Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation in honey review

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation in honey

At the moment, the Benefit stand at Boots is giving away free luxury samples of their new foundation to Advantage Card holders, so I trotted along to pick mine up the other day! Get down to the high street quickly if you want to snap one up, though – I imagine this is going to be a very limited offer.

Benefit’s Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! foundation, £24.50, launched this month as the brand’s first ever liquid foundation. It claims to be a brightening formula, oil-free, with a handy SPF 25 and some vitamin action to boot. The coverage is supposed to be light, but buildable to medium, with a natural finish and hydrating effects. Read on to see how I got on with it…

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation ingredients

First of all, I love that the sample comes in a miniature version of the actual packaging; this is quite unusual, and really useful as you get a proper experience of the application. I love a good pump bottle when it comes to cosmetics: you know you’re using up pretty much all of the product, thus improving its value for money, with the added bonus of good hygiene.

The texture of the foundation is very fluid, and does not dry quickly which allows time for blending. However, the fact that it doesn’t dry meant that I found applying it with my fingertips quite difficult, as I ended up sort of pushing it around my face! For me, the best way to apply was short strokes with my No7 Foundation Brush (£14 at Boots – excellent value for such good quality).Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation review

The ingredients list isn’t too lengthy, though I was actually unfamiliar with a lot of the names. After some (very) light research, I found that none of the ingredients are particularly irritant to the skin, though. I was pleased to see that the alcohol ingredient (phenoxyethanol) is not in the top 5. However, this is a potential irritant and there are all sorts of (questionable) articles on the web rebuking it as a cancer culprit and child-bearing crusher, so perhaps something to be aware of. Personally, I wasn’t too worried. As someone with reactive skin, this foundation hasn’t broken me out after three days, and when it comes to cosmetics I can tell very quickly whether I’m going to have issues. Therefore, based on my experience so far, it gets a thumbs up for skin kindness.Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! in Honey

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! in Honey (I’m So Money)

The range of shades is not bad at all – as a company that has only really catered for lighter skin tones in the past, Benefit has pushed the boat out to offer 9 shades, from two pale ivory options depending on your undertones, to shades for Hispanic and dark skin (though there is still a clear concentration on the lighter shades). I picked up ‘Honey’, as the ivory sample option was very yellow. If I were to buy this full size, though, I’d go for the other ivory shade as I’m still a ridiculously pale lass.


The finish really delivers – my skin was noticeably brighter, sun beams were reflecting off my face left right and centre, and my skin definitely felt more hydrated. The coverage was quite easy to build up to medium, while still feeling very comfortable on my skin. Benefit honestly deserves a pat on the back for this does-what-it-says-on-the-tin triumph.Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow in Honey

(Image retouch-free, as always)

However, unfortunately the hydrating properties meant that the longevity of the foundation is somewhat compromised. As I mentioned earlier, this doesn’t dry very quickly…if at all. I couldn’t wear this without powder, and had to be very conscientious about not touching my face. I’d say this lasts for about 4 or 5 hours in the same condition as first application. After that, it does start to slip a little and needs a bit of a powder touch-up. By the end of the day it still looks fine, but as a product that sells at £24.50 I’d expect it to last much longer; instead, this gives it more of a decent-high-street feel along the lines of Bourjois or L’Oreal.

Overall, I don’t think I’d fork out full price for this, as I can achieve the same finish with my mineral choices with much better staying power. Nevertheless, this is a good foundation and absolutely worth trying. It has received rave reviews on the website (though this could be down to new-product fever), and is a great summer option thanks to its lighter coverage and excellent sun protection. It also ticks a lot of BB Cream boxes, so would be a great transitional product if you’re interested in switching up your make-up routine.

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