Benefit 'Hoola' Gloss

Benefit 'Hoola' Ultra Plus Lipgloss |  £14.50* | Link

It's not often that a lipgloss makes it to 'handbag' status in my books.  I'm really not a lipgloss girl - I'm the type to kill two birds with one stone and opt for a glossy lipstick instead.  I don't know why, but I just cannot stand the feeling of it on my lips and I usually wipe it straight off as soon as I can lay my hands on a Kleenex.  However, after trying out Benefit's 'Hoola' lipgloss I've managed to find a new favourite -  finally a lipgloss I can actually wear on a daily basis without having to suffer for the sake of a bit of sheen! The gloss glides on so smoothly and it doesn't have a hint of stickyness whatsoever.  In fact, I'd liken the consistency to a glossy lip balm or lip laquer - very comfortable to wear and not at all heavy.  Thumbs up so far - so why else do i love it?

The perfect companion to Benefit's ever-famous 'Hoola' bronzer (you can read my review of that here), the shade leans towards a brown/golden tone with a hint of shimmer - perfect for summer tans!  The colour really is right up my street - I've become quite partial to a browny-nude lipstick just recently (my little nod to the 90s) and the warm brown/orangey hue to this really does compliment my lipstick choices - the teeny-tiny shimmers in there set off the colour perfectly and add dimension. Fear not though - even though it's shimmery, there's no grittyness to it whatsoever and it glides on with ease. You don't need much at all either, just a quick squeeze of the tube and you're good to go - I really like the packaging as there's no mess or fuss and the tip is angled perfectly for application.  Personally, Hoola is the perfect shade for me as I'm a big fan of nude colours and light corals (i find the gold tone works very well with shades like these). In the photo above, I'm wearing it with Mac's 'Spice' lip pencil - as you can see, it adds a teeny hint of orange/golden shimmer without completely masking the colour underneath - a perfect complimentary hue and one that will work very well with a wide variety of skin tones.  Wear time is also quite impressive to say how light and smooth the texture is and I don't find myself having to reapply every single minute of the day.

Overall, I've been loving this lipgloss. If you're like me and usually hate the feel of gloss on your lips but crave that perfectly polished finish - I urge you to give these a go. It's worth mentioning that I've tried 'Coralista' in the past and I found that to be very similar (maybe slightly thicker in consistency but nothing I couldn't handle) - so it seems as if the texture will be pretty spot-on across the rest of the range.  I'm actually thinking of doing a post on lipglosses soon for those of you who struggle with consistency like me - I've tried my fair share of them in the past and only a select few manage to find a permanent space in my makeup drawer! Hoola, however, has gone one step further and has shuffled it's way into the little pouch in the side of my handbag... (a space I often only reserve for essentials like car keys and the odd lip balm) - yep - that's how much I've been loving it. If you fancy having a browse through the shade range or finding out more about Benefit's lipglosses, head on over here.  I've also discovered they've launched a few more shades I wasn't aware of here - (I'm definitely tempted by 'Poutrageous')...

Have you tried Benefit's lipglosses? What did you reckon?