Review! Benefit Coralista Face Powder

Benefit has some nifty little kits, which basically are deluxe sample packs of their most popular items.  I love this type of kit, because I get just enough product to test, and if I love it I get several weeks worth of product, but if I don't love it I don't feel bad about wasting money on it.  So, I picked of a few kits, one of them is Coral my World.  Right now Sephora has them for $12.  This kit comes with 0.1oz of CORALista blush, and 0.13oz Sunbeam highlighter.

Here is the kit unboxed:

CORALista is, as the name implies, a pretty coral color with gold glitter.  You can't see the gold glitter once it it out of the pan.  I didn't see a single speck of glitter on my cheeks.  My camera washed out the color, even though I am now using a much better camera for these photos.  I'm thinking I'll end up needing a light box before this is all over...  Anyway, the blush:

It is silky and smooth.  The color is very light and natural on me.  However, I don't like powder blushes.  I feel like they sit on top of my skin and don't really blend in like a cream or gel blush does.  The first time I wore this, I ended up applying some cream blush over the top of it because I felt like it made my face look powdery.

So, why did I buy a powder blush when I don't like powder blushes?  Because I've never bothered to buy a higher-end blush before.  Seriously.  I mean, come on, why would I?  If none of the drugstore blushes ever made me even remotely happy, then why plunk down an even bigger chunk of money for something that might not work for me?  Enter the kit.  I figured I could try out two products for about what a higher-end drugstore blush would cost, and I could see if these blushes were any better. 

Ok, so I tried it the first time, didn't like it, and was feeling pretty re-affirmed in my opinion of not liking powder blushes, and feeling glad that I never bothered to spend my money on an expensive brand.  BUT, I don't like giving a review based off of one use, because opinions can easily change over time as a user adapts to the product, or some novelty wears off and the product's flaws become more noticeable.

So, in that spirit, I tried again.  I took pictures this time.

Bare Face (wow, that is one weird looking picture... oh well!):

 I did my "3-2-1" foundation to just do a quick look.  That's 3 pumps of Elizabeth Arden Skin Illuminating Complex, 2 pumps of Lancome La Base Pro primer, and 1 decent sized dollop of Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer.  To note, when I want more coverage, I substitute a dollop of regular foundation and a pea sized amount of BB cream in the place of the tinted moisturizer.
Here is what that looks like before I blend it all together:

Blend well and apply.  Yes, I put my primer on the same time I put on my foundation.  I've found that it drastically reduces the appearance of pores, and makes my foundation glide over my skin even better:

While waiting for that to set, mess around with eyebrows, highlighting, lipliner, and lastly undereye concealer:

Okey-dokey, now for the cheeks!
First, no blush:

Next, one light coat:

One more light coat:

 Blend, blend, blend:

It still looked patchy/powdery/cakey to me, although the camera didn't capture it very well:

But it looked just fine from a distance:

And I liked it better once it "melted" into the foundation and lost that powdery thing.  I also tried using it as an eyeshadow, and it looked pretty, but extremely subtle.  I'm thinking I found my true undertone color, because this stuff just about disappears on me.  Oh, and I added some mascara.:

Everything about this blush is subtle.  I thought I put a medium amount of blush on the brush, but it didn't show up very brightly.  Then again, it does seem to be the exact shade my cheeks are naturally, so it just kind of extended the pink up along my entire cheekbone.  Your results will, of course, vary.

The camera didn't capture it well, but this blush gives a very, very subtle golden sheen.  The sheen it gives is beautiful.    If only this came in a cream!!!  The effect this blush gives is so pretty, and it isn't overwhelming.  It's a perfect daytime blush color, and would be great for outdoors occasions where you want to wear some makeup, but not look like you are trying too hard.

I'll keep on using this, and I'll update this post if I find a way to wear it that makes me think powdered blushes might work for me.