Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows

Thanks to Dee's recent post on her collection of Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows, I'd been keeping an eye on Strawberry.net to see if any appeared on special. And the patience paid off, as days after Xmas, they had a selection of them reduced to $9.50 each .... considering they're $34 RRP in Australia - it was pretty much the flashing green light I needed to BUY BUY BUY! So I did :)

I liked the prospect of potentially being lazy on work days and just wearing one of these instead of primer + eyeshadow on top. I did have reservations however, as I do have oily eye lids :(

I've been wearing them for the past 2 weeks daily, and I'm feeling a bit meh about them to be honest. I'm unsure if I've received really old stock, hence why I'm not loving them thus far.

Notice how these three in particular have dried out / come away from the glass jar. And the Carte Blanche colour in particular arrived looking dark all around the edges - suspiciously like it had begun drying out from the outer edges. I promptly tested them all, and they still seem creamy enough, but perhaps not the freshest quality they should or would be had I paid full price for them.Guess that's the chance you take with strawberry.net on reduced items!

Carte Blanche on it's own looks ok when applied sheer with a light touch, but otherwise is too dark for my deep set eyes. It also creases on my eyelids. Have yet to try it as a primer with eyeshadow on top. It's meant to sort of transform shadows - make them 'pop' more when applied on top. I chose to try the lighter colours which are more neutral for an office setting & suit me better as I'm a paley! I like 'My Dates My Brother' the best so far. With a light touch it's a sheer pink, but with a double application it ends up looking a bit more of a light mauve.
It's also the best for staying power - it creases the least on me. 

Flatter Me looks a bit meh and again does crease on my eyelids. I'll apply it sheerly next time & then add eyeshadow on top. Strut is a lovely steel grey, but have only tried it as a liner so far...went on a bit thick for my liking & I had visions of it running my mid-day, but surprisingly it lasted all day & through a gym session, so bonus points for that!

It's unlikely I'll be buying anymore. The ones I have I'll use on those days where I really don't have time for proper eye makeup application, and I'll still experiment around with them, but I've gotta say, I was a bit disappointed with the results so far. Maybe my expectations were just too high for them to live up to?

Anyone else finding them to be a hit or miss?

Freebie Alert!

Hi Beauties!

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine flew by – it’s amazing what a difference nice weather makes. Felt far more active than previous months, am sooo looking forward to the Summertime hitting Melbourne finally!

Thought I’d mention that I spotted a freebie about to hit selected Myer stores as of this Wednesday 10^th November 2010.

If you visit a Myer Benefit counter & mention the magazine Grazia, you’ll receive a deluxe sample of Benefit’s High Beam, which is a highlighter & illuminizing liquid to give a dewy glow. Perfect for the summer time about to hit down under!

Check out the cover of Grazia’s latest magazine in stores for further details. States stocks are limited, so get in quick if you’d like to try this cult product out J