Benefit Bella Bamba: Swatch, Review, FOTD

Sunday, February 27, 2011

18 comments
One of Benefit's cult products are their boxed powders, so when Benefit released their latest boxed powder offering, Bella Bamba, I just had to give it a whirl! Most of Benefit's boxed powders have been blushes, and Bella Bamba isn't that much of an exception - it's a blush, but this time, it's 3D!

Yes, you heard me right. Benefit calls this blush a "3D brightening pink" - the idea is that the gold shimmer is supposed to impart a multidimensional look to your cheeks that's not flat.

Going along with the whole 3D, multidimensional concept, the blush packaging also features some cool holographic-ish effect. I don't think my camera captured it too well, but you can tell there's some cool visual effect going on:

benefit bella bamba box


Visuals aside, the blush packaging has also changed in substance this time - instead of a totally removable top as with previous boxed powders, the lid on this one is hinged, and there is a mirror inside too! Not bad at all. I consider it an improvement over the previous design.



As with Benefit's other boxed blushes and bronzers, Bella Bamba also comes with a brush. I'm not too keen on the brush myself, and I personally prefer to use my own blush brushes, but in a pinch (say if you're travelling), this is quite adequate.

benefit bella bamba brush


The colour of the blush itself is actually very pretty, and one of my favourites to date. Bella Bamba is a very pretty colour, with gold shimmer, and Benefit was right in describing it as "watermelon" - I do think this is watermelon pink, with a hint of coral. I love it!

benefit bella bamba 2


The colour is remiscent of NARS Orgasm and all its dupes, but to me they aren't quite the same. I had NARS Orgasm awhile back, and didn't really like it - it came out too peachy and quite "meh" on me, but I really love this colour. I think the key difference is that Bella Bamba is pinker, and less peachy than Orgasm, which helps make it a little bit more universal. Unlike Orgasm, which didn't look good on me (I absolutely detest those ads that proclaim Orgasm as the "ultimate universal blush colour"), I can imagine most people being able to wear Bella Bamba. It's pink, but the coral tinge and gold shimmer help to ensure that it's a pink that would be wearable even for girls who don't normally like to wear pink.

Here's a swatch. On my skin, it's pretty obvious that Bella Bamba isn't an Orgasm. Oh no, it's way better.

benefit bella bamba swatch


The texture of Bella Bamba is pretty good, and also quite comparable to Benefit's other boxed powders. Benefit pulls no surprises with regards to quality on this one - if you've liked their previous blushes, you'll like this too. Another thing I liked about Bella Bamba is it's buildability. You can wear this colour sheered out as a barely-there blush, or you could build it up for a pop of colour on the cheeks. It's actually pretty versatile that way, and I do appreciate that.

Here's a FOTD (Face of the Day) with Bella Bamba. This one features a light-to-moderate application of the blush colour.

benefit bella bamba fotd


I thought the glitter would show up too much in the photo, but it isn't that obvious once applied, which is a plus. The amount of gold shimmer is nicely balanced - there is enough to ensure that it does add some dimension to the colour (so they weren't totally lying about the 3D claims), but at the same time not so much that the blush becomes a glitterbomb. Still totally wearable for work, in my book.

So do you need Bella Bamba? Well, I thinnk you do! For one, it's a great colour I could imagine most girls wearing. For another, it's got a great texture, and nicely buildable pigmentation. And it comes in a cool-looking holographic box! What's not too like? If you've been eyeing Bella Bamba, it's definitely worth checking out.

18 comments:

  1. It's such a pretty colour and looks great on you! I always look at it when I pass by it but haven't tried it on (it leads to buying, lol). I'm not crazy about the new box design but I've read a lot of people like the change.

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  2. I still don't quite understand the 3D aspect of this...so long as it isn't matte, you aren't going to get a flat look. So therefore, any blush with shimmer should have a '3D effect'. Clever marketing jargon, though!

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  3. I have swatched it a few times but the amount of glitter put me off, maybe now I'll have to give it a try :)

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  4. I've never had a Benefit blush, can you believe that?

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  5. I love this blush. It looks so pretty on you!

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  6. I really really want this blush! I love benefit blushes and it looks lovely, definitely want it a bit more after reading this. xo.
    gh0stparties.com

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  7. I really need to try some Benefit...lovely!

    Liesl :)

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  8. I love this FOTD, you look like Spring! x

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  9. this is the first time i saw this blush used on asian skin. i didn't know it was this cool. it suits you very well, nevertheless. i'd look out for it when it reaches here.

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  10. the blush looks gorgeous on you! have read so many raves about this blush. can't wait to try it out. =)

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  11. I think the blush itself is gorgeous, but the whole 3D thing causes me to roll my eyes XD

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  12. I think you may have just convinced me to get this blush. I wasn't really thinking I would, but I might have to give into the temptation. It looks gorgeous on you!

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  13. Ooooo i like this colour so much more than the Coral Reef one they have! Will be tryin this one next...thanks for the review. Definitely will be following your blog! Follow back :)

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  14. One of the products I can't handle spending so much on are blushes so this would be a pass for me. I refuse to go higher than a mineralized blush from MAC and when I bought one, it was a birthday splurge and that was the only time I'd buy something so pricey. xD

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  15. This looks absolutely stunning on you! I'd seen this in the shops and was instantly attracted to it as i love benefit (plus the box is so shiny - im like a magpie attracted to shiny things!)but i have coralista at the moment which is one of my prized posessions hahaa. i love these blushers i find they last ages, and the colour is really rich.
    thanks for following my blog!
    Emily @emilysnailfiles

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  16. I've been seeing this blush on almost every blog I've gone to haha. It's a really pretty color though - might have to think about picking this one up next. Great review btw, I'm a new follower :D

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