Review: Benefit Perk Up and Away Set (Dandelion, Watt's Up, Posie Tint & Porefessional)

Benefit Cosmetics is increasingly becoming one of my favourite cosmetic brands - not only is their packaging insanely adorable but their products are intricate and actually quite effective. One of my favourite attributes about Benefit is that they attempt to reinvent products to make them more functional for their users. Thus, seeing as I'm a big fan of Benefit's work I was ecstatic to receive their Perk Up And Away set for my birthday! This beautifully designed set includes 3 full size items - Dandelion, Watt's Up and Posie Tint - as well as samples sizes of Porefessional and Laugh With Me Lee-Lee (I think in the US they have They're Real mascara instead of the fragrance?). 

Okay seriously isn't this one of the most adorably designed gift sets?! It almost makes you want to buy the set just for the packaging alone! Crafted to look like a suitcase, the box also has a clasp to keep it shut. Oh and the sticker on the front peels away to reveal just the plain Perk Up And Away logo which makes the box a little more appropriate for decorative purposes after you've taken the products out. I'm definitely going to be using this for storage purposes and displaying it on my 'make-up station' after I sort out my (cluttered) desk. 

Benefit states that this incredible set contains some of their best (and most popular) products - and I definitely argree when it comes to the POREfessional. Now I will admit I haven't tried a wide range of primers before (probably about 4-5) but I feel as though i don't need to experiment with any more as I've found my (yes, this is the first time I'm ever proclaiming this) holygrail primer! Using the tiniest amount, Benefit's POREfessional smooths out my pores, making my skin feel and look like a blank canvas, and makes my foundation last longer throughout the day and keeps the oiliness at bay. I cannot say enough good things about this - if you haven't given this a try already I really recommend you do! It has been flying off the shelves ever since it's release and I can definitely see why. 

Laugh With Me Lee-Lee is a lovely woody floral scent. If you want to know more about my thoughts on Benefit's fragrances head over to this post where I talk about their Cresent Row Fragrance gift set! The only downside about this little sample is that I feel as though there isn't to really test out the product! There's supposed to be 1.5mL in the tiny vile but I feel as though i may have gotten a little less! Luckily for me I have a bigger bottle available to use. 

Onto our first full size product - Watt's Up! This was the most exciting product for me in the set as I've  heard many good things about this champagne coloured highlighter in the last year or so. 

As you can see from the picture above it's really simple, quick and easy to use. Although it looked quite overpowering in the tube, I found that it blended perfectly into the skin to give your cheeks the perfected highlighted effect. It did fade a little on me throughout the day but that's because this has a creme like texture and I have an oily skintone, thus causing staying power to be catastrophic. I would say this highlighted lasted about 4 hours on me before it started to fade. Watt's Up! also includes a plus sponge applicator on the bottom end to help blend out the product once applied, but I rather use my fingertips. I find that the sponge blender tends to wipe away foundation/powder when attempting to blend out the highlighter.

Posie Tint, Posie Tint, Posie - oh how I love you. This beautiful bright pink lip and cheek stain is perfect to wear when you know you're going to be running around all day. The lasting power of this is unbelievable - it seriously does not budge (well on the cheeks anyways)! Although the bottle looks pretty small, it really packs a punch. I only have to use the slightest amount (probably a dot on each cheek) to achieve colour payoff. 

This stain is definitely buildable if you want your cheeks or lips to stand out more, just keep applying and blending. On an important note - its better to apply one cheek at a time as it does dry quite quickly! You don't want a random pink dot on your cheek! As stated in the photo above, I use my fingertips to blend this out. Even though this is a lip and cheek stain, I like to use Posie Tint more for my cheeks than lips. Although it does give my lips a slightly more pink and fresh lip colour, it kind of tingles my lips and tastes a bit funky. But hey, you might like to have tingly lips!

And lastly - Dandelion, this is the perfect everyday blush. Dandelion is a soft peachy pink shade with the slightest shimmers in it. Dandelion is on the sheer side which is why it's great for everyday wear as it gives the cheeks a natural looking flush and glow. You can try and build up the colour if you want something more pigmented, but honestly if you want a more noticeable blush you should just use another blusher instead. Because of the shimmery sheen in Dandelion I think it could be used as a highlighter. 

The brush that comes with all Benefit box powders is actually surprisingly quite good. Which is perfect for travelling as you don't need to carry an extra blusher brush with you! Oh and the blush smells quite lovely - which is a thumbs up for me!

Dandelion, Posie Tint & Watt's up!

(flash)

Dandelion, Posie Tint & Watt's up!
(natural lighting)

Overall I think this is a great value for money set. With 3 full size products and two samples I'm not complaining at all. This bad boy gift set retails for $99 (I think, I can't find it on the Myer website!), which is pretty decent considering if you add up the price of the three full size items it will be (Dandelion $59, Posie Tint $55 and Watt's Up $53) a whooping $169! So for $70 less you get all free products PLUS the two sample products and don't forget about the cute case! 

Have you tried any of these Benefit products? 

xo