Benefit California Kissin' Smile Brightening Lip Shine

Like pretty much everyone, I'm a fan of products that deliver multiple results so I was quite interested in this lip "shine" (it's a lip gloss) that claims to freshen breath and make teeth appear whiter, as well as leave your lips glossy and pretty. And since I was able to get it cheap, I decided to give it a shot.

In the end, I'm not a fan. The main reason is because of the colour of the gloss. Benefit says that it has a “subtle blue sheen” but it wasn't subtle enough for me. That blue sheen is visible, especially close-up, and it looks odd, like makeup that a child would wear. I only wore this gloss once out in public, during the day time, and felt abnormally self-conscience the whole time I was out.  Night time wasn't much better, since a blue tint on lips generally looks weird any time of day.

Benefit explains that the whole reason for the blue colour is to make your teeth look whiter but I didn't notice a difference; my teeth looked the same colour regardless of whether or not I was wearing this product.

Too blue for me

The gloss did though have a “minty taste” and while it doesn't seem accurate to say that it freshened my breath, I do feel comfortable saying that it freshened my mouth.

Like all Benefit glosses, this one was easy to apply thanks to its squeeze tube packaging and didn't feel sticky or drying. It also made my lips very, very glossy (albeit a weird shade).

Would I buy this product again: No. While it is minty fresh, it doesn't brighten my smile and because of the blue sheen, I feel that I'm very, very limited in where I can wear it.

Should you buy it: If you've ever wanted a gloss that has a blue-ish tint to it, well, this one will do just fine (and if you do want it, order it from Benefit’s site, it’s currently on sale there for $11 US, compared to the usual $20 US). But otherwise, skip this product.