Holy smokes, Batman! The alcohol fumes from this bottle would be able to disinfect the whole bat cave! But apart from that, is it a good foundation for my sensitive combo, aging skin? Let’s find out in my Benefit Hallo Happy Soft Blur Foundation review!
Claims
“This lightweight foundation evens out skintone and blurs imperfections with soft-focus optical blurring spheres. With a natural-matte finish and light-to-medium coverage, it looks like skin and feels like nothing at all.”
The benefit homepage also states that women who trialled the foundation found it weightless, breathable, with a natural looking coverage that blurs imperfections.
I also found various blog posts that suggested that this is a great base for more mature and dry skin, due to the slight blurring effect it has.
What I want in a foundation
I love cushion foundations for a reason: they are (usually) lightweight, and the cushion puff provides a nice optical blurring effect. I also like foundations that tread the line between glowy and matte – I’m now of an age that I want my foundation to give me a MSBB (my skin but better) effect. Travelling and age both have given my skin a somewhat volatile temperament – it’s definitely drier than usual, and, like I wrote in last week’s post on cleansers, it doesn’t take kindly to irritants, like fragrances and alcohol.
Formula
I expected a much more runny liquid than the one that comes out of the nozzle, which is more of a BB cream texture. I used about the size of a pea on my face, and could’ve used more for a more even coverage. My foundation tool of choice is still a beauty blender. The finish is quite natural, meaning neither too glowy nor too matte, and yes, it does blur imperfections a bit, while coverage is still quite light.
And here’s where my surprised face must’ve been a quite unattractive grimace when the first blob of foundation landed on my hand, because the foundation REEKS of rubbing alcohol. No surprise, really, as alcohol denat. is the third ingredient in the list. So it’s no surprise, I guess, that I wouldn’t really recommend this if you have dry or sensitive skin. Alcohol dries out your skin, can compromise your skin barrier, and lead to serious irritation.
Also it annoys the crap out of me that this has a SPF15+++ (due to a mix of Octinoxate and Titanium Dioxide) – you’ll never reach sufficient sun protection with the amounts you’re using (remember, pea size – vs. the amount you need for sufficient sun protection, which is about two finger lengths).
A word on the shade range: this offers 12 shades, with the implication that a sheer to medium coverage can be used more widely by skintones that don’t find an exact fit. Make of that what you will. The mini sizes only come in five shades, heavily focused on light skintones (shades 1, 2, 4, 6 and 9).
Performance
On the first trial, I applied the foundation around 4pm for a dinner date with a friend. When I came home at 10pm, I saw some pooling in fine lines, and on some spots the foundation had broken up, in spite of the setting powder (Nars’ Translucent Setting Powder, no surprises there) I had used. My face looked more dewy than I would’ve expected and the foundation felt sticky to the touch. I can only guess that the high alcohol content actually aggravated my skin that became oily in turn. On the next day, I broke out with the most uncomfortable cystic acne I had in a while.
The second time I wore it for a Saturday when I was out and about, and also had some heavy duty cleaning and organising to do. I wore it with a primer (Estée Lauder Genuine Glow Priming Moisture Balm) and setting powder (Nars again), and although I could see my face becoming quite… ahem… glowy (shiny) after about four hours. The wear time before the foundation started to settle and break up was much longer (around the eight hour mark). It still looked relatively good after 12 hours… Shame about the alcohol, really.
Dupes?
There’re a slew of lightweight foundations with a similar, serum-like consistency in a shaker bottle, and Chanel’s Vita Lumiere Aqua actually offers a quite similar formula (in 17 shades, but at a higher price point). I still like MAC’s Waterweight Foundation for a similar skin feel.
Recommended?
Ehhhhhh… no. It’s lovely when you pair it with primer and setting powder, but for a light no-fuss foundation I still go back to my L’Oreal cushion foundation. Plus, the alcohol is a deal breaker for me.
30ml/1 oz is $29, or 6ml/0,2 oz is $10 at Sephora.
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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