shopping - Pretty Committee by Benefit!

So this should have been posted AGES ago, but since I've got the night off and a candle burning, I thought I would get right back into a product review. 

Benefit's Pretty Committee comes with 4 makeup products, and a handy makeup bag to keep all of them (and more) in. I thought it would be a good time to share my thoughts on this little set, considering it would make a perfect Christmas gift for any fellow makeup junkie. It retails for $42 here in Canada, though I'm sure it goes for much less in the US. 

Included in this adorable package are 4 products, High Beam, Bella Bamba Blush, Eye Bright, and Stay Don't Stray. Many of these items are full size, with High Beam being the only exception, but understandable. A little bit of High Beam goes a long way, and I don't see myself using up this tiny deluxe sample size anytime soon!

This "eye-brightening" product comes in pencil stick form, and appears quite a light pink when swatched on my hand. It's meant for many parts of the eye, it can be used in the inner corners, the inner rims, or even along the brow bone as a subtle highlight. As for my eyes, it definitely does a good job of making me appear more awake. I normally use it on my inner corners and my bottom waterline. Though it may feel a little bit thick around the eyes at first, it can easily be blended out to the right intensity for your eyes. Having an eye brightening pick-me-up is essential in any girl's makeup bag, so this one gets the thumbs up from me! Retails for $25. 

As for the included blush, Benefit's famous boxed blushes continue to remain a cult classic. Bella Bamba is a bright, shimmery watermelon pink, and while that may sound intimidating, the color comes off beautifully. Included is a small brush, although I know many girls (myself included) will choose their own blush brushes over this tiny one. I would consider this blush a great fall color, that could easy be returned to in the spring, when used more vibrantly. Where pigmentation is concerned, this blush lives up to the hype on staying power and overall concentrated color. As previously mentioned, this blush is full of shimmer, so those who are more drawn towards matte blushes may be turned off by it. Retails for $36.

High Beam and Stay Don't Stray eye primer are the last two included. High Beam is a gel-consistency highlighter. The deluxe sample size appears to be tiny, but a little goes a long way with this product. I enjoyed it because it was easier to work with, for me at least, then a powder highlighter. It's shimmery and pink-toned, and worked well on my fair skin. The lasting power was great, and because there is no chunky glitter in this product, the sheen looked natural. The full size retails for $30, the included is 0.13 oz while the full size is 0.45 oz, more than enough in my opinion.

Stay Don't Stray wasn't a complete letdown, but it does have it's problems. My only major gripe about this full size product was the packaging. It's in a slim tube with a pump, and while it appears very classy and chic, the pump itself isn't very useful. It pumps out WAY too much product, enough for two eyes and ten more, and that irritates me. I don't like wasting any of my beloved beauty products. I would suggest trying this in a sample, I've seen deluxe samples with doe-foot applicators, and I would much prefer those to this. The actual product itself isn't too bad, a general primer among the vast world of eye primers. I think that it was interesting that they chose to include an eye primer, considering many of the other things in the kit are more "face brightening" inspired. Overall, if you can deal with the struggle of the pump, it is a nice addition to the kit for anybody who wears eye shadow or concealer on a daily basis. It retails alone for $30.

Overall, this kit is definitely worth picking up. It serves as a great introduction to Benefit as a brand, and the value alone makes it a complete steal. Any makeup lover would be thrilled with this as a gift. I almost forgot to mention that the included makeup bag is adorable as well. The mesh fabric makes it easy to see exactly what you're looking for it, and the chic soft square shape is different from the norm.

So in other words...why are you still reading?! Go out and get this!