It’s hard to believe Benefit’s beloved Hoola Bronzer is 21 years old this year. I remember it was quite the splurge for me in high school and I barely used it because I didn’t want it to run out. Today, Benefit is one of the top brands in the United States for color complexion products thanks to the success of Hoola alongside its other powder formulations for highlighter and blush—Dandelion is a powerhouse seller in Asia.
In an effort to build out its blush empire, Benefit is relaunching its entire powder blush collection with foolproof formulas and the same whimsical, playful names the brand is known for. “All of our existing blushes are going away, except Dandelion, and we’re replacing them with 11 entirely new shades,” says Maggie Ford Danielson, Benefit beauty ambassador and director of brand outreach (her mom cofounded the brand). “I’m so excited for you to meet the WANDERful World Blush Collection.”
“We’ve organized our humidity and water-resistant shades into four categories: rich berries, everyday neutrals, soft pinks and corals,” Danielson explains. “Historically, you’d choose a blush based on your skin tone, but these are not built that way. No matter your skin tone, you can wear any of these shades. All of them were built using a translucent base versus the normal process with a white or pink base, where you add colors and pigments on top of that. That means there’s no white or ashiness to any of them, even on those with deeper skin tones. And for those loyal customers who used one of our existing shades, we will be making recommendations to match them to new ones.” Below is the list of new shades (Starlaa is missing from this list because its launch is delayed, but coming soon):
Natural-matte finish:
Sunny: warm coral
PomPom: pomegranate rose
Java: rosy mocha
Satin finish:
Dandelion: light pink
Moone: rich berry
Willa: soft neutral-rose
Starlaa : rosy bronze
Soft-shimmer finish:
Butterfly: golden orange
Peachin’: golden peach
Shellie: warm seashell-pink
Crystah: strawberry pink
Terra: golden brick red
The color payoff of the triple-milled powder isn’t so intense, which makes these shades super user-friendly. “The more pigmented shades are pressed into the box more firmly, so when you push your brush into them, they pick up slightly less pigment than the lighter shades so you can control the application,” Danielson explains, noting that the addition of fresh water pearl and synthetic sapphire in the formula gives a blurring effect to the skin so you look like you have a filter on your face. “You can build the color up based on the look you’d like to achieve. We want people to play with different shades.”
During my Zoom with Danielson, she told me she was wearing Moone, which she never thought she could pull off before, but it’s her new favorite. “I also like to layer Butterfly on top of it. The goal of this collection is to reinvent the world of blush.”
Benefit’s iconic box packaging is staying, but the built-in mini brushes are being removed so the boxes can be slimmed down and made from 100-percent recycled paperboard. “We’re now using 20-percent less material than what was previously being used,” says Danielson. “Everything that comes in a box will be repackaged in this new way. And as far as the brush, we made a new Multitasking Cheek Brush that is retractable and can be used with all of our blushes and bronzer.”
Each blush is $29 (actually $1 less than the previous price due to the brush and packaging changes), and is available today.
