June 26, 2018

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation Review & Swatches

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.
4 stars out of 5

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation ($29) is a new light-to-medium coverage foundation with a lightweight formula that provides a natural matte finish and SPF 15 sun protection which launched in 14 shade selections recently.

Benefit couldn’t release Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation at a better time since the weather is just starting to break in New York and the long, hard days of humid, hot weather are ahead. This is one of the best foundation purchases I’ve made in a while and I’m absolutely in love with the application, formula, and coverage this provides. I can see myself very happily using this all through the Summer.

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation arrives in a 1 oz square bottle with a needle-nose applicator. The packaging and the formula is reminiscent of some of my past foundation loves like Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra Light Skin Perfecting Makeup and Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation.

Benefit says the formula provides light-to-medium coverage that blurs imperfections with soft-focus optical blurring spheres without flashback and a natural-matte finish that looks like you aren’t makeup at all.

The texture is a lightweight liquid gel consistency (make sure you shake the bottle before each use as the foundation and pigment due separate) which is absolutely heavenly on my skin. I was concerned about the natural-matte finish but this isn’t drying in the least and for me it sets to a very natural, soft finish that didn’t adhere to drier areas on my face. It blends amazingly well with very little effort and absorbs quite easily into my skin. Apparently it contains shea extract which could account for the reason it feels lightly hydrating when I apply it.

The coverage isn’t quite medium but it has enough pigment to even out skin, brighten, and hide minor imperfections. It’s basically a “my skin but better” finish which I’m all about since my skin is free of blemishes, I have no acne scarring or redness, so all I really want out of my foundation is something to even out my skin tone and ease dullness and that’s exactly what this does and does it perfectly with a smooth, soft finish that gives my skin an airbrushed appearance.

Shade 4

It feels so natural and lightweight on my skin. It delivers the no makeup feel and look perfectly. Benefit aced it and the marketing is spot on for this little guy!

A few issues I did experience….

The shades are a little iffy here. I purchased shades 4 and 5 and both were a smidge too dark for me and the color does oxidize a little bit once applied. I recommend going with a lighter shade just to be safe.

The SPF 15 is useless to me. Why bother? They should have just left it out as SPF 15 offers absolutely no protection.

And finally, the wear time. This does wear a little shorter at around five hours before fading a good deal. You can extend the wear with powder but I typically don’t wear powder all that much.

All in all, Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation was a win for me. I love this stuff. It’s my ideal foundation for the warmer weather (well, really I love this formula anytime in any weather!) with a lightweight, weightless feel that doesn’t feel like you’re wearing anything at all! It looks natural yet it still gives your skin a pretty, fresh, bright look.

Totally worth checking out! Best part you can actually test it out for $10 bucks as Benefit has Mini Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation for $10.

Tried it already?

Do share!

Where to buy

Sephora Ulta Benefit HSN Macy’s Nordstrom

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation ($29) is a new light-to-medium coverage foundation with a lightweight formula that provides a natural matte finish and SPF 15 sun protection which launched in 14 shade selections and is 1 oz in size. I’m absolutely loving this formula. It’s lightweight, barely there coverage that provides light to almost medium coverage which blends very easily and provides a natural, soft finish on my skin that doesn’t adhere to drier skin while brightening my complexion and easing dullness!

Water, Phenyl Trimethicone, Alcohol Denat., Dimethicone, Isododecane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Silica, Butylene Glycol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Titanium Dioxide, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Mica, Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone/Peg-10/15 Crosspolymer, Isohexadecane, Squalane, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Dipropylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Seedcake Extract, Sodium Citrate, Tocopherol. May Contain (+/-): Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).

Pros

  • Ideal for already good skin that needs to ease dullness and even out skin tone but not necessarily a foundation to hide imperfections.
  • Anyone seeking a lightweight, weightless Summer foundation that’s breathable and barely there.
  • Anyone who likes the my skin but better look.

Cons

  • Not a great pick for anyone with major redness, darkness, blemishes, or other imperfections they want to hide.
  • Very poor sunscreen protection.
  • Oxidizes.
  • Contains alcohol.
  • Shorter wear time.

Who

Anyone who likes super light, natural coverage that doesn’t have a ton of imperfections they are looking to hide should get on famously with Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation.

I purchased this item and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post.

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‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Saoirse

    Cute packaging, but this is all wrong for me. I need heavier coverage and my skin is a big-time oxidizer! I love trying new foundations, but I’ll pass on this one.

  • Anna

    I love this foundation! And surprisingly, it lasts a good deal on my skin (around 7-8 hours). I’m absolutely in love, especially for the coming summer months. The only drawback for me is the limited shade range. Granted, many different skin tones could use one shade, but it would’ve been nice to see a larger spectrum of colors!

    • Isabella Muse

      yay! happy to hear you love it too! I didn’t get 8 hours sadly (I could get six indoors but only five outside in the heat) but still I loved it none the less!

  • kimkats

    Wow – I was going to give this a big pass b/c alcohol was so high up in the ingredient list, but I’m seriously reconsidering now…. I looked at this at Ulta over the lunch hour and saw they had minis of a lot of shades, but of course they were all sold out. I may still have to jump on this since you like it an’ we’re skintwins….

    Question: The shade you swatched in your photos – is that 4 or 5? Darn you – now I have to have this!!! 😀

    • Isabella Muse

      doesn’t feel dry at all, very lightly hydrating on me! Sephora still has a lot of the minis in stock ;-D that’s shade 4 I’m sorry! I forgot to label will correct now! Returning 5 as I fear it’ll be too dark and grabbing 3 and seeing how that goes ;-D

      • kimkats

        Wow – these shades really tend to run dark, don’t they? Normally we’re not *that* far down the scale of shades, but 3 or 4 out of (what do they have; 10 shades?) is unusual…. I’ll have to get some samples and try it on for size!! I’ll try 3 and 4 – Thanks for the heads up Muse!! I’d have passed this by for sure if you hadn’t love it.. Um, yeah… Like I should be thanking you for making me want *another* foundation!! 😀

        • Isabella Muse

          My pleasure! Not at all! I was sort of confused what my shade was. 4 seems ok for now because I tend to tan easily in the Summer no matter how much SPF I slather on ;-D So this works out ok but in the Winter I’m going to try 3 and see if that works out! LOL ;-D Seriously, I think you’ll love it!

  • Jane Ford

    Thks Isabella.,,.for the “�️….. you don’t geeky to me!! Love luv love your brows. Which shade of my ” gimme brows”� do u use!!., fab
    Jane ford: Founder Benefit
    PS: Gals pls remember to factor in that ALL foundations will deepen in tone due to a natural oxidation process by 4-7%!! ALWAYS ALWAYS choose the next lightest!!! Perfect to “Cream-i-FYI’ed your sunned complexions..
    oops

    • Isabella Muse

      hi Jane thanks for stopping by 😀 to comment/read! xoxo! Thank you! I currently use medium! I def need to go down a shade! 4 was a tiny bit too dark for me.

  • Marchelle

    How did you apply it? Beauty Blender, fingers, sponge? I love the idea of some coverage but nothing that screams FOUNDATION! I loved Boscia’s BB cream but it was discontinued.

    • Amy

      Just had this applied on me at Ulta today. A sponge was used for hygiene reasons, but both artists said they applied their own with fingers. (I’m a 2) I didn’t buy it as they were out of my color, of course.