I should have reviewed this product a looong time ago but as things have been going a little crazy, I just found the time to do it now.

No matter, I still think it’s worth writing about as there have been quite a few requests for me to review this pretty little kit.

Benefit Realness of Concealness consists of a few concealing and enhancing products : Boi-ing (concealer), Lemon Aid (an eyeshadow base), Ooh la Lift (undereye brightener), Lip Plump (self explanatory) and High Beam (luminizer/highlighter). It comes in a super cute box with mirror under the lid. The three little tubes are a bit tricky to pull out (even though they provide you with a little ribbon to do it) and I think it’s a shame there is no covering for Boi-ing and Lemon Aid as these creamy products can get into the mirror when the box is shut and I have a strong suspicion that the products will dry out faster this way.

Anyway, those are my only complaints about the packaging. Now onto the products itself.

I was actually quite surprised that Boi-ing turned out to be a pretty decent concealer. Even though I have no idea what the shade is, it blends perfectly on my skin and manage to cover my dark spots. I wonder if it does the same job on girls with different skin tones than mine.

Lemon Aid, however, is not as sucessful in doing its job. The yellow cream does brighten up my eye lids and hides the redness I usually have around the area but it is a terrible eyeshadow base because the product doesn’t hold up and crease all over my lid. As yellow can also act as a color corrector, I ended up using this for the dark area under my eyes and I’m quite happy with it! Just don’t put too much as it can get cakey and ends up enhancing those fine lines under your eyes.

When I tried on Ooh la Lift under my eyes though, I thought I didn’t see any difference. My eyes were not given an “instant eye lift” as promised and I’m scared to use too much because it contains light-reflecting pigments and can end up making your skin looks greyish. However, I put Ooh la Lift on the inner corners of my eyes and voila! It works its magic right there. I love using shimmery products on that area to make me look well-rested and bright-eyed, but I found that using powder products (like eyeshadows) can get a little messy so I am very pleased that Ooh la Lift can do this job perfectly! Just a little dot on each corner and I’m good to go.

Lip Plump is a little bit weird. It sort of neutralizes the shade of my lips but as a lipstick base, this is very drying. And as for the plumping action? None at all. I’m thinking that this product should be used to “erase” your natural lip color so that the lipsticks or lipglosses you put on can stay “true” to its colors. Similar to MAC Erase. You know what I mean?

High Beam is my most favorite product from this kit. This pink lotion is the perfect highlighter. Not too shimmery, not too creamy – the texture reminds me of my favorite Revlon product, the Revlon Skin Lights Face Illuminator. I blend a few dots of High Beam on my cheekbones and on my temples, on the bridge of my nose and above my “cupid’s bow” (the little nook on top of my upper lips). Instant glow!

Final verdict? I’m still glad I bought Realness of Concealness because when I only have little space on my purse for makeup product, this kit comes in handy, especially when I’m going for the “no makeup” i-was-born-with-this-luminous-skin look. It doesn’t hurt that I always get compliments on how cute the packaging is whenever I snap it out of my bag. But considering the price, I won’t buy it again. Instead, I’ll just buy the Boi-ing concealer and High Beam separately.

Image credit : sephora.com