Soft and silky, add to that versatility and cute package (Benefit Hello Flawless!)

Member Name: goldenbat666

Product:	Benefit Hello Flawless!
Date:	09/06/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect for those with dry skin or looking for touch up, two types of applicators to suit your needs

Disadvantages: Not so long lasting against oil, rubbery fragrance

This product allows you to achieve the dream come true "flawless" skin just like those you see on screen (well, airbrushed, sure), as if that should not have been obvious from the name already.
As expected from Benefit, at first sight you are impressed by the bouncy design. I must admit that any Benefit product would do absolute wonders to add a certain lively charm to any girl's makeup table and this does not disappoint with its delightful, practical design. The combination of black, white, red and the cute mirror effect creates a simple but eye-catching packaging.
The inside is divided into two levels: on the top level there's the powder foundation and the bottom, where two types of applicators are nestled down. The bottom surface of this product has holes to allow ventilation for the applicators.
The two applicators included are a sponge and a brush. I loved the fact that I got two contrasting applicators in one product so that I could explore and take advantage of both their qualities and effects. The sponge is on the thinner side and has considerable flexibility while also being of fine weave. The brush, although not the most voluminous one that I have seen, was slim with very soft hair. They both present reasonable grip for no-fuss application.
This product is very fine and silky. You can just tell from lightly testing it with your fingertips and it will come out very easily on to them. Although powdery, this product is not dry at all, you can even see a slight sheen where it sticks to the skin. The only downside is that it seems to have a fragrance reminiscent of rubber; since I will be applying this product to more or less the whole of my face, I would have much preferred something that smelled a bit nicer.
When using the sponge to apply, this product evens out and brightens the tone of the skin generally and you will end up with soft, fluffy looking skin. This product also hides pores without looking too heavy or made up, which is always a plus. This seems to offer around 60% coverage (if it could be measured); it may not hide moles or such completely but will definitely work on veins, light blemishes and such.
If using the brush, you tend to get a lighter feel overall. You get more shine and look smoother but I felt that I was wasting quite a bit of the powder since it flied around so much at the brush stroke. You also get less coverage for the pores than when you were using the sponge.
Although this product is great in not being too drying to the skin, it does mean that it is comparatively weak against oils; whereas other similar products last around 5 hours, this lasts around 3 hours. However, it's simple and easy enough to touch up quickly that it should not pose a problem if you don't mind sparing a minute or two with a mirror.
This product has the SPF of 15 but this only seems to apply to UVB and not UVA, which would have helped in making this product an overall winner at the end of the day.

Summary: Silky light hybrid of powder and foundation