Benefit Boutique

I can only comment on the brow waxing service because I don’t use products from Benefit. I’m hopeless when it comes to brow tweezing, and the ladies here are amazing! I always book with Reda who’s quick and really good at what she does. I’ve had troubles before with people thinning out my brows which honestly doesn’t suit my face — I had no issues at all with Reda, and she got it right from my first visit.
I have to say that it’s a bit annoying how the other sales (when they apply concealer on me afterwards to cover the redness) are a bit too pushy when it comes to selling products. They’ve tried to sell me pore refiner, foundation, cover-​up etc… how it’ll «brighten up my face».
Not a cheap place to get waxed, but definitely worth the money.

I like to think of myself as intelligent, independent and even — on occasion — sensible. Teachers at my single-​sex school spent my entire educational life drilling in the fact that we as women should be judged by our intellect and achievements, not our beauty. As a result, I know that I should pride myself on my career success, wonderful friends, charitable work and artistic achievements.
Unfortunately my levels of self-​esteem directly corollate to the current state of my eyebrows.
I can’t fix them myself. No matter how hard I try, any attempt at personal eyebrow grooming is doomed to failure. They’re naturally blonde and quite full, if supremely pale, so it’s worth getting them tinted and shaped at the same time. Benefit offer this service, at a competitive price, with great results. .. most of the time. Unfortunately, I’ve found that they are a bit hit and miss. The girls who do it well do it wonderfully. The girls who don’t. .. well, I have one piece of photographic evidence (please see above: note, I do not normally look like a cast member of Desperate Scousewives) which left me with such hideously dark brows that I was scaring local children. The girl responsible unapologetically waved me off saying «not to worry, it’ll fade down really quickly». If that’s the case, why was I paying so much for a permanent service? Not to mention the fact that I was going out that night with my cousin and his girlfriend who’s an actual honest-​to-​god model. So I sat there feeling like a right munter with my slug-​like eyebrows whilst she twittered away about being paid to sit with royalty in The Box nightclub. Brilliant.
Luckily, that was the one-​and-​only truly heinous experience I have had at the hands of the Benefit brow experts, and I’m not sure that she even works there anymore. I generally really like their approach, the fact that they use a combination of waxing, plucking and trimming, and have a selection of tint strengths. They’re always friendly, they accept walk-​ins (I never book, and have only been turned away a couple of times) and the décor is fun and welcoming.
They lose another star for their attempts to foist products onto you, which occasionally verges on aggressive. I don’t like being given the sales pitch by a girl brandishing a pair of tweezers; it doesn’t give me much room to decline. I have been semi-​bullied into buying items I don’t want on several occasions mid-​wax and it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I love Benefit products, I really do, but they’re not cheap and I hate being made to view them as impulse purchases. I like to have a think about it, save a bit of money and them indulge myself. Otherwise, it actively ruins the experience for me.
If they can get rid of the tint-​happy technicians, stop taking advantage of their captive audience and lay off the hard sell then this place would be 5-​star. As it, I still go back, so I know they’re doing something right.

I highly recommend this store, particularly if you’re a fan of Benefit and /​or cosmetics in general, you feel like a kid in a candy shop — especially when you look at all their cool packaging too (which makes you want to but things even more!) It’s not a huge shop but in a way this helps as you can find what you want & may or may not need (!) easily & you get help from the friendly attentive staff.
I used to just go there just for a bikini wax — which are very good by the way, if a little pricey unfortunately. However, one day when I had a day off from work & wanted to treat myself, I found myself popping in there for a browse for cosmetics. I was not at all disappointed. I received a decent mini makeover & the lady knew her stuff & didn’t over-​make mecum, I was concerned I might end up leaving looking like a clown or something but not at all. I was so pleased that I bought two out of the three products she tried on me, would’ve bought the 3^rd but I had to exercise some caution or I’d have gone crazy in there, unfortunately the products don’t come cheap but I guess you get what you pay for & they do last a long time.
I also recommend their range of perfumes, I adore the Carmela (?) scent & whenever I’ve worn it, I receive compliments & have bought it as a gift for others too, it’s a scent that actually lasts too.
The store is in a handy location too, being situated in the heart of Carnaby Street — an area I love — and where you can ages shopping, eating, drinking, relaxing and people watching.
‘Benefit’ now!

super schönes benefit-​studio in soho mit netten mitarbeitern! im gegensatz zu den vielen benefit ecken in deutschland, braucht man hier keinen termin um geschminkt zu werden und das personal ist auch weniger nervig und aufdringlich…
bin hier schon jede menge geld losgeworden, aber ist eben alles so schön pink und hübsch verpackt ;)
habe hier auch eine loyalty card, die sich lohnt, wenn man öfters benefit cosmetics einkauft

The employee that helped me was super kind, friendly, and knew the products well. She was so generous with samples, and with information. Its not the biggest make up store, but they have just enough product to keep you browsing. Unfortunately, the samples I used ended up causing my skin to break out.
I tried the new fragrances they had, but everyone I shared them with didn’t seem to like any of them. Bummer.
I do like their liquid blush and liners. They have fun colors, and use natural ingredients in a lot of their products. I’ve never seen their boutiques in the USA, but I’ve purchased their stuff from good ol’ Target.

Went to the Brow Bar to get my eyebrows waxed. i thought they did a very good job-wasn’t too painful, cleaned them up nicely, and measured to make sure my eyebrows were identical. What I really liked was after they were done, they fixed my makeup and made sure to cover up the redness for when I had to go back into the public-​I have really fair skin, so my skin always turns super red after a waxing.
My only complaint is that its pricey, but you are getting your money’s worth.

I have always loved the Benefit catalogue — crammed full of goodies in quirky packaging that makes you want them all the more.
When the first Benefit boutiques started popping up in the last few years I was an instant fan — a real-​life version of the catalogue! The store is packed with the products that look even better in the flesh than on the page, and are made all the more special by their boutique setting.
I am a massive fan of Benefit compacts especially the Realness of Concealness, which comes with Lemon Aid to even out your complexion, a concealer, Ohh La Lift, which lifts your bags, Lip Plump, which does as it says, and a highlighter called High Beam. All of this comes in a handbag sized compact with mirror — so handy! I also have one called Big Beautiful Eyes, which even comes with instructions on how to achieve that perfect smokey look; and another called Justine Case… kit, which includes my favourite product — Benetint — great for the lips and cheeks. Benetint also comes in a double-​ended stick version with a gloss attached too, which is my number one make-​up item.
So…as you can probably tell I am a Benefit devotee. The problem is, this is mainly due to its packaging and image rather than the quality of the make-​up. A friend who’s a make-​up artists is not a fan and will always choose Mac over anything else. But for someone who doesn’t know a lot about make-​up and likes it mainly for the way it looks, then Benefit is perfect!
The Brow Bar is also good, but I would always choose threading over plucking so have only used it once.

Fun, flirty, kitsch and cool — all of these words apply to the wonder that is the San Francisco born beauty brand, Benefit. But their stuff also works — and that’s what brings ladies and teens, girls and (maybe) guys back time and again.
This is the flagship London location and nowhere else will you find quite such a wide selection of their celebrated cosmetics. Personal faves? The Get Bent eyeliner brush for foolproof Winehouse wings, Bad Gal lash mascara for big bad fluttering lashes and Bad Gal eyeliner for the smokiest of smoky eyes. Newly lauched products include Thrrrob, a turned on face powder (apparently — but will it beat NARS’ Orgasm blush?) and Talk to the Tan for that Lindsey Lohan look.
What’s even better is that this branch has four stations for eyebrow shaping, eyelash tinting and so on, plus a room out back for more, er, private waxing. Beauty editors have been talking about these treatments since launch and no wonder — who wouldn’t rate swanning into this pink testament to girlishness over your usual salon?