New: Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter

Benefit is one of the brands that makes Sephora an online destination for me. I love everything Benefit - not only the innovation, but also the amazing value of the company's products. Watt's Up! ($30), a soft-focus highlighter, is my latest Benefit treasure - ordered sight unseen. Don't let the cutsie name mislead you, Benefit makes seriously great makeup.

What's Up! is a cream-to-powder highlighter that turns up the wattage with a delicate, gorgeous, luminous champagne glow. The one-size-fits-all shade is just that. Who can't wear champagne? It highlights all skin tones, from ultra-pale to extremely dark. The smooth application and luminous sheen of Watt's Up! will switch on the "wow" factor for any complexion.

Apply it to cheeks, brow bones - any part of your face that deserves extra attention - then sculpt the creamy color with the soft-glow spongy blender to achieve the perfect look for your skin. This little do-all wonder will make you smile. The container with applicator is clever, but Watt's Up! isn't just a pretty face. It's a gorgeous highlighter created to give you a pretty face.

I took some swatch photos about two weeks ago when Watt's Up! arrived at my house. My photos were taken in full sun. I applied the highlighter heavily, without blending, directly from the tube at the top of my arm. Then I applied a small amount and half-blended it below so that you could see its potential when blended normally.

I hope you can see that the color of Watt's Up! leans rose gold (or maybe peach gold, depending on your perspective). The formula is lusciously creamy on first application, but does dry to a powder pretty quickly, which gives it its long-lasting quality.

Watt's Up! will not slide off your face if your skin is oily. It's best for me (and my dry skin) to apply it to my face directly from the tube, but to blend with a concealer or foundation brush. I suspect the little spongy brush on the dual-ended product is actually soaking up some of my highlighter, primarily because it's new. Once it becomes saturated with product, it will "let go" of the highlighter and blend it more easily.

You can find this gorgeous highlighter at Sephora, Benefit counters, and at Benefit's Web site.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora; other photos by Best Things in Beauty