I love Benefit – my purse does not. Yes, they produce the most amazing products I have ever had the fortune to spread across my face and yes, the entire range is beautiful and heavenly in every way imaginable, but to say that they sport ‘rather costly’ prices (quote courtesy of a close friend of mine) is one heck of an understatement. A humble eye shadow brush is £15, and their powders sport the hideously expensive price of £21.50 (although in my opinion the powders make up for this by being so heavenly they practically have wings and a halo). But despite squeezing me of every last penny, Benefit have always provided me with superb quality merchandise and I am pleased to report that boi-ing is no exception.

***coverage***

In a word – glorious. Does exactly what it does on the tin/small cardboard box; conceals, no...erases dark circles until the point of no return. The ‘industrial strength’ proves to give the coverage you need, minus the stickiness and gloop that you don’t. You can literally lay it on (take my word) and it never appears to be heavy – just light but oh-so effective coverage that gives you a beautiful, glowing complexion; all by concealing a few bags! It feels like silk, if you can feel it at all, and leaves your skin soft and smooth when removed. It may only come in three colours (light, medium and dark) but melts into your skin texture so that the only person who knows it’s there is you. The only flaw, although miniscule, is it’s tendency to highlight fine lines, despite easily covering larger ones. However, I have discovered that by dotting a bit of liquid concealer (preferably light-diffusing) onto these lines and blending well, they disappear completely.

***staying power***

Obviously, when something conceals as brilliantly as this does, you don’t want it to slither it’s way off your face ten minutes into your day, not only exposing your dar
k circles the world to see but forming a stream of pale unattractive concealer-drips (as I once experienced with a rather cheap and shoddy concealer bought in desperation at a small disintegrating chemist when stranded in soggy Scotland minus make-up bag). Luckily, this is not the case with boi-ing. Once on, it clings to your skin and refuses to be shaken off no matter what you throw at it (with the exception of eye make-up remover).
And putting into consideration the fact that most people just want to go shopping in it, not play a 50 minute long game of hockey through rain, wind and two foot deep mud as I once foolishly did – although a dab of a tissue here and there afterwards mopped up the damage and revealed the last morsels of boi-ing still hanging on to my face! Great coverage, lasts forever...could it be any more perfect? Of course it can!

***packaging***

For a gorgeous product you need gorgeous packaging, which is exactly what boi-ing has. It comes in a cute little black cardboard box, which has the Benefit logo on the front and a brief description of the product on the back. When the box is opened, out slides a darling black compact with the Benefit logo featured once again on the front in gold, although the rest of it is left blank. When opened, which it does very easily, a sweet, circular mirror is revealed on the flip-top inside, with the product itself on the other panel.
Not only is boi-ing gorgeously packaged, it is effectively packaged. The retro design makes the concealer amazingly easy to use, with a brush or your fingers, and keeps it fresh and clean. However, a word of warning; boi-ing’s limpet-like tendencies make it a magnet for dust and hairs; including those of your concealer brush – so keep a pair of clean tweezers nearby if a hair should find it’s way into your compact.

***gentleness***

Having always suffered from easily irritated skin, the kind that runs away scr
eaming when approached with anything other than the purest of make-up and, if forced to wear the offending item, becomes so angry it turns red (and flaky) with rage, I breathed a sigh of relief the first time I used boi-ing. It left my skin exactly how it was before I put it on, and, despite very regular use, it has never once provoked a skin rebellion, much to my (and my skin’s) relief.
Despite this, I have found that it is not a good idea to use boi-ing on spots. I’m not sure why, but it seems to react badly to spots (possibly due to the excess oil) and slides right off. It’s best to stick to using boi-ing to banish dark circles, although I also find that it works nicely concealing those irritating open pores on your nose (when followed by a light dusting of powder).

***value***

Aha. At this point in my review, you could be pinching yourself to make sure you’re not in a dream. You could be thinking that I’m actually an undercover Benefit sales rep, trying to persuade you to buy boi-ing (which I’m not! Not only would it pay really badly as a job but, what with me being 12 years old and all, it’d actually be illegal to hire me). Or, the more likely thing you could be doing is being very sceptical and searching for a hidden catch. Well for all you very sceptical people, here it is. Boi-ing costs £15. Yep, ouch! But in terms of value, it can barely be beaten. £15 pounds is a lot of money to fill, but boi-ing does it – just. With all of the mentioned qualities plus the fact it lasts for ages, it has just about enough value for money to make you wanna buy it. Well, I thought it did.

***overall***

Brilliant brilliant brilliant! Easily the best concealer I’ve ever tried, possible the bet in the world (and I’m not exaggerating!) Great coverage, magnificent staying power, sublime packaging and amazingly gentle too! But alas, it is not perfect. Sporting a bit of a hefty pr
ice tag, boi-ing appears to only be easily available to those with well-paid jobs and large bank accounts. But it really is so good, I overcame this and splashed out on a pot for myself and boy am I glad! To say it is a creamy miracle worker is by no means an exaggeration of the truth.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a heavy-duty, ever-lasting, natural-feeling concealing cream with good value for money, you really aren’t going to do any better than boi-ing.