Skincare can be an attitude, or better yet, an exceptionally cool way of life. Yes, Benefit Cosmetics makes functional, decent glosses, stains, and concealers, but doesn’t at least half the fun come from their sassy, retro packaging and kitschy names? Were Benefit to launch a skincare regimen, we would expect anything less?

Their b.right Radiant Skincare puts a little spin on their usual formula. While this new line relies on mainly descriptive names like the Refined Finish Facial Polish and Triple Performing Facial Emulsion, Benefit keeps thing light and cool by making the packaging into statement pieces of vaguely Pucci-inspired water-color prettiness and imbuing the products with a light floral-cucumber fragrance to match.

The Foamingly Clean Facial Wash ($21) creates an extremely satisfying lather that completely removed the grime of my day. The botanical derivatives and amino acids in the pearly wash left my skin feeling squeaky clean without the unpleasantly tight sensation that sometimes accompanies it.

I tried the Refined Finish Facial Polish ($22) with some trepidation. This species uses natural clay for physical exfoliation and glycolic acid for a chemical assist while seaweed extract nourishes the skin at the same time. The polishing particles felt larger, and at the same time softer, than other physical exfoliaters that have recently come my way. Because of its gentler nature, I felt safe using this every other day to whisk dead, dulling cells off my face.

With the cleansing done, in the mornings I reached for the Triple Performing Facial Emulsion with an SPF 15 PA++($28.) Most of the moisturizers in this line use what they call the Tri-Radiance complex. The ‘tri’ comes from the complex’s three functions. It bring hydration to the skin, keeps it there, then helps skin to develop long-term reserves of water for genuinely moisturized skin. The complex uses a mixture of vegetable sugars, glycol derivatives, and different sizes of hyaluronic acid molecules to get all this done. I loved that the Emulsion lacked any kind of oil, and Benefit gets major points for included broad spectrum sun protection. I personally spend too much time outside to go with an SPF product of less than 50. If that’s not a concern, this is a great option for getting acne-prone skin the hydration it needs.

For those without overactive oil glands to worry about, the Total Moisture Facial Cream ($38) makes an effective night-time treatment. It still has the tri-radiance complex of the Emulsion, but combines it with mango butter for the last word in hydration.

Finally, the It’s Potent Eye Cream ($32) shocked me like no other. Benefit discontinue their Eyecon cream, but used it as a base to build upon for this new product. The cream now includes burnet, a remedy from Chinese medicine to soothe angry under-eye skin, and cocoa extract to increase micro-circulation, and so disperse those blue half-moons. Apple extract helps to strengthen the skin by assisting with collagen production.

The cream underwhelms with its appearance, especially compared to the the spanking white of the Total Moisture Cream and Foamingly Clean Face Wash, but after using the dull off-white fragrance-free cream morning and night for four days, I woke up to find my purple-blue stains under my eyes faded into almost nothing. And here I had resigned myself to being chained to my concealer pen for the rest of my life. I still need some cosmetic color-correction under my baby blues, but not nearly as much as I did.

Let me sum up: Two solid facial cleansers, a day lotion that falls just a leeetle short, a cream for dry skin, and eye cream that works like no other I’ve tried in recent memory, and all these come in glass pots and bottle with faux-cork lids that would look swell on display on any bathroom counter. It gives me a little twinge of regret that I don’t have any counter to speak of, but then I remind myself to be happy with my newly lightened under-eyes. To purchase any of these products, as well as others in the b.right line, go to www.benefitcosmetics.com.

And, don’t forget to take care of your neck! We have the perfect recommendation for you.

Are you a fan of Benefit Cosmetics? Would you purchase this b.Radiant line?

– Katharine McKenzie

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