Benefit Cheeky Party Blushing Beauty Kit

When I spotted the Benefit Christmas make up kits, I was instantly intrigued. I knew they did one for cheeks last year but I didn’t see it around anywhere in Holland. But since this year, Benefit is now being sold in my home town, which makes the brand a lot more accessible. I had a bit of a browse and decided to take home this year’s Cheeky Party Blushing Beauty Kit.

Benefit Cheeky Party Blushing Beauty Kit

The Cheeky Party kit is a pretty all round beauty palette I find. That is what intrigued me most about it, plus it features 5 Benefit products that were on my to try list, two of my holy grail blush colors and one blush I had been eyeing up to buy ever since it was released. To say this kit was made for me, would be an understatement. It retails for €45 from Douglas.

The box is a bright green and very loud which isn’t necessarily my cup of tea. However, the bright colors make this stand out in your stash for sure, so you will not soon forget about owning this. There is some information on the back of the palette on the different products this palette contains and there is also some information on the amount of product you’re getting. I compared the blushes to the full size in store and I found that in this palette you get at least half if not more of a full size. Seeing that a full size Benefit blush retails for €33, I think you’re getting a pretty good deal.

The palette itself is packaged in a metal box, which comes with an insert that gives each product its space. There is a layover on the blushes that tells you the name of each product, but the name is also embossed into the product itself. The Watts Up highlight comes in a flimsy plastic case which is not my favorite, but other than that, the packaging of this is sturdy, easy to take on the go (but once the eyeliner and mascara run out no longer very handy). The only impractical aspect of this packaging is the fact that there is no mirror.

Right! On to the products. I will first review the eye products for you, followed by the cheek products going from highlighter to a full face make up look.

The mascara and eyeliner both come in a mini format. I believe you can also purchase these now, which I find a great idea, because it means you can try these product without committing to a full sized product. And Benefit does not come cheap, so this try before you buy system they have come up with is one I find a good marketing trick. I had never tried both of these products before, but I did try a Maybelline equivalent of the Push Up eyeliner, which I did not like all that much.

Benefit They’re Real mascara

Before – after

Before – after

The They’re Real mascara did not WOW me. I feel this mostly lengthens my lashes, rather than give them volume and I find that volumizing mascaras work better on my lashes than lengthening ones. I found the brush a little too big for me and the longer spikes at the tip nearly caused me to poke myself in the eye. I really wanted to like this after application, but by the end of the day this mascara became lumpy and those lumps were scattered all over my cheeks as it simply flaked off. Nope, this mascara will not likely become my favorite, but it never hurts to have a mini on hand.

Benefit They’re Real Push Up liner

The eyeliner did a lot more for me than the mascara did. I am a noob when it comes to eyeliner and have the hardest time creating neat lines. This worked well, it was super duper jet black, glided on perfectly and what I like most about it is that is 100% matte black. The only downside this really has is that you need to push the gel product through the nib first, then you have to wipe off the excess on your hand or a tissues, and that is just such a waste of product. But yes, I really liked this and the fact that it stayed on all day and I needed waterproof make up remover to get this off make this one of my new favorite eyeliners.

Completed make up look

Benefit cream highlight in Watt’s Up!

On to the cheek products. Watt’s Up is a great champagne cream highlight. This is the first cream highlight I have ever tried and I am definitely not disappointed. In the pan and in the swatch this looks quite tame, but it’s when applied on the cheeks that this product truly comes to life. The packaging of this mini compact is horrendous though. It is supposed to click shut, which it won’t do properly, meaning that if you leave this in your stash it will simply pop open on its own accord. I am keeping it upside down right now to prevent that from happening.

Benefit blush in Dandelion

Benefit blush in Rockateur

Benefit blush in Sugarbomb

Benefit bronzer in Hoola

Benefit blush in Coralista

On to the blushes and bronzer in this palette. I already owned Coralista, but seeing that is one of my favorite blushes of all time, I don’t mind having a back up. The other four products I really wanted to try. Dandelion I used to own, but it was a fake from Ebay, so I tossed it a while ago. It has now been discontinued in the full size, which created a lot more incentive for buying this kit. Rockateur, Sugarbomb and Hoola were all on my to try list, so it is great that they are here all together.

If I had to describe these colors I would say Dandelion is a matte soft dusty pink, Rockateur a satin bronzed pinky coral, Sugarbomb a shiny peachy pink, Hoola a matte light bronze, and Coralista is a shimmery coral. Looking at them swatched all together I can see why they are in this kit together as they all seem to go very well together. Of course you could coordinate different products, but for the purpose of this blog post I decided to use all products on my cheeks. I started by applying Watt’s Up! and built it up from there.

Bare faced
Here I just did my base and my brows

Left: with Watt’s Up! as highlight
Right: with Rockateur as a subtle bronze all over the face

Left: with Hoola as a contour
Right: with Sugarbomb on the apple of my cheeks

Left: with Coralista applied to deepen up the look
Right: with Dandelion applied to soften the highlight

Close up of the completed look

The best part about these cheek products is probably how nicely they apply. Benefit’s boxed powders are a cult classic for a reason and one of those reasons is the blendability of these products. Texture wise, they feel creamy soft and aren’t too powdery. They don’t kick up a lot of dust when you stick your brush into them and your brush never picks up too much. The pigmentation is also spot on and hard to overdo. Watt’s Up! is quite possibly one of my new favorite highlights. I have yet to try putting Mary Lou-Manizer by The Balm on top to see that effect, but I think that may be a very pretty highlight combo.

I think this kit is an absolute must have if you are looking to try several Benefit products, for not too much money. If you prefer one or two products though, you’re much better off buying the full size. However, these products are just as good as their full sized siblings, so if you are looking to get into Benefit as a brand and just want to try a few of their quintessential products, then this kit is for you.

What is your favorite Benefit blush?