herbench/ paint box colour palette in Show Girl

[Geeky side note: My new blog subtitle is TOTALLY NOT a Star Trek rip-off. NOT. 8D]

Today we have another one of bench's makeup palettes, one of which I already reviewed previously.

Show Girl consists of a bronzy-gold eyeshadow, a medium pink blush, and two bright glosses in fuchsia and red.

So, swatches!

Eyeshadow (without primer):

Blush:

Lip glosses (fuchsia on top, red on bottom, a layer of lip balm underneath):

And the whole look:

The end results are pretty subtle for a palette with such a flashy name, don't you think? But overall, I like Show Girl's colors better than Dainty Lass's.

My notes on the products:

• Eyeshadow: goes on smoothly, will most probably look more vibrant with primer underneath, and I really love the shade
• Lip glosses: somewhat drying (like the ones in Dainty Lass), look scary in the pan but are very very wearable
• Blush: decently pigmented, gives a nice flush of color

The blushes that come in the Show Girl and Dainty Lass palettes look quite similar but they're actually not. The Dainty Lass blush is much lighter and contains shimmers:

The Show Girl blush, in contrast, is warmer and has no shimmers:

Skin swatches (DL = left, SG = right):

They have one more palette, Earth Angel, but I think I'll pass on that. Too much brown, even for a neutrals girl like me!

herbench/ paint box subtle glow powder in pink glow

I seem to have terrible luck with this sort of product. It appears it just isn't possible for me to find a good quality low-priced highlighting powder.

This bench product is a winner in terms of packaging,

and its texture and "shimmer power" seem to be excellent,

but it just doesn't deliver. Tell me, do you see anything in the swatch below?

Other than some VERY SLIGHT shimmers, there's really nothing else. :(

I remember another blog having a review for this, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Does anybody know where it is?

herbench/ paint box colour palette in Dainty Lass

Seems bench now has these handy dandy makeup palettes for convenient full-face touch-ups on-the-go.

The palette is done in the brand's signature flowery metallic pink style and comes with a generously sized mirror and two decently-performing applicators (although I suppose most of you girls carry separate portable makeup brushes already).

The palettes are roughly around PHP350.00 and come in three variants: Earth Angel, Show Girl and Dainty Lass, which I will be swatching today.

The Dainty Lass palette contains the stereotypically cutesy girly color combination of pink and purple: two pink glosses, one pink blush, and one sparkly purple eyeshadow. I honestly don't think pink and purple are cutesy girly at all, especially when paired with black.

Here's the eyeshadow:

(I thought it would look bad on me, but it surprisingly wasn't.)

Below are the two glosses. The darker pink is on my upper lip, the lighter pink is on my lower lip.

(You might want to wear lip balm or something similar underneath, though. The glosses are a bit drying.)

Here's the blush:

(I rather like the color, it seems like the shade in between Careline's Touch of Pink and Rosy Cheeks.)

And finally, this is how it looks like all put together:

I had fun playing with this - so much that I might even get the Show Girl palette!

herbench/ paint box lip gloss in Luscious Red

Even though they don't last very long, I really like bench's lip glosses.

Could it be because of the simple, sleek packaging?

Or could it be the way their formula goes on my lips?

herbench/ paint box lip gloss in Playful Purple

This is another attempt at getting "something on the purple side". The product honestly looks more hot pink to me, though.

But that's okay, since I like how it brightens my face up.

(Ack, I'm not looking at the camera lens! I really need to practice full face shots more, don't I?
Hahaha it's because I'm not used to doing them!)

I like the gloss' consistency too - very lightweight and reasonably pigmented.

bench/ Pure Mist facial water

Finally! I've been looking for this for the past two months! The bench/ stores I frequent never carry this product, so I was super happy when I found it at MOA yesterday. This will be perfect for waterless situations at school!

The water has a light, floral scent to it, which is okay by me despite my dislike for flowery smells. (I'm a fruity person, thank you. XD)

Penshoppe Pop Beauty lipstick in Russian Doll vs herbench/ paint box lipstick in Orchid Pop

I'm really fond of trying out make up from local companies that don't just sell make up. Take clothing brands bench/ and Penshoppe, for example. The products I've tried from them so far are actually of decent quality, sometimes even better than Pinoy brands that focus only on make up.

Russian Doll is a slightly purple-ey red, and is one of four lipstick colors that Penshoppe offers. (I've only ever seen 4 at the branches I go to; do let me know if they have more~) Their lipstick's packaging is fun to hold because it's so smooth and metallic. Kinda reminds me of the anodized aluminum Apple uses to make iPod Nanos, really.

Russian Doll looked somewhat familiar when I swatched it, so I went digging into my lipstick drawer to verify this. True enough, its color was VERY near rival brand bench/'s paint box Orchid Pop lipstick! (Russian Doll to the left, Orchid Pop to the right.)

I wouldn't call them dupes, because Russian Doll is more sheer than Orchid Pop. The difference is barely noticeable on the lips, though. Here's how RD looks like:

And here's Orchid Pop:

Visually, all Orchid Pop has over Russian Doll is the "creamy" finish, and that's pretty much it. However, if smell were a factor, bench/ definitely trumps Penshoppe. The former's sugary dessert scent easily defeats the latter's icky waxy smell. It's super effective! (Props if you get the geek reference. 8B)

What of bench/'s packaging, you ask? Well, it's certainly very pretty to look at,

but I still think Penshoppe's is more fun to hold.

herbench/ paint box lip gloss in Orange Fizz

Got this along with the in2it lipstick from the other day. I really love how bench packages its lip products in glass/ice-like containers. Their lipsticks and glosses come in this nice, sugary dessert-like scent too.

Pigmentation was good, but staying power wasn't.