Benefit Go Tropicoral kit - review and swatches

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Although I reviewed the individual products in Benefit's Go Tropicoral kit a while back, it's taken me some time to get to writing the overall review of the kit.

That could be partly because I've been more interested in reviewing other products: only one item in this kit was a stand-out for me, and that was High Beam. And even though High Beam is a good product, I don't think it's worth the Australian price tag.

Every now and then you come across a product or brand that everyone else seems to rave about, but doesn't strike you: Benefit is one of mine. Hoh well!


There's indeed plenty to love about the company, however - the cute packaging for one thing. I asked for this kit for my birthday in June not only because I'm a coral junkie, but also because I really liked the look of it. Just look at those fun things to play with!


As you may know, I've already reviewed each of the products in this kit separately - so as with my review of Benefit's How to Look the Best at Everything kit, in this post I'll keep my comments on each individual item shorter and focus more on the kit overall. I'll also include links to the individual reviews of each product so you can look at those if you want to.
Benefit Cha Cha Tint

First up is Cha Cha, a product I had high hopes for because what coral junkie wouldn't love a mango tinted lip and cheek stain?! Full review here.

It's a runny product that leads you to believe it packs a nice punch of colour - see hand swatch below.


It looks orange in theory and, also in theory, looks like there's a reasonable amount of pigment.

However.

Here it is outdoors in natural light:


As you can see, it pulls red on me and I can't tell you how much I had to apply to even get it to show up. Honestly, it was three thick coats - and I had to wait for it to dry in between coats before slathering on some more. You can also see that it's drying on me and definitely requires a gloss - my lips aren't normally that wrinkly, promise ; )

It was even harder to get the colour to show up on my cheeks:


The above photo was one of many (you couldn't see the product in almost all of them). I applied heaps of the stuff and, even then, you can barely see it. I'm wondering if part of the problem is my skintone, because most lasses don't seem to have this issue with Benefit products, but every item in this kit besides High Beam delivered very little pigment on my face.

Obviously, I'm not a fan of Cha Cha!


Benefit's Coralista Blush


This was probably the biggest disappointment of the lot, likely because so many people rave about this blush and so my expectations were high. Full review here.


Unfortunately I dislike it so much that I've chucked it in my Project Pan 2015 box because I just want to see the back of it. Thank god it's not a full-sized item!

As you can see below, it barely shows up on my wrist. Hopefully you can see the two stripes - using a heavier hand above and a lighter one below. Note however that I swiped the brush SO MANY times to even get this product to show up, and even then you can barely see it. Might just be my skintone, but this is not a pigmented product. Plus it's cool and icy looking - not at all what you want from a warm coral.


When I tried this blush before adding the kit to my birthday wishlist, it was winter and it seemed to show up better then (my skin was paler). As with Cha Cha, the lack of pigment could just be an issue with my skintone: other lasses don't seem to have this problem with Coralista.


See above on my cheeks. Again, I've applied the bejesus out of it, but you can barely see it. Admittedly it shows up better in 'real life' than it does in photos, but even so, this is not a great colour on me - it takes 'natural' towards 'non-existent'.

It's nice enough to apply and is finely milled, and the colour (what little there is of it) lasts well. But as mentioned, if I want to get a decent shade from this blush, I need to use far too much and it starts to look chalky/muddy on my face.

My view is that this blush is not worth the price - not the US price and DEFINITELY not the Australian one. So many better and cheaper products are available on the market.


Benefit's High Beam

This is the best product in the kit I reckon. Full review here. It's a lovely highlighter and I can see why it's a favourite of many.

The product is runny and pigmented, and you only need to apply a little of it - so this small travel size should last a good while. With 'lesser' illuminators (eg ones that have noticeable glitter in them), I prefer mixing those in with my primer - but this one's good enough to use as a surface product because you can still create a natural look with it.


See above unblended swatch, and blended below. I'd say 'High Beam' is a good name for this product - it definitely gives a good sheen! For this reason, I suggest applying it with a very light hand or you'll overdo things and end up looking like the proverbial discoball.


High Beam is a lovely product and one I'm glad to own. It's easy to apply and it's definitely one of the better highlighters/illuminators I've used.

What I will say though, is that I don't think it's worth the $45AUD price tag. While I would pay the Oz price for eg Benefit's Boi-ing concealer if I had to, High Beam doesn't distinguish itself enough for that. Plus I've got my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders to add a subtle glow, and I prefer those.

If you're desperate for High Beam, however, I'd say it's a reasonable investment because the bottle should last you for ages. It's gorgeous and I do think it lives up to all the hype.


Benefit's Ultra Plus Lip Gloss in Coralista 

I'm not sure what Benefit was going for with this gloss - there's no pigment! Full review here.

See below hand swatch. While there's colour in the thick blob, you can see it spreads out with basically no colour at all.


Here it is on my lips below. Yep, no colour. Apologies for the wonky photo ; )


I'm completely underwhelmed by this product. If I wanted a sheer gloss, that's what I would have bought. I was expecting a coral gloss and didn't get one. My golly.

The formula is fine - it's slick/wet without being sticky, and thick but not too thick. It also applies and spreads well. The gloss is nice enough to wear, it just doesn't last (most glosses don't, so that's no different than one would expect).

Another disappointment.

Verdict

The best thing about this kit is the look of it and the packaging. The next best thing is High Beam - which, in my opinion, is the only item that lives up to its hype.

As for the other three products - none are pigmented enough to deliver on colour, at least when it comes to my skintone.

The gloss is the least pigmented product of the three and I can't imagine it showing up well on anyone. The other two products would at least show up on pale skin I reckon, but I'd be careful if you have medium or dark skin and I'd definitely test these before buying them.

If you're after a warm coral blush, Coralista isn't it (at least in my opinion). It fares better when you chuck Cha Cha underneath it, but even then the colour punch isn't great. Plus I don't want products that only work together: each product in a kit like this should stand alone.

As a travel kit, you can remove all the products except the blush, so it's handy in that sense. Unfortunately you can't remove Coralista without taking a chunk of cardboard insert with you, and the kit itself is bulky to travel with.

While I'm glad I've tried all these products (and super glad I've tried High Beam), I don't rate this kit at all. I'm definitely in the minority there, however, so do test these products if you've been lusting after them. I hope you have better luck with them than I have!


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