BEAUTY REVIEW: BIG EASY BY BENEFIT

Every now and then, you stumble across a product that really throws you when it comes to making a decision on whether you like it or not.

Usually you can get a feel one way or another from a product (with the exception of skincare) after one or a few uses, but Big Easy from Benefit has been sitting in my makeup bag for the best part of a year, dividing my opinion every time I reach for it.

I didn't set out with the intention of buying this product, and it was never really on my radar until I was accosted by a Benefit sales assistant in Boots who had sat me down in a chair and whipped out her makeup brushes before I really knew what was happening. She introduced me to Big Easy, which at the time was a relatively newly released product. I was immediately taken in by two things: the oil-free formula and the SPF 35 content. Living in the desert, where the sun melts your face the second you step out of the sanctuary of the A/C, these are two things that really up-sell a product to me.

Those, the lightweight formula, and how lovely the sales assistant was meant that I left Boots almost £30 lighter, when I probably only went in for dry shampoo.

So this product claims to be a 'balancing complexion perfector known to help balance skin and oil control' - this is where I fall in to my biggest divide with this product. 

Upon initial application, I love it. It stays true to its claim to 'even out skin tone and conceal imperfections'. It doesn't claim to be a full coverage product, which I quite like about it, as I would reach for this on a day where I don't want to go heavy on my makeup but need to have 'something' on my skin. As promised, the liquid to powder formulation finishes 'lightweight and smooth' on the skin. 

Let's all forgive my big spam forehead - it is necessary to subject you to this to show the finish in natural light!

As you can see, a light coverage with a natural finish.

Now my gripe with this product is, that come the afternoon, my face is ludicrously shiny. No matter if I set it with powder, the shine strikes with full force at around lunchtime, so for me personally the claim that Big Easy 'balances skin & controls oil' is nonsense - it doesn't.

To give it the Benefit of the doubt (Benefit, get it?!), I will take into consideration that I live in a country where the sun shines almost every single day, thus making shine more likely. I just feel like whenever I wear this product, it is almost worse than usual.

But I persevere! I really like the initial application, and it almost feels worth the constant powder application to maintain a 'no makeup' look throughout the day.

Would I repurchase? I'm not too sure. The fact that I have been so divided on this product for so long suggests that I probably shouldn't, and that instead I should search for a better (and cheaper!) alternative for those 'minimal makeup' kind of days.

Have you tried Big Easy from Benefit?