Product Review: Benefit Cha Cha Tint

Name: Cha Cha Tint
Brand: Benefit
Size: 12.5ml
Price: $29.00

From Benefit’s website:
This mango-tinted stain beautifully blushes lips & cheeks with a tropical coral hue. Smooch-proof & smudge-proof, our sheer stain has a natural finish that will leave you looking deliciously vibrant for hours.

What I liked:
- lightweight, thin but not runny consistency
- easy to apply, gives you enough time for blending before it sets
- buildable pigmentation
- provides a warm, healthy peachy flush that brightens up the complexion
- once set, it doesn’t budge for hours
- versatile, can be used both for cheeks and lips

What I didn’t like:
- it’s drying on the lips
- packaging is not very hygienic
- the price

When last year I purchased the Benefit Go Tropicoral set, featuring High Beam, Coralista blush and lipgloss, and Cha Cha Tint, I thought the latter would be my least favourite product and, for weeks, I stayed away from it. You see, the tint looks like a bright orange colour and, having fair skin, I was afraid I couldn’t pull it off. I was wrong. It just goes to show that you never really know how something looks on you until you try it.

Cha Cha Tint, which can be used both on the cheeks and lips, has a thin and liquidy, but not runny, consistency that gives you enough time to blend it properly before it sets, refusing then to budge for hours. Although the colour looks scary at first, when applied it sheers out into a beautiful sheer wash of peach colour that can be easily built up if you want a more intense look.

I prefer to use Cha Cha Tint on my cheeks. I just dab on three dots, blend them out with my fingertips and voilà. I get a delicate, warm and healthy peachy flush that makes me look like I spent time in the sun, even though I avoid like the plague. It has a lovely glowy finish and stays put for 12 hours. Unfortunately, the flash washed out the colour in the photo below, but you can still see a hint of a peachy glow that naturally warms up my complexion.

Instead, I’m not a big fan of Cha Cha as a lip stain. Although it looks very bright when first applied, it soon morphs into a sheer peachy hue that lasts up to 8 hours and can withstand a meal and kissing too. However, I find it quite drying on the lips and so, if you plan to use it this way, I highly recommend you apply a layer of lip balm underneath.

I also have mixed feelings about the packaging. The little bottle looks adorable, but I’m not fond of the nail polish style brush applicator that’s attached to the cap. I don’t really like the idea of using it to apply the tint on my lips after it’s been on my cheeks. It’s just not very hygienic. Because of it, I either pick up a little bit of colour with my fingers (after I washed my hands, of course) when I want to apply it on my cheeks or with a lip brush when I want to wear it on my pout.

Despite these shortcomings, I really love Cha Cha Tint. It beautifully warms up the complexion during the cold winter months and enhances and complements your (fake) tan in the summer. It’s the perfect shade for the hot season and outdoor activities when we want something lightweight that gives our skin a healthy flush and that holds up in the hot weather for hours, even if we sweat or swim.

Available at: amazon, asos and benefitcosmetics.com

Summary
Benefit Cha Cha Tint has a lightweight, thin consistency that’s easy to apply and blend. A bright orange in the bottle, it sheers out into a delicate peachy shade that beautifully warms up the complexion, and can easily be built up if you prefer a more intense pop of colour. Staying power is excellent: the tint can withstand a meal, kissing and even a day at the pool. However, it’s drying on the lips and the packaging is not very hygienic.

Rating: 4/5

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Tagged as: benefit, benefit cha cha tint, cheek and lip tint