Price: $36 per ounce
Benefit is known for their Hello Flawless powder cover-up and their primers, but despite not being spoken about nearly as often as it's sister products the Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation is actually one of Benefit's best sellers.
Benefit claims that Hello Flawless Oxygen is your ultimate oil-free, complexion enhancing, your skin but better makeup and it certainly has plenty of amazing attributes but it's not a foundation for everyone!
Keep reading if you're interested in Hello Flawless Oxygen Foundation but aren't sure if it's right you!
Benefit Hello Flawless is a liquid foundation which is on the thinner side of foundations. It's silky smooth and blends impeccably ; no matter which application method you choose!
Hello Flawless is a great foundation for those with dry skin. It's incredibly moisturizing and will easily smooth over any dry patches or flakes without drawing attention to them.
The down side of a formula that's this moisturizing is that it's certainly not going to help control shine and in many cases it will make oily areas appear worse.
You can build Hello Flawless up from Light Coverage and get a decent medium level of coverage, but you really can't go up past medium without taking some significant extra steps and even then the results will probably be less than desirable
A formula like this, which is very similar to Mac Mineralize Moisture Foundation but a bit thicker, is almost guaranteed to provide a dewy (almost wet) finish unless you have incredibly dry skin.
You can tone down the dewiness of the foundation and end up with a natural looking "satin" finish if you use a primer underneath the foundation or a setting product (such as powder or something like Mally's Poreless Face Defender) over it.
If you choose to set Hello Flawless with a pressed powder, it's important that you use only a micro-smidgen of powder and a light hand; (particularly if you applied more than a very thin layer of foundation.) Too much powder can result in a cakey look which defeats the whole purpose of using a light-weight foundation.
You can play around with different silicone primers and see if you have better results with them, but beware that the emollient formula of Oxygen Wow may not react the way you would like when it's applied over a silicone based product.
If you want to remove a silicone foundation, you can use almost any moisturizer or emollient cold cream. If you want to remove an emollient formula you can use almost any silicone based product as well. Mixing Oxygen Wow and a silicone foundation may result in some balling up or peeling so you'll really want to play around and see what works for you.
One of the most effective products that you could possibly set a formula like this with would have to be Mally's Poreless Face Defender. Again, it IS a silicone based product so you'll have to take care to "dab" it over the foundation- never wipe since that could remove some of the foundation.
The great thing about a powder alternative is that the silicone's clear and virtually invisible. The only thing it will do is neutralize the dewy finish and leave you with a semi-matte powder-like finish.
Benefit released 9 shades in Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Foundation which range from fair to deep. The lightest shade is relatively light but if you have a true porcelain skintone with pink undertones it may be a bit too yellow for you but the rest of the shades are on the neutral to warm end of the spectrum and should match most skintones.
Benefit Oxygen Wow is actually a pretty good foundation but it does cater to a very specific group of people. It's the perfect winter foundation for those with normal to dry skin and one of the best things Benefit included with the liquid Hello Flawless is adequate sun protection with an SPF of 25.
Other Notes:
It's interesting that Benefit chose a formula like Oxygen WOW as their only liquid foundation because the finished result is actually closer to most BB Creams than a foundation and the Benefit Big Easy BB Cream Foundation is better suited for oily skin than dry skin and closer to a foundation than a BB Cream!
Benefit's interpretation of these titles is a perfect example of why you can't rely on the term "BB Cream" vs. "CC Cream" vs. "Tinted Moisturizer" vs, "Foundation." Sure there are generals rules but for the most part cosmetic companies make them up as they go and there's really no consistency.
If you're curious about the "Oxygen" part of the name, it shouldn't be a selling point for you. Oxygen has been the topic of much scientific debate and studies about whether or not it is beneficial to skin. The overwhelming consensus is that Oxygen is not going to provide any benefit to your skin and infact you're better off protecting your skin from excess oxygen exposure by using Anti-"Oxidants"!
You can build Hello Flawless up from Light Coverage and get a decent medium level of coverage, but you really can't go up past medium without taking some significant extra steps and even then the results will probably be less than desirable
A formula like this, which is very similar to Mac Mineralize Moisture Foundation but a bit thicker, is almost guaranteed to provide a dewy (almost wet) finish unless you have incredibly dry skin.
You can tone down the dewiness of the foundation and end up with a natural looking "satin" finish if you use a primer underneath the foundation or a setting product (such as powder or something like Mally's Poreless Face Defender) over it.
If you choose to set Hello Flawless with a pressed powder, it's important that you use only a micro-smidgen of powder and a light hand; (particularly if you applied more than a very thin layer of foundation.) Too much powder can result in a cakey look which defeats the whole purpose of using a light-weight foundation.
You can play around with different silicone primers and see if you have better results with them, but beware that the emollient formula of Oxygen Wow may not react the way you would like when it's applied over a silicone based product.
If you want to remove a silicone foundation, you can use almost any moisturizer or emollient cold cream. If you want to remove an emollient formula you can use almost any silicone based product as well. Mixing Oxygen Wow and a silicone foundation may result in some balling up or peeling so you'll really want to play around and see what works for you.
One of the most effective products that you could possibly set a formula like this with would have to be Mally's Poreless Face Defender. Again, it IS a silicone based product so you'll have to take care to "dab" it over the foundation- never wipe since that could remove some of the foundation.
The great thing about a powder alternative is that the silicone's clear and virtually invisible. The only thing it will do is neutralize the dewy finish and leave you with a semi-matte powder-like finish.
Benefit released 9 shades in Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Foundation which range from fair to deep. The lightest shade is relatively light but if you have a true porcelain skintone with pink undertones it may be a bit too yellow for you but the rest of the shades are on the neutral to warm end of the spectrum and should match most skintones.
Benefit Oxygen Wow is actually a pretty good foundation but it does cater to a very specific group of people. It's the perfect winter foundation for those with normal to dry skin and one of the best things Benefit included with the liquid Hello Flawless is adequate sun protection with an SPF of 25.
*If you're looking for a Cruelty Free alternative to Benefit WOW, consider Buxom Show Some Skin Weightless Foundation SPF 30. It may be a tad thicker initially but has a very similar end result and also provides adequate sun protection.
Nuance by Salma Hayeck Liquid Foundation is also an excellent drugstore option that is very similar to Oxygen WOW, it just doesn't have sunscreen.*
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| Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Foundation SPF 25 Swatches of Shades Ivory, Petal, Champagne, Honey, Beige, Toasted Beige, Amber, Hazelnut, Nutmeg |
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| Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Foundation SPF 25 Swatches of Shades Ivory, Petal, Champagne, Honey, Beige, Toasted Beige, Amber, Hazelnut, Nutmeg |
It's interesting that Benefit chose a formula like Oxygen WOW as their only liquid foundation because the finished result is actually closer to most BB Creams than a foundation and the Benefit Big Easy BB Cream Foundation is better suited for oily skin than dry skin and closer to a foundation than a BB Cream!
Benefit's interpretation of these titles is a perfect example of why you can't rely on the term "BB Cream" vs. "CC Cream" vs. "Tinted Moisturizer" vs, "Foundation." Sure there are generals rules but for the most part cosmetic companies make them up as they go and there's really no consistency.
If you're curious about the "Oxygen" part of the name, it shouldn't be a selling point for you. Oxygen has been the topic of much scientific debate and studies about whether or not it is beneficial to skin. The overwhelming consensus is that Oxygen is not going to provide any benefit to your skin and infact you're better off protecting your skin from excess oxygen exposure by using Anti-"Oxidants"!
You seriously are number ONE when it comes to foundation swatches! Please never stop this blog! I love love your work! I was gifted a mini shade of champagne but it's too orangey on me!! I think Ivory or Petal would be better for me!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharlynn!
DeleteYou're my #1 so it works out lol!
Yeah I would say Ivory or Petal but I really don't know which would be better. It would depend on HOW dark Champagne was on you. Petal' pretty close to it. Ivory might be too light?
If it was any other type of formula I would say go with Ivory because they oxidize but that's not really an issue here so it's a toss up!
If you use a powder to set it with I would say go with Ivory since the powder will probably darken it a bit.
You may find better shade ranges with Mac Mineralize Moisture which is unbelievably similar but has more fair shades!
Let me know what you do & I'll talk to you soon!
Kat says....This is one of the best, most thorough reviews I have ever read of a makeup product. I am a writer myself and appreciate good research and writing. Well done!
ReplyDelete