I'm quite the sucker when it comes to packaging and cute names. Benefit Cosmetics takes the cake for their innovation in product design and marketing. But of course, fancy designs come with matching prices that smack me down from cloud nine.
Naturally, I jumped at the chance to get the Benefit Dallas Powder when it was heavily discounted at the friends and family sale (Thanks, Kahani!). In addition to that, I got the You Rebel Tinted Moisturizer (reviewed) and Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Slippin' and Dippin' (to be reviewed). Going pretty cheap were the Silky Powder Eye Shadows, which are being discontinued so I'll just rougly review those as well in this post.
Read on for the review and swatches.
"Give your complexion a natural-looking glow that will leave you looking younger, healthier and more vibrant. This sheer wash of color dusted across your cheeks, forehead and chin gives any complexion a healthy looking radiance... it's a glow that defies even Mother Nature."
One of Benefit's seven iconic box-o-powders, Dallas claims to provide an outdoor glow for an indoor gal. Pressed into an nostalgic-style cardboard box, the packaging is beyond adorable albeit not the most sturdy. Mine's slightly torn at the side of the box from possibly a sticky tape. The color of the printed paper wrapping the box will fade and chip off in time. For those of you who store your makeup in the bathroom, you may want to keep this box far away from any water sources 'cause when the carboard absorbs water, you'll get bumps on your box.
Dallas comes with a brush that fits comfortably in the box but mine has mysteriously gone missing... It's pretty handy but somewhat scratchy so it's something that I can do without.
The soft dirty plum powder contains a low degree of shimmer but gives a natural pearl glow finish. Personally, I use Dallas as a daily blush when I just need some color to perk up my face. On my skin tone the color isn't very noticeable unless I layer it on . The staying power is reasonably good. I love that the powder is very light and fluffy making it effortless to blend.
Is Dallas worth the original price? Not quite. However, for the price that I got it for, I'm liking this a lot! I keep my blush safely in drawers and alternate them so the quality of the packaging isn't of much concern to me.
It used to retail at RM129 but I believe the price has gone up. If anyone knows the price of it now, I would appreciate it if you could let me know in the comments. On the US Benefit website, Dallas is selling for $28.
I won't go into depth with the Benefit Silky Powder Eye Shadows as they really aren't great and these colors are no longer available on the Benefit website. I think our local counters still stock these but I can't be sure since the last time I lurked over a Benefit Counter was.... four months ago?
Anyway, both Guess Again and Moody have very poor color pay-off when they're on the lids. Nevertheless, they do feel very silky smooth. I only use Guess Again (muted purple) as a sheer wash or blending color. Moody (cool dark beige), on the other hand, works wonderfully as a contouring color which I use for my cheeks. It creates very natural-looking shadows and since it's sheer, I have a good control over the intensity of the color.
Other colors in the range are now on discount for $9 on the US Benefit Website. I have no idea how much these are in Malaysia but I'm guessing around RM65-70.