Benefit Hello Flawless vs MAC StudioFix Powder Foundation

MAC is great for photos no doubt, but dries my skin and causes it to breakout with continued use. It’s great for some people but not if you’re on the sensitive or irritable or dry side. Nevertheless, we still use it for the sake of looking good on photos and in person despite the consequences.

I use NC35 during the summer and NC30 during other days. NC35 is simply too dark for me when I’m not tanned.

Lately however, I decided to try Benefit’s Hello Flawless in Petal. You’re probably thinking, we sell the stuff. BUT, this is the first time I’ve used it. Visiting our store room and while checking inventory status, I accidentally dropped a Hello Flawless and had no choice but to purchase it. Haha! Seriously, we have so many products now that I’m having trouble keeping up with trying each and every single one of them, to put it in all honesty. I depend on customer feedback and requests when it comes to deciding what products to import, some products I make a point to try right away, some I can’t get around to as fast such as foundation. It takes a while to finish a whole pan of foundation.

Back to my review.

The next day I use it in place of my MAC NC30. Here are the application steps I followed:

1) Wash your face. Oil and newly applied primer, moisturizer, or makeup doesn’t mix well. To be sure to avoid clumping of foundation, wash your face with a non-drying oil-free facial wash. Do not use soap. Soap will overdry your face and cause irritation due to harsh chemicals that were made for the body, not for the face.

2) Apply moisturizer or primer or both. TIP: If you prefer to apply both moisturizer and primer, make sure to use a very light moisturizer just enough to help with glide if you have chronic dry skin like I do. For those with normal skin, you may skip the moisturizer and opt for a liquid primer like Benefit’s That Gal primer,  or Girl Meets Pearl. The Smashbox primers are good too (we do not carry smashbox primers). For those with Oily skin, I recommend something like Urabn Decay’s De-Slick primer or Benefit’s Dr. Feelgood primer which helps control oil throughout the day.

3) Get a clean sponge and wet with purified water. Apply Benefit Hello Flawless.

4) For the perfect full coverage, use the brush to smoothen the foundation finish.

Reasons I like Benefit Hello Flawless over MAC StudioFix:

1) This foundation lasts the whole day and night when applied with a wet sponge. When applied with a dry sponge, it’ll last throughout the day but may require a touch up by late afternoon. MAC will last a looong time, but I will have breakouts after. My skin will feel heavy and matte.

2) Speaking of matte, when first applied, Hello Flawless will give you that matte coverage. As the makeup blends with your skin, it gradually turns into a healthy non-made-up look. It’s a balance between too matte and too glowing. It looks like you simply have perfect skin where no effort was exerted in putting on foundation to cover redness, blotchiness, and other skin imperfections. You could pass as having healthy looking even skin. A subtle glow to be exact.

To illustrate:

Please refer to the two photos, one representa the effect you get with Hello Flawless, the other one reflects the matte effect from MAC StudioFix. MAC StudioFix will eventually blend with your skin tone, but ti takes longer for it to achieve the effect Hello Flawless has.

The woman (blonde) in the photo used Hello Flawless in Shell while the other (brunette) used MAC StudioFix in NC35.

Benefit Hello Flawless skin – gives a subtle healthy glow

MAC StudioFix Powder Foundation in NC35

3) Hello Flawless comes with a brush and sponge.The brush is actually pretty good for something that comes free with a product.

4) It blends so well I don’t want to retouch it.

5) It is lightweight! Full coverage feels like light coverage. Light coverage feels like nothing. My skin can breathe.

6) It overed my dark freckles and other facial marks like a dream. No caking.

7) It’s love, love, love! Feels like foundation heaven!

What I don’t like about Hello Flawless over MAC StudioFix:

1) I became so addicted to it I started using it everyday, it’s more expensive than the MAC counterpart, so do the math. When used every single day for both wet and dry sponges, it’ll last you 2 to 3 months tops.

2) Benefit should put more of the product in the pan so we don’t have to buy too often.

3) The case is nice, though square and a bit bulky. But since it provides long lasting full coverage, you don’t need to take it with you.

Updates:

1) We have a few pieces left of Hellow Flawless.

2) We have MAC products arriving mid-August. I just bashed MAC a bit but it’s still one of my favorites. They are the pioneers of the ‘foundation movement’ and set the benchmark for super nano-micro-milled foundation which goes on our skin so well.

3) Our MAC products will be cheaper than department store prices but we only have a handful arriving. This is our trial inventory to see which MAC products are the most popular. As always, our customers dictate what we will import.

Benefit Hello Flawless is definitely on the pricey side, but in my opinion, this is one of the best and is worth it. I define value for money with the satisfaction I get from a product. It might be 1.5 times as expensive but 3 times as good.

My precious! – Benefit Hello Flawless

I’m very thankful that accidentally dropping this foundation compelled me to use it. Truly the best discoveries happen by accident.