I’ll confess that I put off trying this for quite some time as I really believed it wouldn’t be something I’d find much use for. The Benefit Big Easy is described as a “multi-balancing complexion perfector” and is Benefit’s answer to a BB/CC Cream. It’s available in six shades ranging from very fair to medium/deep, but there aren’t any shades for darker and black skin tones.
It’s a cream product with a matte finish that designed to provide a multitude of benefits such as both oil control and hydration and an SPF35. It’s an all-rounder base and its arrival is timed perfectly as now is the time where we start moving away from heavy bases and instead seek out easier ways to perfect our skin. So is this the product to fill that gap?
Absolutely! I was really surprised by just how good this product is and I’m rather annoyed with myself for not trying it sooner, especially considering how well I got on with Oxygen Wow (review with before and after photos here) and even though my skin is *shockingly* bad at the moment (not actually as spotty as it looks, just lots and lots of post-spot red marks) I feel comfortable enough wearing only this base product – as opposed to this and concealer and powder – on dress-down days, whereas that was previously unheard of!
Regular readers will know that for a while I’ve been battling all kinds of skincare demons including spots, scarring and dehydration, so in theory making me ideal for testing the claims of this product. I would say that you could see my dry areas underneath this, but that is the case for all bases at the moment as I’m still struggling to settle the dryness, so I think once I’m marginally less dehydrated this will make for a perfect base product, but do tread carefully if you’re particularly dry. Coverage-wise it isn’t full (nor is it marketed as thus) but it can be built to a very decent medium and is exceptionally good at covering redness which is usually the main reason people use a light coverage base, so it’ really is perfect for that. I’d say the final finish once it’s settled in is ‘matte with a glow’ rather than full-blow, chalky matte.
The shades I was sent are 03 (light/medium), 04, (medium) and 05 (beige) and as I’m extremely pale I could only really test 03. I was expecting it to be way too dark for me, especially as the swatch appeared that way, but as the claims suggest this really does adapt to skintone so I wouldn’t worry too much about online ordering as long as you know roughly where you sit within the tones. In conclusion, if it isn’t obvious, I’m a big fan of Benefit Big Easy and my daily kit is fast becoming ‘Benefit Heavy’ considering I use their Gimme Brow daily (review here and used in the pictures above) and their Rockateur blush (review here) at least a couple of times a week. Whilst I realise that £27.50 might be a bit out of some people’s price range, I’d recommend getting a sample and seeing if it’s for you as it really can replace a foundation, concealer and powder making it both a space and money-saver and a HUGE thumbs up from me! Available in store and online – link – now.
*PR Sample
