Benefit Ultra Plush Makes Your Lips Ultra Lush...ious

Benefit has just released the most amazing line of gorgeous glosses based on their gorgeous blushes. Great idea, right? I love the idea of the matching shades, especially if you have a Benefit Blush you adore (ahem, Dandelion, anyone?). And the Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Glosses do just that! I got Bella Bamba, Coralista, Sugarbomb (MY FAVE) and Dandelion. They are quite sheer and moisturizing, which makes them easy to use and rather addictive. These are the least sticky glosses I have ever used which is a relief, as having my hair stick to my lips is not a good look for me. They have a subtle mango- fruity taste/scent that is reminiscent of a lip gloss from my youth. If you try them & recognize the scent, let me know!

Swatches in same ascending order as gloss tubes above... in daylight.

If you are looking for huge colour pay off, then you may be frustrated with these. However, if you are looking for a nice soft lip gloss to match your cheeks, then you will love them! I love the idea of matchy matchy gloss and blush, it just makes for a polished and elegant look. And with the softness of the Benefit blushes, these lip glosses make for the perfect combination! My daughter loves Coralista for the coral orange tone, which is so very hot right now, very Pantone Tangerine Tango, if you will. I adore Dandelion, which is as soft and gentle as the Dandelion blush which I adore and reviewed here. But for some reason, Sugarbomb made me really fall in love. It has that sort of purple-taupe look I am loving these days, and even though it shows as super frosty in the swatch, that does not translate to the lips. Just shine. For the record, Bella Bamba and Coralista are sheer and jelly like with no shimmer, and Dandelion and Sugarbomb have a wee bit of frost. Verdict? Love.

Available wherever Benefit is sold, & on counters in May for $18

InStyle Magazine or Daly Beauty. We've Got The Scoop

Oh my gosh Daly Beauty told me I needed it!

Funny....I was leafing through the March 2012 edition (the one with the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston on the cover) of my Beauty Bible, aka In Style magazine, the other day and noticed something. Several of their beauty tips were things I had written about on Daly Beauty over the past few months. So, either In Style is looking to Daly Beauty for beauty tips (wishful thinking) or great minds think alike. Here are some of the fun scoops that my readers got here first:

Candy Pink Nails: InStyle says on page 357 that bright fuchsia nails are the best antidote to the winter blues. Really? So did Daly Beauty in July of 2011 when I showed you how gorgeous Deborah Lippmann Between The Sheets is...

Eyebrow Wows: InStyle has a 4 page editorial on how thick healthy eyebrows are in & thin & bleached out brows are weird. Hm. I believe I scooped this in December of 2011 when I told you that you would thank me for these brow tips...

Big Wavy Hair: On page 380 InStyle tells you how to bust out the big hair and get lovely bouncy waves. I knew this was the hair-DO for me before Christmas & posted my bouncin' & behavin' waves on Instagram here & in February I told you my styling secret to soft touchable wavy hair...

Sweet Kissable Hot Pink Lips: Well this is almost embarrassing! On page 384 in InStyle's Beauty Editor's Picks, their senior beauty editor Angelique Serrano suggests the best sheer pink lip for the colour shy....really Angelique! Clearly great beauty minds think alike, as I suggested the exact same Clinique one...last month.

Rosy Pink Cheeks: Oh gosh...on page 394 InStyle suggests a gentle pink rosy blush for sweet pinched cheeks that don't look clownish. I must say I wholeheartedly agree, as in January I shared my most beloved soft rose blush by Benefit...

So there you have it. If you are like me, you look forward every month to diving into the delicious beauty & fashion-o-rama of InStyle magazine. And now you know, you can tune into Daly Beauty for a preview of the fabulous trends that are coming....

Am I Blushing Or Is It Benefit Dandelion?

Continuing my love of all things Benefit, I wanted to share my soft gentle "am I blushing or am I wearing blush" fave, Benefit Dandelion. This is a no-fail super soft and sheer pink powder blush that is basically your cheek colour at 14 years old in a box. When I first got it home I thought it was too soft, too pink and not me. It was relegated to the back of the drawer for a while. I had seen an editorial featuring models with the softest of pink cheeks and thought I could recreate the look with Dandelion- and I was right. It is a soft finely milled powder compact in the now-iconic Benefit box. I love the box as it makes organizing a make up drawer much easier than round compacts that roll and slide all over the place.

heavily swatched as it was hard to photograph the tone...

About the the colour. This blush works best either right on the apples of your cheeks (smile to find those) or on top of your cheek bones- you know, where you would naturally blush. I can't say enough about the Perfect Shade of Pink in Dandelion. Benefit's website says there is shimmer in this- it has never shown up on my skin and I just can't see it. But perhaps that is what it gives it that pretty lit from within feel. Not sure how well this would work on darker complexions. I am fair- medium and get darker with a tan and it still shows up on me- just imparts a healthy blushing glow. Keeping in mind I like my make up natural and soft. If I really want a more dramatic blush shade I dot on and blend a few drops of Benetint first.

As with many powder blushes I find a primer underneath helps extend the life of this one, but it is an ethereal colour so don't expect 8 hours. As it is a powder and I also use my MAC Blot or Studio Fix I use a spritz of rosewater after applying my make up to avoid a grandmotherly powdered look. Dandelion is simply too pretty and I find the prettiest softest make up can tend to be fleeting. The same goes for pretty and ethereal perfumes but that is another post....

Sweet Pastel Candy Campaign, Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2012

So this Spring is all about pastels and soft soft soft powder puff candy colours and Benefit Dandelion is just the perfect soft fluffy cotton candy pink. If you don't have Dandelion, get thee to the Benefit counter, stat!



Cotton Candy Photo credit: Death By Cotton Candy, 2006, Daniela Edburg