Spotlight On: Benefit ‘Hello Flawless!’ Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation with SPF 25 PA+++

Good afternoon, everyone! How are you enjoying this beautiful Saturday?

I hope the day is as lovely as you are 🙂

So, I fell in love the other day and I wanted to share all of the juicy details with y’all. This love has made me feel fantastic, free and fearless. Oh no, it’s not a boy. The love that I found was in, that’s right, you guessed it, a foundation. 

Okay, okay, so I know that most of you just rolled your eyes and thought about how dramatic I am, but it’s true! I’m not someone who has ever worn foundation daily, and I am definitely not one of those people who doesn’t dare leave the house without any makeup on, but this foundation, it’s special. It’s close to my heart. It’s Benefit’s ‘Hello Flawless!’ Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation. <3

Would you like to hear why Mr. Hello Flawless and I are betrothed? Click read more! 

So, as some of you know, I used to model as a child. The worst part of ANY job was when the lady with bright lips and scary looking eyes (or at least, that’s what I thought as a kid) tried to layer gunk on my face. As I got a little bit older, I learnt that this “gunk” was called foundation. Since I stopped, I was never really anything other than a lip gloss girl, but even when I got older and slowly started to get more and more into makeup, I still wasn’t a foundation girl. In fact, I bought my first tinted moisturizer about 6 months ago, and it was just to even out my complexion for special occasions. Since then, I have bought a couple more tinted moisturizers and 2 western BB creams, but when I got a complimentary sample of the new-to-Canada Benefit HFOWLF (thanks Sephora, I love being a Beauty Insider! :D), I instantly fell in love. I knew that, though I hardly ever wear foundation, if there ever comes a day when I say “What was I thinking!? I totally NEED foundation!”, this will be the one I gravitate towards. 

So, let’s focus on what this foundation is like, what it supposed to do and why I like it so much. 

The foundation: 

• Available in 9 shades, with the lightest being “I’m Pure 4 Sure” Ivory and the darkest being my shade, “Gotta Know Me” Nutmeg
• Priced at $42 CAD for 1 fluid ounce/30 mls
• Has an SPF of 25 and a PA rating of +++
• Has an oil-free formula
• Has light-diffusing properties
• Gives a light to medium coverage 
• Gives a natural finish

• Provide a hydrating finish
• Prevent signs of aging
• boost cellular respiration (or, in other words, it let’s your pores breath)
• brighten your face, in all the right places
• give more luminous and overall healthy looking skin

My thoughts/opinion:

This foundation is bomb-diggity. It does let your pores breathe, so much so that you don’t even feel like you have anything on. It takes the concept of “caking” on foundation or a heavy mask and throws it out the window. I wasn’t expecting this, to be honest. When I sauntered on over to the Sephora near my work to get my free sample, I didn’t expect to like it. However, when I put it on that night, I really liked it! I asked my parents if they noticed much of a difference on my face, and my dad said that he couldn’t tell much difference and my mom said that my skin looked better. A foundation that doesn’t make me look like I have layers caked on and makes my skin look…better!? Wowza. 

 

I don’t know if the comments from Benefit about preventing signs of aging, light diffusing properties and brightening your face are anything but a heap of poppy-cock, BUT, it does give you a natural, luminous finish. If I didn’t know that I had foundation on, I wouldn’t know. If you are someone who likes a completely matte finish, I am not sure that I would recommend this foundation to you, as it doesn’t give a totally matte finish but it does control the oil in my t-zone. Your skin will just look healthy when you apply this foundation. You’ll look at yourself in the mirror and think “Hello, gawgeous, hello flawless!” 😉

 

I do not like that this foundation comes only in 9 shades. I do not think that certain people would get a colour match without mixing 2 or 3 shades together. For example, my mom, who is only a little lighter than me, wouldn’t match to the colour that I use but she isn’t light enough for the next shade up. Or, my best friend, who is of Philipino heritage, wouldn’t even dream of trying this foundation because there are mostly shades with red/pink undertones and she needs shades that have yellow undertones! 

 

I also felt, and this is rare for me, because I am a strong believer in the power of a face primer, that this foundation would work well under duress and that I didn’t necessarily need to wear it with one. So, when I tested the wear, I used the primer of choice (Makeup Forever’s HD Microperfecting Primer; check out my review of it here) on only half of my face. I was anxious to see how it would actually turn out, and I was ecstatic to see that I was right! After 8 hours of wear, both sides of my face looked exactly the same! Woo! 

 

Anyways, getting to the most exciting part of any review, let’s see some photos! 😀 

 

My shade, “Gotta Know Me” Nutmeg!

 

Such cute packaging! 🙂

The side of the box!

The bottle (natural light)

2 spots of foundation, left swatch with primer underneath, right without. Blended with finger, natural light.

2 spots of foundation, left swatch with primer underneath, right without. Blended with finger, with flash.

2 spots of foundation, left swatch with primer underneath, right without. Blended with brush, natural light.

Benefit HFOWLF, just applied. Over primer on left side of face and over nothing on right side of face. Natural light.

Benefit HFOWLF, just applied. Over primer on left side of face and over nothing on right side of face. Natural light.

Benefit HFOWLF, after 8 hours of wear. Over primer on left side of face and over nothing on right side of face. Flash.

Benefit HFOWLF, after 8 hours of wear. Over primer on left side of face and over nothing on right side of face. Flash.

Overall thoughts and rating:
I really, really, truly, love this foundation. I’m not into being aware that I am wearing something on my face and this foundation lets me forget what I have on (which, in this case, is a good thing). I like the pump (it is great for controlling how much you get out), I like the price (usually it’s way more expensive for 30 mls, and yes, I’m looking at you Laura Mercier!), I really like the cute and feminine packaging and I love the foundation as a whole. No matter your skin type, no matter how small or large your pores are, this foundation is for you. I would 100% recommend it, that is, if you can find a colour that matches you.

My rating: 9/10
Reason why it isn’t a 10/10: Benefit, you’ve done a fantastic job! You’ve turned a foundation hating girl into one that doesn’t mind it, and will bust it out more often than just a special occasion. You just need more shades!!!! 

That’s it for my review! I hope you enjoyed reading!

Let me know in the comments down below if you have tried this foundation or have a foundation that completely changed your opinion of them. I’d love to know! Thanks! 

Much love, 
S♥