August 24, 2012

Benefit the Perk-Up Artist Review & Swatches

This was provided to me by a brand for review but all opinions expressed are my own

Kinda reminds you of a bad pr0n movie from the seventies doesn’t it? But no that’s the new Benefit The Perk-Up Artist Custom Complexion Correctors Palette kids, bow chicka wow wow!

Doesn’t the dude on the cover look like Ben Stiller in Starsky and Hutch but with a stash? I have a stash now, stashes are cool!

Or maybe it looks like Gunther…

Shudders!

Or not.

You can never get that song out of your head after hearing it once. Congrats on your new ear worm today. Mmm You’re welcome…!

Benefit the Perk-Up Artist is way cooler than all than all that though…this three shade palette features a way to correct redness and darkness, cover and hide dark circles, and brighten you up!

Here’s a look!

This classy little palette (or not) is about the size of a credit card (thicker though!) and features a selection of shades to correct, cover, and brighten your face and eye area.

Perfectly portable you’ll find three wells inside the palette, a double sided applicator, and a mirror for application. It’s super travel friendly and contains great essentials to tuck into your makeup bag, gym locker, or desk drawer for touch ups on the fly. Benefit also includes a mini instruction card for making the most of the palette.

Each corrector is built into a small plastic well with its own snap closure which ensures shades remain fresh. Open ’em up and apply, snap ’em close to prevent them from drying out. Nifty right?

I love Benefit Lemon Aid (total HG) and I like Benefit Boi-ing. And I’ve been known to use Benefit’s pink brightening pencil from time to time too. I loved the idea of having all three tools in one cute palette for travel.

But…

Don’t make the mistake of assuming the cover concealer in this set is Boi-ing because it is not. Likewise for the corrector, this isn’t Lemon Aid in my humblest of humble opinions. I found the concealer/cover shade (a light universal shade of beige that should work on medium fair and medium skin types) and yellow corrector were quite sheer compared to Benefit’s full size Boi-ing Concealer and Lemon Aid products.

Benefit doesn’t dub these as Lemon Aid or Boi-ing so don’t make the mistake of assuming they are. It’s merely a variation on those formulas with a lot less pigment. This is both good and bad.

For touch ups the Perk-Up Artist is super. I’m not one for touching up my concealer as the day progresses even when I head out for a night with friends, etc….It’s just not convenient to touch up a liquid or cream concealer at work in my opinion. It’s not a product I carry around. However, the Perk-Up Artist is easy enough to use for touch ups. The sheer formula ensures you’ll get a nice flawless finish under eyes and on face without prepping skin prior. For me, a thicker concealer used away from home without eye cream available just ends up messy. This is a light formula that brightens up my eyes nicely on the go without being as pigmented as Boi-ing is. Likewise for the yellow corrector shade in the palette which provides just enough yellow to diffuse dark circles or redness.

The pink brightening shade is fabulous for use around the eye area (inner and outer corner). It proves the most pigmented of the three colors and provides the most brightening abilities as well. This as close a formulas as you’d get to the chubby pencil texture and in some ways proves superior due to the creaminess of it compared to its pencil counterpart.

On the downside, I don’t think the palette proves great for full facial prepping. This isn’t the concealer you’ll want to use in the AM when preparing your face for makeup and the yellow doesn’t do as well as a good old pot of Lemon Aid. So for me, touch ups are great but for full facial looks I def reach for full sizes of my favorite concealer and trusty Lemon Aid.

So how do you use it? What’s the deal?

You can use the yellow corrector on your lids, on redness around your cheeks, and even under your eyes to diffuse dark circle circles. You can use the cover up under eyes, on small break outs, or anywhere on your face that needs concealing. And finally the brightener can be used on the inner and outer eye corners to give the illusion of a well rested you (when in fact you only had five hours sleep).

Overall, Benefit the Perk-Up Artist ($30) is a cute little travel set that makes touching up a snap. It’s the type of kit that will have you looking well rested when 5 pm rolls around and you’re looking a bit exhausted.

On the downside…don’t mistake the contents for popular, cult favorites like Lemon Aid and Boi-ing as that will set up for a little disappointment. This isn’t a full coverage concealer and the subtly of all the shades def don’t measure up to those products.

It’s a hit with me but not for full facial prep particularly if you have issues that need concealing like dark circles, etc…but for touch ups on the go? Hells yes! Pick me up Mr Perk-Up Artist.

It’ll be available at Benefit locations in September as well as online at benefitcosmetics.com and is already available now at Sephora.com

Tried it?

Love it?

Not for you?

Do share!

Is Lemon Aid, by chance, your HG? I can’t live without it!

This was provided to me by a brand for review but all opinions expressed are my own

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Tammie

    I’d be curious to try this BUT the stupid concealer is probably too dark for me making this a waste of money…they should have had at least 3 different shades…

  • breyerchic04

    Passing, I love the container but yeah the formula looks like crap.

  • cat

    Not impressed. The container looks cheaply made (20 minutes of photoshop) and the inside looks like ELF packaging.

  • Sara Elisabeth

    I bought this, and I was pretty disappointed. I’m going to return it. This just isn’t practical, though I do love the way you can keep the product fresh with the little lids.

  • Angie

    I actually just got this in a Sephora order yesterday, and it’s just meh for me… It’s going back. I completely agree with you – it didn’t do what I my other products do in the morning and I just don’t see myself carrying it around for touch-ups. So – more money I can spend on other stuff I guess!!!

    • the Muse

      angie, ok for me but kinda sore it didn’t actually include lemon aid and boi-ing, these formulas are far from the original :-/ that’s true, you can def spend money on something else rather than touching up only!!!!!

  • Debster

    I love Gunther! XD That song cracks me up every time i hear it lol. I did find out I’m Missha #13 and I agree with Tammie. Boo on the generic coverup colour!

  • Musebeliever

    I’m all disappointment ! I still have no corrector and no highlighter and thought this would do the trick… Oh well.

  • Cindy

    This is cute, and a nice idea, but I’ll pass. And as for Gunter… I’ve been a fan of his for years. I don’t know what it is about that man, but he makes some damn catchy and extremely sexual songs! But I loooove him!

  • Xail

    You’re right — the guy on the cover DOES look like Gunther. And I almost died laughing when you posted the video. I haven’t heard that song in years.

    All that aside, I probably wouldn’t pick this up, since all I do when it comes to “correcting” is put concealer on my dark circles. Quite a shame, though, that Benefit didn’t seem to put one of their existing products in this palette. Why go create new products for this palette when they already have good products like Lemon Aid and Boi-ing?

  • Majick

    I think the packaging is brilliant – the product, from your review, not so much. Too bad they missed the mark by not putting the favs you mentioned in here.
    On a good note, once other companies see this, provided there are no “lawsuits” maybe they’ll start putting the little caps on all cream type products in palettes.

  • Emily

    The packaging is definitely unique but sad to hear that the original concealers aren’t used. I’m *obsessed* with Lemon Aid

  • bean

    ive like the WORST dark eye rings… i wanted to get this but the sephora lady told me it prolly wouldnt work on ‘super terrible eye circles’ haha. im so glad youve made a review!! =D btw Muse, i tried bobbi brown’s corrector, boi-ing, erase paste & also lancome effacerness… all doesnt work!! do youve a good recommendation? 🙂

    • the Muse

      def not bean! if you have really bad under eyes circles this won’t do the trick. Try it cosmetics or amazing cosmetics concealer both are very concentrated, excellent coverage.

    • Majick

      Hi Bean, Muse gave you two great choices and I also wanted to mention Tarte Marscuja concealer is very similar to IT. I love tarte but I have to admit, after the learning curve I’m def loving the IT one. The trick is to use as little as possible.

      Also, try different colors, sometimes if your concealer is too light it just makes your underrated kind of grey? You may need 2 colors, 1 for your eyes and another for your face,

      I use a peachy color under my eyes and a different one for my face. Hope you find what you need.

      If you go for the IT concealer get the one skyh the brush, IT brushes ROCK and really do help with the application. Good luck!

  • Lisa

    I didn’t love it either but I got it in a benefit sponsored givaway. So, I can’t really complain. My drugstore stuff works much better. Overall, I’m glad I didn’t spend my own money on it. It’s just not pigmented enough!

  • Lisa

    Oh, and I forgot to add that they are greasy! I had creasing under my eyes and I’ve never had a concealer do that before.

  • ribbonroses

    I actually really like this one….. it does just work for me, it lives in my handbag and I use it most days. I’m fair too but not super fair, and somehow it manages to be the right colour for me (count me shocked lol) x

  • J. Louise

    Thanks for such an in-depth review. I assumed that this was Lemon-Aid and Boi-ing so I’m glad to know this is not the case. But still, I am encouraged from your swatches that the kit will do the job–so I’m going to get it! I don’t live near Macy’s/Sephora (if it’s even still available) but can get a good deal through eBay, so I’m going to buy it. Thanks!