Benefit – World Famous Neutrals – Sexiest Nudes Ever

I think it’s the first time I am so impressed with an eyeshadow kit, Sexiest and Nudes in the same sentence is a winning combination for me – of course providing they deliver.

Sexy ? yes. Nudes ? I agree : beautiful luminous nudes (no flat nudes here). Do they deliver ? YES.

I will add to that :

• No creasing
• No chalkiness
• Wearable for any occasion
• Suitable for all eyelids

All these qualities in a 30$ palette that will help you create 1001 tutorials…. what else ?

My only regret is the packaging, bulky and too girly but don’t be mistaken by the girly packaging, this is serious stuff.

Official Sephora description :

What it is:
An eyeshadow kit featuring the sexiest nudes ever!

What it does:
These dramatic, daring eyeshadows in award-winning creaseless creams and new longwear powder shadows make sexy totally wearable! The universally flattering shades layer beautifully—and the tips and tricks show you how to create looks for daytime and playtime.

This set contains:
– 4 x 0.04 oz longwear powder shadows in Milk It! (pearly white), Pause for Applause (soft lilac), Blingo! (brilliant silver), Raincheck? (smoky amethyst)
– 2 x 0.11 oz creaseless cream shadows in Bikini-Tini (oyster pink), Holy Smokes! (smoldering charcoal)

You get 4 powder shadows and 2 small size cream shadows, all have great pigmentation and lasting power but the most important thing for me is that they look flattering on my ageing lids. I have been wearing them for 3 days in a row and every combination was sexy and flattering. I do need to add a black eyeliner and/or a black shadow in order to get more definition on the lash line, this is a mandatory step for me whatever the look or the palette I use.

I didn’t think I would feel the need to review it so I used it before I took these pictures. After having used it for 3 days in a row, I can confirm that I will continue wearing it on daily basis, not every day but certainly very often !
If I find the cream shadows in full size, I will also get them.

The  shadows are on the cooler side, the number of tutorials you can create are so huge that you will be blown away.

I have tried a few combinations (you just need a black liquid eyeliner and a black or dark shadow to do them), so far 3 looks I can share :

• The dark cream shadow (Holy smokes) on the mobile lid (up to the crease), with Raincheck on top. Pause for applause on the browbone to blend between the darker application  and the eyebrow. On the bottom lash line, again the same dark cream shadow with the Raincheck. A speck of Blingo on the middle of the lid (eyeball).  To complete the look, a very thin black liquid eyeliner application very close to the upper lashline very very very slightly winged out. Lasted 15 hours without creasing. It did fade at the end of the day but the fading was even and I it still could look like a fresh application, just sheerer.
• The light cream shadow Bikini-tini all over the eye lid, with Raincheck on the crease, Milk it in the inner corner. Black shadow (or very dark matte purple) on the outer V.
• Milk it on the mobile lid, with Raincheck on the crease and Pause for applause between crease and eyebrow. Then liquid liner very thinly applied on the upper lash line winged out with a black eyeshadow on the outer V and blended very well.

Whatever the application, my eyes pop (dark olive/hazel). I try to start with the eye look then I do the foundation application, flawless skin will help to deliver the sexy finish of the whole look. The result of any of these looks was utterly flattering, I LOVE to pair this palette with the RMK P-11 blush (it will add a nude finish with a complex iridescent dimension and very tiny little sparkles) and also with the extra rich lipstick Cle de peau T5, I cannot tell you enough how beautiful these products look together. You will have some tiny sparkle or shine going on (eyes-lips-face) so just keep that in mind if you want a more matte look but believe me it’s truly sexy and absolutely not over the top, it’s well-balanced and not tacky even on a 40+ year old 😉

Whoever created this combination and shades was pretty clever and definitely kept “sexy-nude-flattering-easy” in their mind from the beginning till the end.

The packaging

The packaging is bulky  8.3cmx11.2cmx3.1cm, the box has a mirror and two tutorials inside.

For reference, the Benefit eyeshadow pans here are 1.2g, Mac pans are 1.5g.

The product

To give you a better idea of the cream shades and texture, I tried to find similar ones in my collection :

I think we can clearly see that the two Benefit that came with this palette look more wearable than either the Mufe, the Mac or the Benefit Skinny Jeans. Bikini-tini will add a lot of luminosity without feeling metallic or too fake. Here I have swatched it a bit heavily but if you wear it more lightly it will melt on the skin leaving just a lot of luminosity behind and tiny micro sparkles that are not over the top at all.

The Holy smokes! is also absolutely wearable, I can either apply it sheered out or build it, both techniques will deliver an even application.

Bikini-tini and Holy Smokes are the most flattering from the ones swatched here. Without flash :

With flash :

The powder shadows are not flat, neither chalky, they have a satin finish. Blingo is more metallic but you do need something to add more drama from time to time 🙂 but don’t be scared, if you sheer it out, it’s really wearable and doesn’t feel gritty at all.

The combinations can go from beautiful to heavenly gorgeous. If you apply Milk it on top of the dark cream shadow you enter taupe heaven, if you apply Raincheck on top of the light cream shadow you are back in a taupe heaven again, two different gorgeous taupe shades !  as soon as you start mixing the cream with the powder shadows you get amazing new shades.

Without flash :

Pause for applause is the less pigmented of the 4 but to me it’s a perfect blending shade.

With flash :

I am not saying these shades will suit every one of you because I don’t know that, but I can guarantee you that if they work for you, there is a big chance you will seriously-truly love them.