Beauty with Benefits

If you see a row of products dressed in a funny outfit and with incredibly funny names, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are the products of Benefit Cosmetics. Since I tried the first product years ago (I'm talking about the Posie Tint), I've been hooked on all that fun. If not for the packaging, then it's definitely for the quality of the products.

From a small business to worldwide fame

The story of Benefit goes back a while. The twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford opened a small boutique in San Francisco in 1976 where they sold all sorts of funny kitschy products. A breath of fresh air compared to all the other beauty products at that time that  took the importance of beauty just a bit too seriously. Because why should makeup be serious to be good? This idea proved to work. Because hey, now after 40 years there are 2000 of those kinds of shops in more than 30 countries and not just the two sisters are in love with Benefit anymore.

Beauty with a wink

Beauty is just really fun. Of course, that doesn't mean that Benefit wants to get away with simple beauty products, no, it has to be quality. But the fact that the They’re Real! Push-Up Liner flies off the shelves every second somewhere in the world says enough. So they have a nice outfit on, always refreshing and always cheerful, because when you take it out of your toiletry bag, there should be a smile on your face. And the names are always fun too. For example, the primer has a name like Stay don’t Stray, the camouflage kit is called Realness of Concealness and the professionals ensure an even skin tone. The Lip & Cheek Stain is also a kind of holy grail in the family, because it provides color on the lips and on the cheeks. Just from one pot, huh? Way too fun and way too pretty.

Best brows

Personally, I think the brow bar is the most genius invention of Benefit. Secretly, I can also whisper that it's quite a flagship of the brand. Even in the first shop in San Francisco, eyebrows were shaped and now they are already ten million eyebrows further. The idea of the bar is that you can take a seat for 15 minutes and your eyebrows are all vavavoom again. Well-shaped, well-colored, and above all very much you. I found it incredibly exciting the first time, but after about 33 compliments, I never want to do it any other way and I don't have to pluck like a fool anymore. Really. It's worth it.

Beauty and Brains

So why is Benefit so nice and fun? For beautiful and quality products, I'm always up for it, but Benefit goes just a step further. They capture the feeling of the fifties and sixties when sophisticated glamour was celebrated and what is now a bit out of proportion. They go back to basics, where beauty should mainly be very fun and nice. With a retro look, funny slogans, nice fonts, and above all good products, they manage to entice everyone to go for what makeup is actually supposed to be; good old-fashioned fun.