Review: Benefit To Go "Stay Put" Set

As you all know, I very rarely, if ever, review higher-end products on this blog. It's not that I don't love high end products, but it just doesn't seem right to put them on a blog that's devoted to saving money on beauty products. But every once in a while a fantastic deal comes along and I just can't resist.

This is exactly what happened a while back when the lovely Cutiegingerbread clued me in to a great deal on some Benefit trial kits. If you're not familiar with these, they're little kits full of trial size Benefit products that retail for an unbelievable price. This Stay Put Set retails for just $10 at Sephora and here's what you get:

Benefit To Go "Stay Put" Set (retail: $10)

As you can see, this kit includes smaller versions of some of Benefit's most popular items:

Stay Don't Stray Eyeshadow Primer (.09 oz)

full-size version retails for $24

Erase Paste Concealer in 02 Medium (.11 oz)

full-size version retails for $26

Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in R.S.V.P. (.11 oz)

full-size version retails for $19

After Cutiegingerbread told me about these kits, I quickly became obsessed with getting the Stay Put Set for myself. I am ALWAYS on the search for the next best undereye concealer, and for just $10, to think that you also get an eye primer and a Creaseless Cream? It's just too much goodness in one small package!

But I couldn't buy this product for myself at Sephora. Actually, it's not that I couldn't, I just didn't want to. You see, a little while ago, someone in my family gave me a Sephora gift certificate in a very generous amount. And silly me, I seem to have misplaced the gift certificate. So on principle alone, I feel like I can't purchase anything from Sephora until I find this gift certificate. It would kill me to spend my own money on something, while knowing in the back of my head that this gift certificate is SOMEWHERE in my home. I've been tearing apart my house lately trying to find it, but so far I can't seem to locate it. Don't get me wrong--I am NOT giving up, but I did put my plans to buy the Stay Put Set on hold until I find this darn GC.

So Cutiegingerbread, the sweetheart that she is, periodically checked in with me via Twitter to ask me if I had 1) found my GC yet and 2) purchased the Stay Put Set yet. And when she found out that I hadn't done either, she was concerned that by the time I found my GC, the Stay Put Set would be sold out. So what did she do? Well, she went ahead and bought this little kit FOR ME and sent it to me a little while ago. What an incredibly sweet thing to do, right? I was left speechless by her kindness and generosity. To do something like this is well, unbelievable. And really, it's only something a fellow makeup addict can truly understand and appreciate.

So another HUGE thanks to Cutiegingerbread for going above and beyond to ensure that I got this little kit before it sold out. So now that I've gotten to test out everything in this kit, let's start with the product I was most excited to try: Erase Paste:

Erase Paste in 02 Medium is a great shade for me. For my particular dark circles, I need a concealer that is more peach in color, to counterbalance the reddish-purplish dark area. If I use a yellow-based concealer, it turns my dark area gray (ick!). So looking at these before and after shots, you can see that my under-eye area does not appear gray at all. But here's the thing: in the first photo, you can see that the light bounces off my skin due to my moisturizer. In the second pic, it still seems very shiny, right? Well, that's because Erase Paste is actually sort of greasy in texture. Don't get me wrong--it's not super slick or oily, but it does have a moisturizing property to it, and it feels kind of thick on my skin until I work it in a bit.

But the problem with working it in a bit is that it kind of loses its concealing properties the more I blend it. In other words, when I first apply it, it looks like it's going to completely cancel out my darkness, which is awesome. But the more I blend, the more sheer it becomes. And if I leave it thicker and don't blend it as well, it quickly gathers in the fine lines under my eyes. So in all honestly, I'm having a hard time making this one work for me.

But as you can see in the third photo, after I apply my foundation (in this photo I'm wearing Physicians Formula Healthy Skin Powder Foundation SPF 50, which I have reviewed here) it helps A LOT to conceal the darkness a well. But looking at this photo, you can still see some darkness under my eyes, so it's not like Erase Paste has completely erased it (well, does any concealer completely erase darkness?).

Final verdict on Benefit Erase Paste: I think this product would work best on normal to dry skin. If you have oily skin like me, it might be a bit too moisturizing to use on a daily basis. Also, if you have very dark circles, this might not provide you with enough pigmentation to conceal to your desired effect, but I think that if your circles are medium to light in nature, it might be very effective. I'm thrilled that the shade in this kit is peach-based, that's for darn sure! But I think I'll reserve this product for the colder months ahead, when my under-eye area needs more moisturization.

And finally, I'd like to give you a brief rundown of the other two products in this kit. First let's start with Stay Don't Stray eye primer. I need to tell you that I was a HUGE fan of the older Benefit eye primer, F.Y.Eye. This was the ONLY primer I used on my lids for practically all of the 1990s. It was amazing, so I had very high hopes for this newer primer. And folks, IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I don't know if it's just my body chemistry or what, but Benefit eye primers work better on my oily lids than any other primers I've ever used (e.l.f., Urban Decay, Too Faced, etc.). Honestly, Stay Don't Stray feels like a little slice of heaven on my lids. The color beautifully evens out the skintone of my lids, and it just applies so effortlessly. Plus, it has been keeping even my most finicky shadows in place without even so much as a tiny crease all day and all night. My shadows look just as bright and vivid at 10 o'clock at night as they at 10 o'clock in the morning. If you've never tried a primer from Benefit, I think this would be a fabulous place to start. I just can't recommend it enough--especially at this price. The tube is small, but it will still last you a while, and CERTAINLY long enough to determine whether or not you'd like to invest in a full-size tube.

And finally, let's talk about the Creaseless Cream in R.S.V.P. What a lovely, shimmery beige! It's the perfect all-over wash and the perfect highlight color. I know that some of you are scared of cream shadows (especially if you've got oily lids) but for me, this one does what it promises. It stays all day on my lids without creasing (thus the name) and it's also fantastic to use underneath powder shadows for extra insurance. I love it, but then again I've always been a fan of this line. The big selling point about this particular pot is that it's more than enough product to last you a good long while, so it's almost like buying a full size version but for a fraction of the cost.

All in all, I think the Benefit Stay Put Set is a very worthy investment. If you have been wanting to try some of the more popular Benefit products but were scared off by the price tags, then I would most certainly consider giving this kit a try (especially if you think the shade of the Erase Paste that comes with this kit might work for you. If your skin is much lighter or darker than mine--I'm a MAC NC20--then I'd probably skip this kit unless you have a friend you can give the Erase Paste to). But even if you just use the primer and shadow, it's still a great deal at just $10.

Do you already own this kit, or full size versions of any of these products? I'd love to hear how you like them!