a thicker application gives a natural looking pinkish cherry colour to the lips. Baby Try is a cool pink , I'd say between neon pink and Barbie pink. It's very bright and extremely pigmented. It's not a colour I would normally choose (these were part of a Black Friday bundle deal.)  Despite being labelled as sheer these feel quite thick on the lips and a little oily. The texture is a bit like Benefit Ultra Plush lip glosses only not as lightweight and a bit more sticky. They're not incredibly sticky, just a little. These Amazing Sheer Lip glosses smell a little of vanilla but taste fruity very much like Starburst sweets. The lasting power isn't great: they transfer onto cups and begin to wear off drinking and when eating a snack.  Overall I feel that these are not the best lip glosses I've tried (they transfer very easily) but neither are they the worse, they have enough pigment not to be a waste of time, they're not overly sticky and they taste fruity (how I like lip glosses to taste.) These Make Up Revolution Amazing Sheer Lip glosses are sold at  Superdrug here for £1 each!

Downton Abbey Lip Gloss Collection Review

The Downton Abbey packaging is well presented looking both traditional and upmarket tying in with the television series. The quote from the series ' Now stop talking and kiss me before I get cross' is a nice touch. Each tube is stamped with a gold Downton Abbey monogram which looks fairly classy. The tubes are good quality thick  plastic that is  transparent so that you see the colour of the gloss inside and have black  caps. While the tubes themselves aren't very delicate or ornate the simple design looks sophisticated and I would imagine helps keep the price down. Each gloss contains 4ml and works out at approximately £3.17 each. These are labelled as cruelty free (not tested on animals.) The wand brush is stiffer than in other lip glosses I've used, so I'd recommend softening them by running under warm water before using them for the first time. These colours are very wearable for all ages basically there is a red, nude and pink.

I would describe these as pigmented sheer lip glosses which sounds like a contradiction but what I mean is that while the colours are not as strong as the colours in the tube they are lighter and sheerer, however unlike other 'sheer' lip glosses these are not clear glosses, aside from precious these definitely have a colour to them and all look very glossy on the lips.

These lip glosses feel non-sticky when first applied and the texture feels a bit oily.The consistency is not thick and gloopy but more fluid and light but not too thin or watery. After a drink the lip gloss felt a little sticker but this probably helped it stay though drinking and sometimes through eating nibbles. These glosses do not last through a meal. Claret wears off in the middle/inner lip but doesn't leave a  dreaded ring behind. Velvet wears around each side. Both have a tendency to stay in the lines of your lips. Precious wears evenly but you are left with sparkles and small particles of glitter. There is no discernible smell to these lip glosses although they do taste a little on the plastic side, not packed with harsh tasting chemicals  but just a little synthetic

The lightest shade contains glitter which is subtle and fine but when you press your lips together it can feel the tiniest bit gritty,but i think this is true of most glosses that have glitter in them. The other two do not contain any glitter.

Claret is a pinky raspberry red. While it doesn't make the same statement as the classic blue toned Hollywood red or a dark red wine as the name implies, it still stands out. It can be a little patchy/blotchy  when applied so bear this in mind.

Precious is described as a gold but I would say that it is more of a slightly peach tinted clear gloss with gold glistening glitter. It actually lightens the colour of my lips slightly. It was really difficult to capture this in a photograph. The glitter is very noticeable and catches the light making lips look wet and glossy. This colour would be good for balancing out heavy dark smoky eye looks.

Velvet is labelled a mauve but it seems more of a warm toned pink. On me it shows up as a my lips but better shade. This shade is difficult to apply evenly and often looks a bit blotchy when applied and could benefit from a lip liner so you need to bear this is mind when you apply it.

These lip glosses come in subtle classic colours that would suit a wide range of looks and all skin tones. The lip glosses are good value for money but are of average quality, some may be put off by the texture and taste of them. The wear time is average for a gloss but they do settle into lip lines as they wear off, Precious doesn't do this but does leave glitter behind.  If you are a big Downton Abbey fan then you can easily overlook these issues because while they are not of the highest standard nor are they the worst, I would say 2.5 /3 out of 5.

Available at Marks and Spencers £9.50.
Marks and Spencer free delivery to USA, Australia and NZ on orders over £30

You may like this if...You are a fan of Downton Abbey ,like unscented lip glosses, non sticky glosses or are on a budget. Alternatively you may like these if you like sheer glosses or a more natural look.

You may not like this if...You like scented glosses or are particular about how lip glosses feel on the lips. If you want to apply lip gloss quickly and not worry about unevenness. If you dislike glitter then the precious lip gloss won't be for you.