Benefit Magic Ink Liquid Eyeliner | Review

Left to Right: Benefit Magic Ink | Eyeko Skinny Mini Liquid Eyeliner | Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil Eyeliner in Zero

Benefit are known for many makeup items. Their erase paste is known as a Holy Grail Concealer and both of their mascaras are also raved about. However, something which I see less talked about is their liquid eyeliner. Their Magic Ink Eyeliner is one of my favouite Benefit products and is my go to Black Liquid Eyeliner due to its true black colour and staying power.

Packaging:
This is benefit, so of course the packaging is nice. Benefit have a reputation for having nice packaging, with their bright colours and cute images. The eyeliner packaging is not bright or cute, but that wouldn't reflect the type of product it is. It is a black liquid eyeliner and that needs to be reflected in the packaging, considering most liquid eyeliner packaging is all black with a brand name, benefit stands out.

Applicator:
The Magic Ink applicator is a wand rather than a felt tip eyeliner. For some people, this is a negative as these types of applicators are known as being much harder to use. I don't find the Benefit applicator to be hard to use at all, and I'm not the best at applying liquid eyeliner. It can be a bit harder to get a really fine line with the brush though, but practicing with the brush makes it easier.

Colour:
To me, this is where the Benefit Magic Ink eyeliner really sets it self apart from all other liquid eyeliners out there. Benefit claim it is a  jet-black eyeliner, and it really is. As you can tell from the swatch, it really is a true black eyeliner, rather than a dark grey or 'light' black as some brands are. This is probably the blackest liquid eyeliner I've used and is why I love this eyeliner. I hate nothing more than a dark grey eyeliner disguised as a black eyeliner. If I want a black eyeliner for my upper lashes, I want it jet black. And Magic Ink delivers on this.

I've tried to swatch it next to two of my other eyeliners (1 liquid, 1 pencil) to show you how much of a true black this eyeliner is.

Lasting Power:
This eyeliner lasts well on my upper lash line. The intense black colour does slowly start to fade a bit after 6+ hours but it still remains on the upper lash line. It also doesn't smudge or flake off which is always a plus.

Availability and Pricing:
The Benefit Magic Ink Eyeliner is available for £15.50 from Benefit Cosmetics.

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Top 3 | Highlighters Feat. Benefit, MAC & Sleek

1. Benefit Watt's Up! - £24.50

2. MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Lightscapade - £22

3. 3. Sleek Face Contouring Kit in 'Light' - £6.49

I love highlighters. I love how they can make you look like you just have that 'inner glow' and how they make you look fresh and radiant. I have three favourite highlighters each best for different purposes. I thought I'd share them with you to see if you can discover some new favourites. It was incredibly hard to swatch these, especially the MAC one as it's quite similar to my skintone. Hopefully you can see them well enough.

1. Benefit Watt's Up! - £24.50
I have already got a more in depth review of this here. I love this highlighter, especially in the summer. The champagne colour helps add a golden glow to the cheeks and looks great paired with bronzer. It has the best colour pay off of any highlighter I've used and the shimmer is gorgeous. It is more noticeable on the skin than some highlighters, but that's why I like it so much. It's a cream to powder formula, so easy to blend into the skin for a flawless application.

2. MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in 'Lightscapade' -£22
I don't think there's much that needs to be said about this one. Mac's Mineralise Skinfinishes are very well known. I only own one of them, in Lightscapade, which is described as a 'soft candelight beige'. On me it's quite similar to my skin colour so really blends into my skin and makes the highlight look more natural. You can use as little or as much as you want in order to get the look you want. It's a powder highlighter and easy to apply to the face with a powder brush. The powder is finely milled so won't make your face look cakey and won't highlight pores. The MSFs are available in a range of shades, with new limited editions ones constantly being released.

3. Sleek Face Contour Kit in 'Light' - £6.49
This is my most recent addition and is definitely the cheapest product shown here. It only costs £6.49 but you also get a good contour shade with that. I really like this higlighter. In the swatch you can see it's similar to the MAC higlighter, but a bit more yellow toned and the shimmer particles are much more noticeable. This is a great highlighter when I want a bit more of an obvious higlighter (it's never over the top though).

Those are my top 3 highlighters at the moment, but I'd like to try more. If you have any recommendations, let me know!

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Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter | Review and Swatch

Benefit Watt's Up! is one of my favourite Benefit products. It's still a recent addition to their cosmetics line and is noticeably different to the other highlighters they produce (Such as High Beam and Moon Beam). This is one of the most beautiful highlighters I have ever used, it leaves a very natural sheen to your skin without leaving you looking like a disco ball.

The Claim:

'This cream-to-powder highlighter turns up the wattage with a delicate, gorgeous champagne glow. Its smooth application and luminous sheen switches on the "wow" factor for any complexion. Apply it to cheeks and browbones, then sculpt with the soft-glow blender for your perfect gleam.'

Packaging:
As always, Benefit is top-dog when it comes to makeup packaging. Their fun and quirky packaging is eye drawing, and their cute names make a product memorable. I love the packaging of this and was drawn to it initially because of it. I also like the name 'Watt's Up' which is a play on words, and the bottle then looks a bit like a lightbulb.

The product has two sides. The first side is a sponge applicator to blend the product into your face. I actually like the applicator, which is a surprise as I tend to hate the applicators that come with products. The only worry I would have is that the sponge could possible attract bacteria as it would be difficult to clean.

The second side of the product is the highlighter itself,  it work by twisting it up and then either applying it straight to the cheeks or using a brush. I tend to mix between methods depending on if I'm traveling or not. I find it easiest to apply straight from the applicator, but more precise to use a brush.

Application:
I've already briefly touched on this, but application is really easy. It is also a very creamy formula so it is incredible easy to blend. I don't usually wear cream highlighters but I've found that they are much easier to blend than both liquid and powder highlighters, which can sometimes be a bit more difficult to blend into your foundation.

Pigmentation:
As you can see in the swatch it is a very pigmented product and a little goes a long way. It does look dark on my fair skin but it is easy to blend in (I could have blended the swatch in more but it would have been hard to photograph the effect). I like to wear this just above my bronzer to add a sheen to it. I still use this in the winter though when I use less bronzer, it adds a very natural 'lit from within' glow to my face.

Lasting Power:
The lasting power of this is good too. I've gotten 8+ hours of wear out of this. It's also incredibly easy to touch up due to the creamy texture. So even though a powder formula may last a bit longer, it's a lot easier to touch it up than it would be to touch up a powder highlighter.

Availability and Price:
The Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter is available for £24.50 from Benefit Cosmetics.

I highly recommend this highlighter, it's one of my favourites in my makeup bag. It has such a gorgeous sheen to it and highlights the skin beautifully. It is on the pricier side but you get a lot of product and it lasts ages.

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