Benefit Benetint Pocket Pal

The other week when I was looking at the new Benefit set that has come out for the release of Snow White and Huntsman, I realized that I have a tube of the Benetint Pocket Pal that I have never reviewed even though I have used it on and off for a few years now.  I remember buying my first jar of Benetint when I was a senior in college and I went through it very quickly during the fall semester, I was wearing a subtle red lip almost everyday with a clear gloss on top of it.  When I went to repurchase the product, I was creating a sheer red lip less than I was before and I would go through the product much slower than I was before so I decided to purchase a smaller size than I traditionally would.

That day at Sephora, I decided to purchase the Benetint Pocket Pal instead of the full-sized bottle, the original product is made to be used on both lips and cheeks but this product's packaging seems to be geared more for use only on lips.  I only ever used it on my cheeks once or twice so this new packaging style doesn't bother me at all.  "This glossy color wand is your best beauty pal.  A mini Benetint - the original and still the best rosy lip and cheek stain is paired with a clear shiny gloss on the other end.  Carry it in the handy pocket protector and you'll have kiss-proof, smudge-proof with you wherever you go."  The stain part of this product is applied with a small brush, it is best to use it to dot the product on and then quickly (and I do mean quickly!) apply and smudge the product to your desired shade.  The clear gloss comes packaged with the traditional sponge foot applicator that we see in many lip glosses on the market.

For those of you that don't have a background with this product, I will provide a few quick details on the Benetint stain itself.  "The original - and still the best - rose-tinted cheek and lip stain.  Benefit Benetint is a kiss-proof and waterproof, indelibly sheer tint.  It gives an innocent yet provocative glow to keep everyone guessing, "What has she been up to?"  It's the sexiest flush you can get from a bottle."  The texture is a thin, watery liquid that absorbs quickly into the skin and needs to be blended in right after application.  It creates a bright red flush on the cheeks and a sheer red tint on the lips.  I find the product to be more flattering when used as a lip product, I dislike the bright red blush look on my cheeks.  I feel that when used on the cheeks, it makes my ruddiness look much worse than it normally does, this is one of the few cheek shades that I cann't wear at all. 

As a lip product, it produces a sheer cherry red flush on the lip.  My favorite aspect of using this stain is that it sets quickly and then will stay on all day long, this product doesn't budge until I wash it off at night.  A clear or shimmery gloss is needed for use with this stain as it doesn't hydrate at all and my lips still get dry throughout the day.  That was my main complaint with the product ever since I had been using it and I was very excited to see that Benefit addressed this and created a product to correct the issue.  One of the best uses of this product is apply it before using red lipstick and as the lipstick wears off, the hue remains and looks more even than when the lipstick just wears off.

Stain products can be a bit harder to apply the first few times that you use them, they set quickly and then stay that way until removal.  I have had it look uneven and unblended before and I have found that this issue is usually worse when it is used on the cheeks.  The product is much easier and more flattering to use on the lips and among my friends that use the product, more use it exclusively on the lips.  I know very few people who use it on the cheeks. 

Benetint has been best-selling product for many years now, it is now considered a cult product and often wins all types of beauty awards.  This is the first product of its kind and so many companies have tried to imitate it.  Benetint remains the best-selling of all the products and is still the top rated stain on the beauty market.  I do wonder if there is anyone in the country who hasn't tried this stain yet...

photo courtesy of Sephora