One of Benefit's cult products are their boxed powders, so when Benefit released their latest boxed powder offering, Bella Bamba, I just had to give it a whirl! Most of Benefit's boxed powders have been blushes, and Bella Bamba isn't that much of an exception - it's a blush, but this time, it's 3D!
Yes, you heard me right. Benefit calls this blush a "3D brightening pink" - the idea is that the gold shimmer is supposed to impart a multidimensional look to your cheeks that's not flat.
Going along with the whole 3D, multidimensional concept, the blush packaging also features some cool holographic-ish effect. I don't think my camera captured it too well, but you can tell there's some cool visual effect going on:
Visuals aside, the blush packaging has also changed in substance this time - instead of a totally removable top as with previous boxed powders, the lid on this one is hinged, and there is a mirror inside too! Not bad at all. I consider it an improvement over the previous design.
As with Benefit's other boxed blushes and bronzers, Bella Bamba also comes with a brush. I'm not too keen on the brush myself, and I personally prefer to use my own blush brushes, but in a pinch (say if you're travelling), this is quite adequate.
The colour of the blush itself is actually very pretty, and one of my favourites to date. Bella Bamba is a very pretty colour, with gold shimmer, and Benefit was right in describing it as "watermelon" - I do think this is watermelon pink, with a hint of coral. I love it!
The colour is remiscent of NARS Orgasm and all its dupes, but to me they aren't quite the same. I had NARS Orgasm awhile back, and didn't really like it - it came out too peachy and quite "meh" on me, but I really love this colour. I think the key difference is that Bella Bamba is pinker, and less peachy than Orgasm, which helps make it a little bit more universal. Unlike Orgasm, which didn't look good on me (I absolutely detest those ads that proclaim Orgasm as the "ultimate universal blush colour"), I can imagine most people being able to wear Bella Bamba. It's pink, but the coral tinge and gold shimmer help to ensure that it's a pink that would be wearable even for girls who don't normally like to wear pink.
Here's a swatch. On my skin, it's pretty obvious that Bella Bamba isn't an Orgasm. Oh no, it's way better.
The texture of Bella Bamba is pretty good, and also quite comparable to Benefit's other boxed powders. Benefit pulls no surprises with regards to quality on this one - if you've liked their previous blushes, you'll like this too. Another thing I liked about Bella Bamba is it's buildability. You can wear this colour sheered out as a barely-there blush, or you could build it up for a pop of colour on the cheeks. It's actually pretty versatile that way, and I do appreciate that.
Here's a FOTD (Face of the Day) with Bella Bamba. This one features a light-to-moderate application of the blush colour.
I thought the glitter would show up too much in the photo, but it isn't that obvious once applied, which is a plus. The amount of gold shimmer is nicely balanced - there is enough to ensure that it does add some dimension to the colour (so they weren't totally lying about the 3D claims), but at the same time not so much that the blush becomes a glitterbomb. Still totally wearable for work, in my book.
So do you need Bella Bamba? Well, I thinnk you do! For one, it's a great colour I could imagine most girls wearing. For another, it's got a great texture, and nicely buildable pigmentation. And it comes in a cool-looking holographic box! What's not too like? If you've been eyeing Bella Bamba, it's definitely worth checking out.
