A Hoola Lotta Bronze With Benefit

A new launch from Benefit = enough to put a spring in your step and a glide in your stride! It's always an exciting time when their latest products come out, and this time they've expanded on the success of their bestselling and award-winning Hoola Bronzing Powder. It might shock you to hear this, but I'd never actually tried any of their famous boxed blushes/bronzers before and this was my first, back in April 2016 would you believe - so it was a real treat to get my glow on with the original Hoola as well as the new additions.

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder £23.50
As I mentioned I've never tried this product before but I've certainly heard a ton about it. It's as much of a 'blogger favourite' as it is an 'everyone favourite' it seems, and after giving it a whirl myself I can definitely see why it has a cult beauty product status and it's definitely a classic in my makeup bag already. The formulation is silky smooth and the shade is the perfect bronze, adding an incredible warmth to the skin and blending seamlessly over bare skin or liquid/powder foundation. It's one of those shades that seems to magically work well on so many different people, and as someone with fair skin I can definitely vouch for it being an incredibly natural colour that I can even use as a contour without it looking overly obvious. A new firm favourite!

Benefit Hoola Bronzing & Contouring Brush £17.50
This paired with the previous item are an absolute match made in bronzing heaven, let me tell you. At first I thought the size of the brush would be too big to add shape and guessed that it'd be better for all-over bronzing, but the bristles have been beautifully tapered to fit the contours of your face and it's a dream for blending Hoola into your cheekbones, temples and jawline. Although the blue is cute I can't help but wish that the tips of the bristles were white as it'd look so much better in flatlays, but hey - that's a very minor thing! What I love most about this is how quick and foolproof it is and it's my go-to brush for bronzer these days, which is saying something as I'm a Real Techniques girl usually! All it takes is a swirl in the pan and a sweep across my face and I know that everything will be blended and looking seamless, which is perfect for everyday fuss-free makeup.

Benefit Dew The Hoola Bronzer £22.50
Okay, now this is exciting - a liquid matte bronzer? That's definitely not something I've tried before so I was eager to test it out and see how it fared against the powder bronzers that I'm used to. Although I've found that you have to be careful around your hairline and make sure that you blend, blend, blend - I do really like it and think it's gorgeous for giving you that effortless, beachy glow that we all crave as the weather starts heating up. The tone is very similar to the original Hoola, albeit a little warmer on me personally, and seems to melt into skin which gives a lovely natural finish. As it takes slightly longer to apply it's not something I reach for on a daily basis, but I'll definitely be taking this on holiday with me as it never goes patchy in the heat and it's perfect for mixing into lighter foundations to deepen the shade. And can we acknowledge the cute gold bamboo packaging!

Benefit Hoola Zero Tanlines All-Over Body Bronzer £19.50
Another newbie that I couldn't wait to try, my immediate thoughts about this were "I hope it's like a posher version of the Rimmel wash-off tan!" and after trialling, it kinda is. It has way more of a gel consistency and I have to sing its praises on how easy it is to apply. I think I've already used the word 'foolproof' in this post but I'm going to have to use it again - it's foolproof in the sense that even someone with as pasty limbs and who's as cack-handed when it comes to applying tan as me can get it right without a streak in sight. It does come with a little applicator in the lid which is a nice touch (Benefit are great at the little details) and means you get everything in one purchase, but I found it too small and fiddly - it's usually my legs that I want to tan and it's so much easier to use a tanning mitt instead. I've been going for two layers and can confirm that the colour is nice and buildable, although if you've got darker skin you might find that it's too light to really make a difference. For me this is one of those 'going out for dinner and I've decided to wear a dress at the last minute and I haven't fake tanned so let me slap a bit of this on'-type products, if you know what I mean! I'd recommend waiting a couple of minutes before getting dressed after using this as I did get some transfer onto a white top of mine, but I was applying the product to my chest whilst I was wearing the top so basically, that's my fault not Benefit's. 

The new Hoola range by Benefit gets a definite yes from me, as I don't think there's a dud product in the bunch and I'm really happy to say that I've found a couple of products that'll stay in my makeup bag (and on my face, consequently) for a very long time to come.