Santa knows that I have a bit of an addiction to make-up products and, particularly to the little kits that Benefit produce, so this year I wasn't entirely suprised to find 'Big Beautiful Eyes' waiting for me in my stocking - after all, I had been a very good girl (most of the time anyway!) I have now been using this kit for a couple of weeks, in rotation with another Benefit Box ('She's So Jetset') and this review focuses on my experiences so far.

* Product Information *
"Big Beautiful Eyes" is described as an eye-contour kit and comes in a mid-sized flip-opening box with an image of a beautifully made up eye, and two smaller eyes showing details of the contents. This box is inside a cardboard sleeve which matches the box. Inside the box, there are four products - the largest of these is the 'Bo-ing' concealer (1.8g size), and then there are 3 eyeshadows (0.8g each) in a base shade, a contour shade and an liner shade. There are also two small brushes - a single-ended concealer brush and a double-ended eyeshadow brush. There is a mirror built into the lid of the box, which is always handy for touching up your make-up when out, and a little instruction booklet which explains how to create the desired 'big, beautiful eyes' look.

* Application and Results *
According to the instruction booklet, you should start by filling both sides of your concealer brush with 'Bo-ing' and lightly draw a line on top of your dark circles, before using your middle finger to blend it lightly over the under-eye area. I don't always find 'Bo-ing' to be the best concealer - there are some days where it seems to do a good job, and other days where I find that I get better results by using Lemon Aid - maybe it just depends on how much sleep I've had the night before. Dark circle elimination issues aside, it is easy to apply the concealer and it does minimise the dark circles to some extent. The next stage is base shadow application which is a very simple process. The base shadow in this kit is a light rosy pink and this is easy to sweep across your entire eye area from lash line to brow bone. I like this colour and find that it warms the appearance of my face up slightly which, in this freezing weather, has got to be a positive thing. The third stage is to apply the contour shadow which is a mid-brown colour - again, I find this colour flattering and both easy to wear and to apply. The final stage is the application of the liner shadow, which is a dark brown. This has a different texture to the other two powder eyeshadows and instead is a lot more solid and chalky. It is relatively easy to apply, although I don't tend to use it in the way that the instruction booklet suggests as I find it ends up looking a bit messy when under under my bottom lashes. I use it more as a highlighter on my eyelids and stick with a more traditional liner on my lower lash line. Overall though, I find that this is a flattering eye make-up look which is suitable for work without overuse of the liner shadow and can be made more dramatic for evenings out by using the liner shadow. I always use a primer under my eye shadow and have found that this is a long-lasting product which still looks good at the end of a long day.

* Cost *
Benefit "Big Beautiful Eyes" costs £24.50 from Benefit stores and beauty counters nationwide. It is fairly expensive for what it is, although you do get the concealer as well as the eyeshadows which makes it a bit more worth the money.

* Final Thoughts *
This is a product which I enjoy using and gives me good results. It isn't my favourite current product (maybe because I am loving 'She's So Jetset') but it is one that I use regularly and will continue to use at least once a week for the foreseeable future. I really like the two 'traditional' eyeshadows and, despite my application issues with the liner shadow, I think this is also a good addition for creating drama and definition with your eye make-up. The addition of the Bo-ing concealer to this set is also a positive - it is ideal for slipping into your handbag for those emergency touch-ups and minimises the amount of products that I need to carry around with me. Overall, I would recommend it but I would subtract one star as I'm not convinced it is great value for money and the liner shadow could be a bit easier to apply.