THE PRODUCT:
Cheekleader Palette, £52, Benefit Cosmetics (coming Wednesday 13th Feb)
THE HYPE:
Benefit have a long list of iconic products – from the They're Real mascara to the High Beam liquid illuminator, and of course Hoola bronzer. Now, in a Benefit first, they've combined their most iconic face products (including Hoola, Daffodil, Coralista and Gold Rush) plus two new exclusive highlighter shades (Cookie & Tickle) to form two A+ Cheekleader Palettes: Bronze Squad & Pink Squad.
REVIEWER:
Samantha, Deputy Beauty Editor
BEAUTY BIO:
Since winter struck, my complexion has gone from cute and creamy to pasty and sickly, so I've been relying on bronzer quite a lot. I have combination skin, with an oily T-zone, but dry cheeks, so I usually prefer cream products on my apples for a dewy finish. My pet hate is bronzer and blusher that looks cakey.
BENEFIT CHEEKLEADER BRONZE SQUAD PALETTE REVIEW:
When it came to choosing between the Cheekleader palettes, it was an incredibly hard decision. Both palettes are filled with six hand-picked shades that are completely complementary to the complexion and both include my fave powder bronzer, Hoola.
I ended up going with team Bronze Squad because I like a more peachy blusher over pink (in this case Coralista over Daffodil). Plus, once I swatched the new silvery highlighter shade 'Cookie', I just knew I needed it on my face asap.
It had been a while since I'd used Hoola, because I'd been favouring cream bronzer formulas lately, but it was just as good as I remembered. I used it to chisel my cheekbones and add a dusting of sunkissed goodness across my temples and nose. Despite my pasty complexion, it still looked surprisingly natural.
I then added a punchy amount of Coralista on the apples of my cheeks, building it up until I reached peak peachiness. Despite being a cult product, I hadn't used this shade as much and was really impressed with the way it melted into my skin and brought it to life without looking too orange. It also had a slight shimmer to it which made the product look dewy and glowy, despite it being a powder formula.
The real icing on the cake came when I swept cookie across the high points of my cheeks, brow bone and tip of the nose. The highlighter added a glaze-like silvery sheen to my complexion, but was tame enough not to look like a total disco ball. It gave my skin a wet, juicy-like look, that didn't budge for hours.
FINAL VERDICT:
I honestly couldn't fault this palette. It contains already well-loved products with a few new additions, so you really can't go wrong. And considering the Hula bronzer is £26 on its own, the fact that you can get 6x just-as-impressive face shades for £52 is an absolute bargain. This palette has also changed the way I view powder formulas in winter, as they looked just as glowy and healthy as creams (but with longer lasting power). It's everything I need for my complexion in one and I'm so in love.
Now that your face palette is sorted, why not peruse our edit of the best eyeshadow palettes?
31 best eyeshadow palettes that are perfect for the autumn/winter season – and loved by our beauty editorsncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLjApqauqp2WtKLGyKecZ5ufY8Kse8Crq6KbnJp8o7HNnp2irF2YtaaxyqyorpmUYr2iuMStq56rXaeyt7XEsA%3D%3D