Benetint - UPDATED 1/21/10

Author's Rating:

Pros: beautiful color, last forever, no taste or texture, layerable, natural looking, sexy, waterproof

Cons: kind of expensive, can be hard to apply to cheeks without blotching or streaking

The Bottom Line: 
One of my favorite products. It's versatile, natural, and beautiful. The color should work for just about everyone.

Author's Review

I really love this product. I've never really had any problem with it. Since my discovery of Benetint, my makeup life hasn't really been the same. I'll admit, I have a bit of a soft spot for it, since it was one of my first luxury makeup products. Before I tried Benetint, I didn't really know the fabulous potential makeup had. I didn't realize something could look so good, be such a perfect color, be so convenient for me. I didn't even know lipstain existed! It's also really cool if you have a boyfriend like mine who doesn't like kissing glossy or lipsticked lips.
Yes, it is pricey: $28, but worth every penny. It comes in a fairly large bottle, 0.4oz, considering the punch it packs. The lid screws off with an attached brush similar to a nail polish bottle. It also has a really pretty rose smell, which I like.


As a Lipstain
This product works really perfectly for me as a lipstain. I looooove the color. It’s this really pretty berry/rose shade that makes your lips look just bitten. When worn alone it tends to look fairly natural. I line my lips with it, put a couple dots in the middle of each lip, and then blend while it's still wet. If you want the color to be a little darker or more dramatic, just wait for the first layer to dry (It only takes a couple of seconds) and put on another layer. Repeat until you get the color intensity you desire. Once it dries you wouldn’t even know you have anything on your lips if you didn’t look in the mirror! There’s no texture or taste to it; it just sinks in. Your lips should feel totally bare. If you only put a bit on, you’ll look more like you have naturally rosy lips, and not at all like you’re wearing any product.
I recommend putting on a bit of chapstick or lip balm once the stain dries, otherwise your lips might feel a little dry. Don’t put anything on before the stain though, or it won’t really rub in as well or last as long. Benetint works really well under any gloss or lipstick, which is why I tend to wear it just about every day. I recommend Benetint Lip Balm to go over the stain. It’s the same beautiful color, except in a plain lip balm. The two work wonderfully together.
Also, this will last a long time if you just use it on your lips. It doesn’t really take a whole lot to stain your lips and there’s quite a lot in that bottle.

As a cheekstain
I used to not like this product on my cheeks, but I’ve actually come to really like it. The trick is to apply it DIRECTLY after rubbing a dab of primer into your cheek (Use something like BE primetime or a Smashbox primer.) You want to put the stain on before the primer sinks in or dries, so I do it one cheek at a time (so: primer, stain, primer, stain.) I actually end up using quite a lot, and it takes some time to get it just right, so this isn’t an everyday kind of thing for my cheeks.  I tend to put a few lines on, rub in, and repeat until I have the color I want. Even with the primer, it can be a little hard to make it look just right, and not streaky, so be careful. Once it’s on, however, it’s a really beautiful color. It gives you that really natural, pretty, flushed look. I think it looks good on just about every skin tone. I know it works well on me whether I’ve got my winter white face or my summer brown face.

It’s an especially good product for summer because it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing any makeup. You don’t get that icky oily feeling like when it’s hot and you’re wearing too much makeup. It’s also waterproof. If you use my primer method, the color and primer will sink into your skin together and smear. If I’m not planning on swimming, I usually blend this with a little bit of light pink powder blush over the top (I use Benefit Thrrob.) Careful though! You don’t want too much. You’ve already got some blush on so you don’t want to look like an 80’s prom queen.  You shouldn’t have so much you darken or change the color of the Benetint, just enough to smooth out any problems.

Sorry I don't have an ingredient list! I bought the product a long time ago so I don't have the packaging any more, and Benefit doesn't post their ingredients online.