Product Review- Benefit High Beam

Benefit High Beam Review

From the Brand:
Our satiny pink liquid highlighter accents cheek and brow bones for a dewy, radiant glow. Use as a spot highlighter over makeup or wear under complexion products for subtle luminescence. It's the "supermodel in a bottle!"

Retails for:  $26.00


Where to Buy:  Sephora and Sephora.com, Ulta stores and Ulta.com, Benefitcosmetics.com


My Thoughts:  There are several different shades of the Benefit luminizing liquids, but the most common one I see people using is the Benefit High Beam.  I got this little bottle in a set from Benefit earlier this fall, The Pretty Committee, although you can find this included in a ton of their sets since it's such a popular product.  This particular shade is a light pink glow that looks really pretty on almost all skin tones.  For darker tones, I'd recommend using the Sun Beam, a soft golden glow instead.

Personally, I'm not much of a fan of using liquid highlighters.  I love to set my foundation with a powder, and I find that a liquid highlighter over the top of a powder can make the powder cake up around the edges of the highlighter and mess up the overall look of my makeup.  Some formulas can also breakdown the foundation that I'm wearing instead of sitting on top, again messing up the look of my makeup and calling attention to the area in a negative way.

This isn't the case with the Benefit High Beam.  It does illuminate without messing up the liquid foundation underneath.  I'd still definitely avoid it on top of a powder, but it works amazing worked into the skin prior to a powder foundation to give a "glowing from within" type of effect.

My favorite way to wear this is on my cupid's bow, that little dip over my top lip, to call attention to my lips and make them look fuller.  It's an instant pout pucker upper.  It also goes well under my eyes to brighten them up in photos, since the slight shimmery glow from it reflects light.  Just be sure to go easy on it or else you'll look super weird in person.

The formula is very thin with a natural level of light reflection.  It's not a thick shimmery product by any means, which means that it's always going to look believable and understated rather than over done.  And a little goes a long way, so even a small bottle like this will last you for a long time!

Final Verdict:  Overall, a fabulous liquid highlighting product that gives a natural looking glow to the skin and has a lot of versatility.

Have you used this product before?  Share your thoughts and your way of incorporating it into your makeup look for other readers to enjoy!

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own. These items were purchased with my own money. For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

Makeup Tutorial- Jessica Alba Kid's Choice Awards Look

Before I moved I filmed about 10 videos I'd planned on uploading once a week or so while we waited for the new house to be finished being built. (Seems like my whole life is revolving around this house right now!  I can't wait for it to be finished so I can get my studio all set back up again finally.  I feel like my life is incredibly boring without meeting with clients every day lately.)  But then we moved, and I couldn't find the cords for my computer.  All the videos were on the hard drive, and now that I've finally gotten it all back together I can pull those files off an upload them!  Yay!

Here is the first of my celebrity tutorials- Jessica Alba from the Kid's Choice Awards.  It's a gorgeous glowing look (I mean seriously, is she ever not glowing and gorgeous?) with soft rosy cheeks and beautiful deep teal eyeliner.  I added a bit of sparkle with a line of glitter eyeliner over the top, just for a pop of fun.  I really hope you enjoy it!  Teal liner is really really in for summer, and although this is a bit more on the emerald end, you can definitely switch it up with a more blue shade.

What trend will YOU be rocking this summer for a hot date?

Products Used or Shown:

Elf Blushed and Bronzed

Clinique Blush in New Clover

Stila Waterproof Liners in Peacock and Starfish

Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer

NYX Glitter Liner in  #110 Crystal Jade

MAC Eyeshadows in Orb, Gesso, and Kid

Bite Beauty Lipstick in Musk

Victoria Secret Lipgloss in Mocktail Hour

L’Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation in W 1-2

You can view my other videos here:

HOW TO APPLY FOUNDATION WITH A BEAUTY BLENDER STYLE SPONGE- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOS4HMvHzWI

HOW TO POWDER UNDER YOUR EYES- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXUVN7duRbo

HOW TO APPLY POWDER TO SET YOUR FOUNDATION- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDatlnwGArs

HOW TO CONTOUR AND HIGHLIGHT YOUR FACE- http://youtu.be/6syRC94ex7I

HOW I FILL IN MY EYEBROWS- http://youtu.be/M7TENQirOLI

How To Contour And Highlight Your Face

For this tutorial, I used powder products to contour (add shadows) and highlight (bring forward) my face.  I like using powder products, because I prefer to set my foundation after applying with a loose hydrating powder.  My favorite is Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder.  You could use a cream or liquid product to add your contour and highlight prior to your foundation for a more natural look or after the foundation for a stronger look and then add your powder over the top.

Products Needed:

*Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer- a matte dark bronzer with a delicious chocolate smell!
*Stila Eye Shadow in Kitten- careful this color is very very shimmery so use sparingly!
*Real Techniques Contour Brush
*Real Techniques Setting Brush
*Crown Brush IB106 Angle Blush Brush- from their Italian Badger line

Step 1:

* After you apply your foundation (watch how I apply it with a Beauty Blender™ style sponge here!), concealer, and powder, dip your angled blush brush into the bronzer and apply it under the cheekbone from the back of your cheek forward. Stop it just below the apples of your cheeks.  Repeat on the other side.  (Check out the video to see how I hold the brush and how to find where the perfect placement for your contour shade.)

Step 2:

* Using your angled blush brush, apply the bronzer at the temples and along your hairline to give some dimension to your forehead.  This will make the center of your forehead look brighter without having to apply a shimmery highlight in your t-zone, which could make you look oily or shiney in photos.

Copyright Too Faced Cosmetics. Image from the Sephora website.

Step 3:

* (Optional) Using the setting brush, apply bronzer in a narrow line down the sides of the nose to make it appear thinner.  Be sure not to take it all the way to the tip of your nose, or it could look dirty.  Blend it out very well so it's just the hint of a shadow and not a dark obvious line.

Step 4:

* Swipe the contour brush over Kitten and tap the excess.  Apply the highlight over the top of your cheekbones from just before the temples to just over the center of the apples of your cheeks.  Do this for both of your cheekbones to highlight.

Step 5:

* Without adding any more product to the brush, swipe the brush in a "C" shape over the outer edge of your eyes to bring a touch of radiance to your eyes and really bring out this area of your face.

Step 6: 

* Use your setting brush to get a very tiny bit of Kitten on the tip of the brush and swipe it down the center of your nose and over the bow of your lip.  Make sure to blend away any edges with your fingertip so there is no obvious makeup here.  You just want it to catch the light a bit and add a glow, not a frosted stripe.

Step 7:

*  If you need to tone down any of your contouring or hightlighting, use your buffing brush to soften the edge with a bit of your face powder.

Step 8:

* Don't forget to add some color to your cheeks!  Even if you don't want a real "pink" or "peach" color to your face, you should use a blush to blend the area between the highlight and the cheekbone together.  You can always try a very nude color with a hint of brown to it for a very "no makeup" look, but honestly I prefer something with a touch of pink.  Nobody's face is completely devoid of natural flush, so eliminating it has the tendency to make it look very unnatural.