Benefit Full Finish Lipstick - Espionage (black cherry)

So here goes, Lipstick Mama's first lipstick post. 

I am a massive fan of Benefit cosmetics (who doesn't love their packaging and quirky names?) but have never owned any of their lipsticks before. I've been after a darker lipstick that would give me a vampy look without making me look like a vampire and the Benefit Full Finish Lipstick in Espionage (black cherry) caught my eye. As you can see, the lipstick itself looks very dark but I took the risk - I could always save it for Halloween if all fails. 

Benefit Full Finish Lipstick in Espionage (black cherry)

When I put it on, I was surprised at how light the colour is on my lips (compared to the lipstick itself). I like it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not used to wearing dark lipstick shades so felt like my former 8 year old self trying on my mother's makeup for the first time as I tried my hardest to not go over my lip line. It was very smooth and easy to apply. 

Fresh application - 2 coats

After dinner

It's a beautiful colour and you can of course build up the intensity by applying more coats (I just don't have the patience to make it super dark). In the pictures above, it looks quite glossy (photo was taken immediately after application) but it's not very moisturising and I highly recommend exfoliating and moisturising your lips before putting this on as every bit of dry skin will show up (gross!).  

As you can see, after dinner my lipstick had come off a bit but after I pursed my lips a bit and redistributed the colour and it looked about a shade lighter but coverage was actually still good. 

To give you some perspective on its staying power, I applied this lipstick before I got into work at 9am and didn't touch up again until after lunch, but by then the glossiness had worn off and most of the colour had gone (bearing in mind I had 2 cups of tea!). The colour is fairly long lasting but it could be because this shade is quite dark and stains the lips, rather than a super effective long lasting formula. 

The Benefit Full Finish Lipstick is available directly from Benefit's website for £14 in comes in 20 shades. 

I am keen to try the Benefit Silky Finish Lipstick instead just for comparison. Watch this space! 


Lipstick Mama xoxo