Sometimes, being a beauty blogger is, well, beautiful!
A few months ago, I got this in the mail:
I squeed and ooh'd and aah'd because in my makeup world, most of the best things start with a Benefit bag.
Benefit was the one brand that really got me into makeup. I was fifteen and had been experimenting with makeup for about two years but felt very frustrated with eyeshadows. On my oily teenage skin and with my hooded lids (one of these things has remained over the years), shadows would crease on me like nobody's business. And then one day, a Benefit counter came to Munich and changed my life.
They had a little something no one in the makeup world had been talking about at that point (at least to my knowledge): primer. Shadow primer, to be precise. The saleslady sat me down and did my makeup, using FY...eye! and lo and behold, the shadows didn't crease on me anymore! I fell for Benefit then and there, hook, line and sinker.
After that first buy, I discovered all of Benefit's so-called Fake-Its - products meant to help you look fabulous without looking like you're wearing anything.
And so, my journey with makeup began. With the help of Benefit's Fake-Its, everything else in my makeup drawer was suddenly fun and workable. Thirteen years later and here we are!
In this pretty pink bag, I discovered Benefit's POREfessional pore minimiser (they spell it with a "z" but I write in British English, for those who are confused right now) and primer. They had sent it to me for testing and reviewing.
Here's what we are dealing with:
As always, the packaging is super-cute, slightly retro and just all around darling. Nobody consistently does packaging better than Benefit Cosmetics, in my opinion. Nobody.
Benefit's main claims about the POREfessional are that it's oil-free, lightweight, translucent and silky. And you know what? They deliver fully. No promise left unkept here. That is rare for any cosmetic product!
Life being life, it took me a while to get to road-testing POREfessional but now that I have, I can't believe it took me so long and I don't want to imagine my life without it. I have tested my fair share of high and low-end primers and pore-minimisers and the POREfessional is, bar none, the best one I ever had.
You get 22ml for 32€, which is definitely a high-end price but worth it in this case. I used to have Benefit's Dr. Feelgood (again, the first face primer I ever came across - Benefit really has had some pioneering stuff time and time again) and that was already fantastic, but the POREfessional does it one better.
A little goes a long way with the POREfessional and it comes in a squeeze tube, which I'm quite happy with, though I do believe it'll have to be cut open at some point to really get every last drop out of it.
It glides on without a hitch and is best done so as they recommend: concentrate on the middle of the face and smooth it out towards the edges as you work it in.
The texture is silky-smooth and while it looks flesh-coloured when you squeeze it out of the tube, it goes on translucent. It looks exactly like Too Faced's Primed & Poreless but it feels and behaves very differently. The Primed & Poreless feels heavier and oilier and takes longer to absorb and settle on your skin. I used to love the Primed & Poreless (which, to be fair, does NOT feel heavy or oily on your skin if you have nothing to compare it to) but I've definitely converted to the POREfessional and won't go back to using anything else.
What has completely stolen my heart, though, is that it makes foundation look good. On me. ON. ME. As I've said countless times on the blog, I have a love-hate relationship with foundation and I only use it as a spot-treatment and even then, only sparingly.
My main problem is that, primer or no primer, foundation has always looked patchy and noticeable on me. My skin, especially on my forehead, tends to be on the dry side and foundation usually looks terrible and mask-like if I'm not very, very careful (and even then.... phooey...).
The POREfessional does minimise pores (and mine are plenty big, so I'm a true witness here!) but what I love best about it is how much it helps with flawless foundation application. And not just that, it really does help lock a face full of makeup into place for a whole day. Don't believe me? Here's the irrefutable proof:
Top left is what it looks like straight out of the tube. About twice that amount is enough for my entire face.
The other three pictures were taken after an entire day (about 9 hours) of wearing a full face of makeup. And yes, my skin looked just the same and just as good after the initial application.
I am wearing POREfessional as a base and then a foundation on top, which I applied with a stippling brush. This is not a full-coverage foundation but even light-coverage used to look awful and patchy on me. This one is about medium. And you know what? My skin looks like skin! Shrunken pores, smooth finish and not one bit of patchiness or noticeable foundation to be found. I didn't even need a translucent HD powder on top. Yes, these pics show skin with a base and foundation and yet the skin looks like skin. Only, you know, like FANTASTIC skin. I can finally wear foundation when I need to, without having to worry!
All in all, I couldn't be happier with Benefit's POREfessional. I had no expectations, was even a bit worried I might not like it, but it has been a real game-changer for me. Like many other Benefit products before it and it's a tradition Benefit can be very proud of.
Definite must-have product. Definite.
Stay beautiful, inside and out,
Anna
Disclaimer: The product I tested was given to me by Benefit Cosmetics, free of charge and for my consideration. I don’t do paid reviews nor do I guarantee reviews. My readers can count on me always giving honest, unbiased reviews.
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