Last Tuesday I went to Southampton with Hannah to the launch event of a new Benefit product – their Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer, which launches on June 13th. I’m a huge fan of Benefit products and the Bournemouth Bloggers group have visited the counter at Debenhams a few times for product demonstrations so I was thrilled to be invited to this event, and really excited to hear more about their new product.
The event was held at Orange Rooms in Southampton. As some of you may know, Southampton is where I lived for almost ten years before moving to Christchurch so it was really nice to go somewhere familiar. When we arrived we were given a choice of ‘mocktails’ and found a comfy spot in the area they’d transformed for the event – I love how much effort they put in to styling the event, there are even 15 hour primer cross-stitched cushions!
First up was an introduction to Benefit and to the product itself, from Head Make-Up and Trend Artist, Lisa Potter-Dixon. It was really interesting hearing more about the history of Benefit – did you know that it was started by twins Jean and Jane Ford in 1976 when they flipped a coin to decide between two business start-up options (one being a casserole cafĂ© and the other for a beauty boutique)? Their first product was a Rose Tint (now the iconic Benetint) and their first customer was an exotic dancer who used it as a nipple tint! It’s still their most popular product (more commonly used on cheeks and lips!) One of their most popular more recent products is also a personal favourite of mine, the They’re Real mascara – now the UK’s number 1 selling premium mascara, with one sold every 20 seconds (wow!)
We were then introduced to the primer itself. The Stay Flawless primer is a long-lasting primer stick, which works as a ‘magnet’ – locking on to foundation and ensuring it stays put, and stays fresh for up to 15 hours after application. In a consumer panel survey, 97% said it helped foundation last longer, and 94% saw an improvement in the look of skin and their foundation. It sounds like a bit of a wonder product doesn’t it? You’ll have to read on to see whether it lives up to its hype!
Lisa showed us how to apply the primer, smoothing it onto the skin in circles to activate the ‘magnet’. She then applied Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation with a foundation brush to show the smooth finish achieved by the primer.
Lisa has worked on numerous fashion shows and shoots and is a bit of a TV regular as a make-up expert so luckily she wasn’t too fazed by lots of flashes going off as she did her demonstration….
After the demonstration there was a chance to play with the product, get colour-matched to the Oxygen Wow foundation we were kindly given in our goodie bags, ask questions of the team and dig into some pretty amazing food!
The Benefit Team hosting the event were all absolutely lovely and so knowledgeable and passionate about the brand and the products, which is really infectious! I loved their introductions where they spoke about themselves, their roles and their favourite products (I know have an even longer Benefit wishlist!)
On our way out we were given a generously-filled goodie bag with everything we needed to trial the primer, including the product itself, a Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation and a foundation brush.
Having had a chance to trial the product at home I can honestly say it’s every bit as great as the reports. It absorbs quickly and easily and as well as helping make-up stay put it also evens out skintone and makes my foundation appear smoother and more matte and even. I can definitely see this product becoming a permanent fixture in my make-up kit! Thankyou to Benefit for organising the event and letting us test out the product – I highly recommend picking one up once it hits the shelves in a couple of weeks!
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