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The Benefit Crescent Row Fragrances: Laugh With Me, Lee Lee

July 26th, 2009 by Karen 6 Comments

benefit laugh with me lee lee review

The more time I spend with the girls of Benefit Crescent Row ($36 each), the more I want to hang with them.

Each of the scents in this trio of fragrances represents a different personality.

Laugh With Me Lee Lee is the fun, flirty member of the group — the girl who loves long bubble baths and frilly lingerie.

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Light and delicate

Benefit categorizes her as a woody floral, but she’s the lightest of the three scents, both agreeable and easy to wear.

Crisp notes of melon and orange hit me as Lee Lee enters the room.

“Hello,” she says with an innocent smile, drawing me into her world of unselfconscious beauty.

After a few hours with her, I learn that she’s older than I thought. She reveals a gentle white floral mix of lily and jasmine, slowly evolving into a soft blend of amber and sandalwood.
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The Benefit Crescent Row Fragrances: My Place or Yours, Gina?

July 24th, 2009 by Karen 38 Comments

benefit my place or yours gina crescent row review

Have you seen the packaging for Benefit’s new trio of Crescent Row scents ($36 each)?

Benefit Crescent Row

Super cute, yah?

Each one (all eau de toilettes) represents a different fictional girl.

There’s Laugh With Me Lee Lee (the playful flirt), Something About Sofia (the dreamer) and My Place Or Yours Gina (the seductress).

This week I gave all three scents a try, at first assuming I’d be a Lee Lee girl.

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But I ended up liking My Place Or Yours Gina best.

Weird, because I’m not exactly seductress material. Hello — I wear yoga pants with holes in the booty. 🙂

My Place Or Yours Gina

Benefit describes Gina as a warm and woody oriental fragrance. On my skin she begins with a strong but feminine burst of peppery citrus and chocolate.

Maybe it’s Gina’s daring, sexy side. She’s not afraid to flaunt her shizz, ya know? And you’d better believe the hotties say “yes” when she offers to buy them a drink at the bar.

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But there’s more to Gina than first impressions. After about 20 minutes with her, the top notes mellow out, revealing soft, gentle notes of lily, white musk and vanilla.

That’s the side of Gina her family and closest friends know. Yes, she’s seductive and alluring in her man-eater outfits and sky-high killer heels, but she’s also sweet, devoted and loving, too.

Top notes: pink pepper, bergamot, tangerine

Middle notes: peony, wild raspberry, white lily

Bottom notes: patchouli, tonka bean, vanilla bean

For an eau de toilette, Gina lasts a surprisingly long time. A few spritzes in the morning are enough to last all day long.

Gina reminds me of a lighter, fresher (but with stronger citrus and pepper notes) version of the $65 Chanel Coco Mademoiselle.
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Easy 4-Step Eye Makeup with Benefit Cosmetics

June 29th, 2009 by Karen 57 Comments

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I love crazy, complicated eye looks as much as the next makeup junkie, but some mornings I just can’t get it together — I’m either running late or just plain lazy as all hell.

I’ve been wanting to do something with my eye makeup for a few days but haven’t wanted to do anything *too* complicated, so I limited myself to four steps.

Why four steps? I guess it’s my happy medium. Five steps feel like too many; three not enough.

Oh — I’m not counting curling my lashes or applying mascara as individual steps… I probably should, but I don’t like the sound of six steps as much as four. 🙂

Benefit four-step eye look

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The look is a shimmery neutral eye with a bit of gray, and I think it’s a great look for beginners.

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Here’s how I get the look…

To start, I apply Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Samba-dy Loves Me (a shimmery peachy gold) on the lids and just up into the crease with my fingers, smoothing away any harsh lines.
Next, using a Sonia Kashuk Large Eyeshadow Brush, I sweep Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow in Leggy (a shimmery peachy pink) over the entire eye.
With the same brush, I pat Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow in Where There’s Smoke (a shimmery blackish gray) onto the lid and into the crease.
To finish, I line my upper and lower lash lines with Benefit Bad Gal Waterproof Liner (a true black) and smudge out both with a MAC 219 Pencil Brush and Where There’s Smoke Eyeshadow.

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Cheeks and lips

You could pretty easily dress up this look with bold pink or red lips, but since I’m not really going anywhere special today, I shot for light and breezy with Benefit Posie Tint (a semi-matte peachy pink) on my cheeks and Benefit Full Finish Lipstick in Thrillin’ Brazilian (a shimmery golden peach) on my lips.
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