Dark circles completely dissapear instead of just hiding (Benefit Boi-ing)

Member Name: missixty

Product:	Benefit Boi-ing
Date:	11/01/08 (1670 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Complete coverage, nice feel, looks natural

Disadvantages: Price, can crease

Boi-ing concealer was one of the first Benefit products I ever tried. Other than its slightly odd name, it's not particularly one of their quirkier products, its packaged in a plain shiny black compact (complete with handy mirror) and it isn't a new revolutionary product it is essentially 'just' a concealer. Although it may not attract you as much as the brands more exciting products, don't be so quick to over look it.

After my first Boi-ing ran out, it was one of the few products I actually re bought immediately (albeit off ebay) as it was something I couldn't live without. After my second tub I couldn't afford even the ebay prices and off I went back to the cheap brands. In my mind I still knew Boi-ing was a great product but I think I had somehow forgotten exactly how great it was.

Armed with my larger than usual Boots spending limit (courtesy of; the boyfriend, his bosses - giving him vouchers that he wouldn't want to use for himself, and of course Santa) I decided to buy the Realness of Concealness kit from Benefit. It's a great way to try out five of their amazing products that work well together. One of these was of course Boi-ing, the industrial strength concealer.

When I first opened my kit I was a little bit dismayed to find that the shade of Boi-ing in the kit (which is claimed to 'suit most skin tones') was a lot darker than the one I had previously bought. I had bought the lightest colour the first two times and this one is the medium shade. It looked far too dark for my skin whilst it was in the tray.

Well, what can I say, in a million years I never would have thought the solution to completely hiding my dark circles would be to opt for a darker shade of concealer. Honestly, I remember being impressed with this product on my circles the first time round but with this darker shade you can not see them at all, whatsoever. I can't stress how much I mean this, they are gone, not a trace of them, you couldn't spot them if you tried and no I'm not exaggerating. The darker shade also surprisingly didn't look to dark on my skin (despite me being deathly winter pale) even when used on other parts of my face (such as the odd spot).

I would say if you are thinking of buying this product then go a shade darker than you think you need. It is only available in light, medium or dark, and when looking you will probably think the shade darker looks way to dark but seriously, at least try some in the shop on you're circles, you will be amazed how well it works and that it doesn't look dark on your skin.

I have tried many different concealers, particularly for my dark circles under my eyes. These have varied from the many different cheap and cheerful ranges right up to the all hailed Touche Eclat (which in my personal opinion is rubbish). I've tried thick heavy concealers, light reflecting concealers, lilac concealers, salmon coloured concealers, yellow mineral powder concealer - everything I could to try to cover up those circles. Most attempts have been in vain, and only reduced them at the very most.

Boi-ing isn't a completely heavy concealer, thickness wise, but nor is it your liquid 'light reflecting' kind, the consistency is somewhere in the middle, it's very creamy. I think the difference must just be the amount of pigment in it compared to other concealers as it has complete coverage. It is the strongest coverage I've ever seen - whatever is behind that concealer; a dark circle, a spot, pigmentation etc, you are not going to be able to see even a hint of.

To apply it's a fingers job, simply dab your finger on the Boi-ing, and that will be enough for one eye, or a spot, a little goes a long way. You could use a concealer brush with this but I find it works just fine with your fingers.

If Boi-ing has a down point it is only that you need to be careful to only apply it sparingly, you honestly don't need any more than that to do the job and if you apply to thickly then it can crease in those little annoying fine lines underneath your eye. The trick is just to apply little.

Benefit claim it won't crease, smudge or wear off, I've found that on the whole it lasts well through out the day, much better than other concealers coverage wise, although the creasing can happen under the eye after wearing it throughout the day. If you simply rub your finger over the bit that is creased though it smoothes and blends it away and looks great again. So although their claims aren't 100% accurate, compared to other concealers, it exceeds their abilities of not creasing/smudging/wearing off.

Although I love my Boi-ing primarily for my under eye circles, this is due to them being the larger problem for me normally. It is worth saying though that it's effects on spots are excellent. There's no need for any green concealer underneath to counteract the redness of a spot because this concealer simply erases it.

Benefit recommend, surprise surprise, applying in three dots under the whole eye area and the patting it to blend it in. I would disagree with this as I think putting concealer on the bags of your eyes is a bad idea and can actually emphasise this so I just apply it directly to my dark circles but let my Ooh La Lift do it's magic on it's own on my eye bags.

I honestly can't speak highly enough about Boi-ing and would recommend it to anyone who has anything on their face they wish to hide (don't we all?). At £15.50 for a 3g compact of Boi-ing, it is expensive compared with high street brands, although it's cheap compared to its far inferior competitor Touche Eclat. My memory is somewhat hazy but I think when I had these full sized compacts they used to last me a few months with daily use. I've been using the tiny bit in my Realness of Concealness Kit since December and so far it still looks untouched so I think it is fairly long lasting but not a really long lasting product like Benetint for example. The Realness of Concealness Kit is £22 and I think this is a better option if you've not got any other Benefit products as you get the Ooh La Lift and the Lemon Aid which will work well in conjunction with Boi-ing and give you that perfect, no make up, eye look.

Summary: Try it, you'll be amazed!