Review - Benefit Sun Beam

I'm not usually one for bronzer, in all honesty. I own very few of them, primarily for contouring purposes and can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've actually used bronzer to, well, bronze.

Seeing as how fair my skin is, Benefit Sun Beam actually works as a golden, glowy bronzing product on my skin, rather than just a highlight.

Note - I purchased this as part of the Coral My World kit which retails for $12 and includes the mini of Sun Beam and Coralista. Sephora is currently sold out of this item.

The applicator of Sun Beam is akin to all of Benefits tints and liquid highlighters; it has a brush connected to the lid that is a lot like a nail polish. The brush is a touch too thin for my liking, but it gets the job done.

On the left is a built up, unblended swatch, while the right is blended out. Sun Beam is a glowy, golden bronze. I appreciate the strong golden quality of this, as it refuses to turn orange against my skin, as most bronzers do. It does have the dewy sheen of the average highlighter as well.

Sun Beam is marketed half as a highlighter and half as a bronzer. For fairer skin, such as mine, you're going to be able to get some bronze from this without looking unnatural. The finish this gave me was a lovely, natural sunkissed look (which was great minus the sun!). However, on deeper skin tones I feel like this is going to be much more successful as a highlighter, because it is definitely on the lighter end of the bronzer spectrum. 

The application of this product was average for the type of product it is. The liquid formula tends to have more slip to it, so I apply this in layers - 3 dots along the cheekbones, blend and repeat. I do wish it would be a touch less watery just so it was a tiny bit easier to apply.

In terms of longevity, I did not find that this wore neither longer or shorter than my powder products of the like. There was no patchiness as it faded, it rather faded all together.

Overall - 

Pros:

- Suitable bronzing option for fairer skin tones.

- Dewy finish.

Cons:

- Brush is too small.

- Consistency is a bit too thin

I really appreciate the fact that this gives my skin a very subtle faux tan that looks quite natural. However, it will take me forever and a day to get through the size I have right now - I don't use it all too much - but if I ever need another one I will probably buy it in a kit rather than $26 for a full size.

7/10