BeneFit Hoola

I’m a fan of bronzer and since been a teenager I have worn bronzing powders. Even during the winter months I love how even pale skin can be given a warm glow with correctly applied bronzer. However over the years out of all make up products I have used bronzer is the one product that can go so wrong if you choose the wrong one or apply it incorrectly. I have found with a lot of poor bronzers that rather than leaving you with a sun kissed glow they can leave you with an orange umpa-lumpa face instead. Obviously this is not a look I want to sport so choosing the correct bronzer is essential. After a discussion with my (female) work colleagues about choosing a new bronzer one product was highly recommended was Benefit Hoola, which one of my colleagues kindly let me try out before I purchased.

***Benefit Hoola***
The description of Benefit Hoola is “a soft bronze matte powder that gives your complexion a healthy, natural looking tan. Dust it lightly across cheeks, chin and forehead to bring the warm tan of the island to your skin and spirits.”

As described earlier I had heard a lot of good reviews about Benefit Hoola from a range of different people with different skin types and tones. The general feeling was although this would give your skin a tanned look it would not leave you with an orange glow. This is what sold the product to me and I feel when I visited the Benefit counter to purchase the Benefit representative was very enthusiastic about this bronzer and actually claimed it is “not possible to turn yourself orange” with Benefit Hoola because of the colour of the bronzer and bronze colour is more of a brown rather than containing orange pigments.

Benefit Hoola comes in a square cardboard box. This is a deep purple colour with the Benefit logo written on and a white flower . Initially I did think this was not the most durable of bronzers to travel with but I actually feel because the box is so strong and the lid has a magnetic fastening (with a mirror on the lid) if you drop the box unlike bronzers in a plastic case it does not smash or the bronzer does not break into bits. Inside of the box is a small brush to apply the bronzer with. This is a white long brush about 3cm long and 2cm long goat hair bristles. This has a green handle which is long and flat.

Benefit Hoola is available from Benefit counters which you will find in most department stores including John Lewis, Debnehams, House of Fraser and Selfridges. You can purchase from all of these stores websites and you can also purchase this bronzer online from ASOS. The price of Benefit Hoola is the greatest disadvantage in my opinion. For an 11g box it costs £23. If you shop around online you can purchase Benefit Hoola slightly cheaper from retailers such as www.fragranceonline.com and www.cosmeticshouse.co.uk for around £17 but as far as bronzing products go this is expensive

***Application***
The directions for use are “Sweep across chin, cheeks, and forehead with accompanying brush. For lighter bronze coverage, use with our fantail brush”

Benefit suggests that on darker skin tones use the Benefit Hoola fantail brush to apply all over for a medium to deep tan look. On lighter skin tones, use the slant powder brush to contour cheekbones, jaw line and down the center of the nose.

When I first tried this bronzer I did use the brush that came with the bronzer. Although it is a satisfactory brush that gives an even application and is compact so great to pop inside the bronzer box I personally did not like the feel of the brush as I felt the bristles of the brush were a little too rigid for a bronzer brush and I also felt the handle of the brush (which is only about 3cm in length) just did not feel right in my hand when I made sweeping movement to apply the bronzer. When I came to purchase this at the Benefit counter I tried the brush again and still felt this way so when I got my product home I decided to use my MAC 187 Stippling Face Brush to apply Benefit Hoola. Which priced at £30 as you would expect creates a much better application of the bronzer product and is a lot easier to use for application as the long traditional shape brush sits comfortably in your hand as you sweep over your face.

Applying the Hoola bronzer is very easy and what I liked about the bronzer is that I only need to sweep the brush into the bronzer twice which allows me to apply enough bronzer to my face. With many other bronzers I have used I find that I need to sweep the bronzer brush into the product 5-6 times to get enough bronzer for an even application. I do find the colour of this bronzer is quite misleading to look at. It actually looks a lot lighter than many other bronzer products that I own however I feel when applied this is not the case and the colour is more of a brown than a gold/ orange colour. Because you do not need to apply much bronzer to your brush I find this is a very economical bronzer. Although this bronzer cost me £23, even after 8 months of use using at least 3 times a week I have found that I probably have not even used half of the bronzer in the packaging yet.

***Results***
I was very impressed with the results of this bronzer both on skin which is already tanned and when applied on skin that is in need of a tan. I feel the Hoola bronzer gives a lovely deep brown colour which has a definite brown bronzed glow but looks like a natural tan rather than cheap orange glow many bronzers or false tanning products give to skin. What I like about the hoola bronzer is that it is a matt bronzer and it does not have a shimmer or sparkle to it. I dislike bronzers that are overly shimmery as I feel they look very unnatural and quite cheap looking. I also find that because this is a matt bronzer the bronzer blends in better with your skin and you can give your neck and shoulder a quick dusting to ensure that your face looks the same colour as your body.

The feel of the bronzer on the skin is lovely. This leaves a very soft smooth feel to skin yet skin does not feel overly dry and powdery.

I do think although this bronzer is very natural looking when applied you do need to take care when applying. If you apply too much you will not look like an orange faced umpa loompa but you may look overly brown with a muddy dirty face. The Benefit representative did mention that it is impossible for this bronzer to turn your skin orange which I feel is a true claim but what she did not mention is that it is possible to make your face too brown. Therefore I would recommend you do not over apply and always ensure the room you apply your bronzer in is lit adequately so you can see the true colour of your face!

The skin on my face goes quite dark when I have a tan and I feel that when using the Hoola bronzer I actually find myself wearing less face make up. If I sweep this bronzer over my tanned face I feel it emphasises my tan and gives it an even colour so much so that I do not wear any foundation. On my skin without a tan (which is a mid-olive skin tone) I take slightly more care to ensure I do not look too brown but sweeping over my cheeks and forehead still gives me a natural sun kissed glow and I look less pale.

My friend who has very fair skin has borrowed this bronzer and although the colour of the Hoola bronzer is suitable for paler skin I do think you need to take more care applying. My friend only needed a very light sweep over of the brush on her face, any more than this could have led to the colour being too brown.

Not only does the Hoola bronzer give your skin a natural tanned glow, the results are long lasting. If I apply this product in the morning my skin still has a visible bronzed glow to it the following evening. I also like that once applied the Hoola bronzer does not wear and rub off or become patchy like many bronzers do leaving you with uneven coloured skin. The Hoola bronzer leaves your skin an even bronzed colour until you come to remove it. Removing the bronzer is very easy and it will wipe off your face with a make-up wipe.

***Overall***
Benefit Hoola is definitely one of the best bronzers I have used and I would definitely recommend it to others. The bronzer creates a very natural tanned look and the colour is a lovely bronzed brown look rather than an orange glow. I think this is a great bronzer for a range of skin tones and providing the bronzer is applied correctly it will give you an even matte bronzed colour whether you have pale or darker skin leaving it with a soft silky feel.

The packaging is pretty and stylish and is actually a lot more functional and durable than the plastic pot bronzers which smash very easily!

At £23 this is an expensive bronzer but I do feel it is a very economical bronzer and even though I use this product almost daily it will last me over a year. Compared to some cheaper bronzing products I find I need to replace after only 6 months of use.

Great for a natural looking brown bronzed tan and top marks that you can’t achieve an umpa loompa orange look but you do need to take care applying in order to avoid the overly brown muddy faced look!