The new blush is called Hervana (her + nirvana), and “innocent” is really the best way to describe it. It’s a shy, light, pale, “frozen” pink, best for fair-skinned ladies. I don’t usually swoon for pink blushes, but this is so pretty and so natural on my cheeks (a very subtle pink flush with a subtle satin finish) that I actually really like it, especially for cold, colorless winter. It also has an enjoyable sweet floral scent.

Benefit gave me the opportunity to swatch Hervana for your shopping-preview pleasure, and it’s been raining continuously for the last four days. I took this photo under the awning of my garage.

Hervana looks like it might be closest to Thrrrob (which I don’t own, but I’ll try to get a comparison photo for you).

Benefit’s boxed blushes are $28 each, and I’m a long-time fan. Check out some of my other favorites: Coralista, Sugarbomb, and Bella Bamba.

The palettes were designed by (and named after) Benefit artists Annie and Maggie Ford Danielson, daughters of Jean Ford — who, with her sister Jane, founded Benefit. And this isn’t the first time Annie and Maggie have created a pair of palettes (click here to revisit last year’s Sunday Funday and Scene Queen). I had previously thought Maggie must be warm and Annie must be cool (because that’s how the last set of palettes were designed); but they switched color families this year.

Because the Creaseless Creams can be used either as shadow or liner, I swatched them both ways: blended out with my fingers, and heavily with a disposable lipgloss applicator. All four of these are light shimmery/metallic colors, so I’d probably be more likely to use them as shadow.

Static Creaseless Cream is a super pretty, iridescent cool silver. Airbrush Creaseless Cream is a satin/frosty pink-white (it reminded me of the frosting on a wedding cake). This pot was slightly dried out — an abused tester, perhaps, which did slightly affect the way it swatched. Skyline is a periwinkle/Cinderella’s-dress-blue satin. Inked is denim-blue satin. Deco is an orchid (the flower), rose-violet (the colors) satin.

Foiled Creaseless Cream is a shimmery/sparkly silver-lilac (you can see a few gold sparkles when you sheer it out). Flash Creaseless Cream is a pale yellow, sparkly buttercup-gold. Spiced is a warm, golden, nutmeg-brown shimmer. Purple Haze is violet with tiny, subtle, gold shimmer. Canopy is a beautiful olived green with gold shimmer.

Both Eye Wanna! and Eye Gotta! are available at Sephora, but they are limited edition.

When I first swatched it, it reminded me of MAC’s matte Bite of an Apple from Venomous Villains (click here for more swatches of that blush). I would say my BoaA swatch here is actually “medium.” I could have swatched it more lightly; I could have swatched it more heavily. The differences are that Bite of an Apple is matte, more pigmented, and more red than Bella Bamba.

I also wanted to compare Bella Bamba to Coralista (click here for a nice comparison swatch of Coralista and Sugarbomb). Coralista is definitely lighter, and peach-pink compared to deeper, pinker Bella Bamba. Coralista also has a kind of shimmery golden sheen, compared to Bella Bamba’s gold sparkles. (I guess that’s really a medium swatch of Coralista, too.)

I think many of you have been wondering what it means when Benefit says this blush is “3D.” Many of you are also wondering just how sparkly Bella Bamba is. Let me answer both questions at once.

You know my approximate skintone — fair, but not the world’s palest person. Approximately NW15-20, I wear Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Porcelain and Armani Face Fabric shade 2. I applied this blush lightly, and I had to look closely in the mirror for the sparkles. The blush is quite glowy, though, and I think that’s what the “3D” effect is.

Benefit changed the packaging design just slightly on this one: it’s still a pressed board box, but the top is hinged with a magnetic closure. (And there’s a mirror in the lid.)

Bella Bamba (like all Benefit blushes) is $28. It’s not in stores yet, but it is for sale online on both Sephora’s website and Benefit’s website.

Anyway, I saw this handy chart on Benefit’s blog — yes, they have a blog! — explaining the differences between their primers. It seemed so useful, I thought I would repost it here. (Click the image to view at a slightly larger size.)

The only downside is that now I sort of want to try all of them…

The palette also contains a mini Hoola bronzer (with a mini brush!) — click here for a bonus swatch of Hoola. There’s also a tiny mini vial of Benetint, the stain for lips and cheeks. Benetint was pretty, and not the most staining tint I’ve tried (it wasn’t impossible to remove). There’s also a really pretty “Shimmering Rose” gloss, pink with gold iridescent sparkles.

Scene Queen is Annie’s palette, and it’s a combination of cool eyes with coral lips and cheeks. (This palette also happens to be the prize in this week’s giveaway.)

I didn’t completely agree with the shade names of the eyeshadows in the Scene Queen palette. “Charcoal” is a very very dark, low-shimmer blue (normally I’d call “charcoal” black-grey without the blue). “Shimmering Beige” is a muted, iced lilac. It reminded me of Hypnotizing from MAC’s Love Lace collection, but it’s lighter and more pink. Misty Blue is color they paint steamships, except it’s shimmery. Navy is a blackened navy with blue sparkles.

The mini liner is called “Smokin’”; it’s black. The palette also includes Coralista (click here for a bonus swatch, comparing Coralista to Sugarbomb) and a mini High Beam, a warm white liquid highlighter. The Juicy Coral gloss is quite bright and reasonably opaque. It has gold sparkles.

The palettes are cardboard packaging, but they feel pretty solid. I don’t know if you’d want to travel with them, but they’ll be fine on your vanity. The palettes also include a mirror and a folding booklet of shade application ideas.

The spring launch brings a little more color (and a little more shimmer) to the table. Nice Melons is peached pink with a touch of gold. Buns is very muted (almost brown) rose.  Shamrocker is a deliciously cooling mint; Mermaid is green teal duochrome with gold shimmer. Fancy Pansy is lilac that reflects a subtle blue sheen. Bo Peep is a frosty peony pink.

Despite the overwhelming springiness of the new shades, I think they’re here to stay. Sephora.com doesn’t distinguish between the original nine and the new six. [EDIT: I recently learned these shades ARE limited edition, so if you see one you love, don't wait.]

Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow: Nice Melons, Buns, Shamrocker, Mermaid, Fancy Pansy, Bo Peep

The answer, at least in a swatch, is pretty similar to Coralista (which I love). It’s a peach-pink with gold, and in a heavy swatch, it takes on an almost “frosted” appearance. Maybe I’m being influenced by “sugar” in the name. I think it’s more peach and more gold than Coralista (which is a bit more pink), and Coralista can be layered or built up more than Sugarbomb can.

Like all Benefit’s boxed powders, Sugarbomb is $28. Click here to go back and see the other available shades.

Velvet eyeshadows are available at Sephora or at your Benefit counter.

Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow: Bikini Line, Leggy, Fawn Over Me, Rich Beach, Buckle Bunny, Where There’s Smoke, Gimme Some Plum, Dandy Brandy, Like What You Sea

Benefit’s seven “boxes” are $28 each (0.40 oz). The blush itself is a square pan in a stiff cardboard box — each decorated in theme. Coralista is the most pigmented, a shimmery peach-pink combination that I find so hard to resist. Georgia is a very light beige-peach. Does anyone use this as a blush, or is it more of a highlight? Dandelion is also pinky-peach, and would have been my favorite if not for Coralista. Both Georgia and Dandelion have a gentle glisten to them. And Thrrrob — which made such a splash with its racy name and corset-decorated box — it’s very pale, matte, cool pink. Really? This is what sex-in-blush-form looks like?

Dallas is a reddish brown, and might be usable as either blush or bronzer, if you like that slightly sunburned look. Hoola is totally matte, a yellow-brown that reminded me of NARS Zen. 10 is a shimmery highlight/bronzer duo, the two powders touching in the box. I think the idea is that you swipe your brush once across the top, then once across your cheek, simultaneously highlighting and bronzing, instantly contouring. I tried that (on the left): one swipe in the box, one swipe on my arm. Then I used sponge-tipped eyeshadow applicators to swatch more heavily (on the right), to better show the pale pink and orangey bronze.
Benefit Boxed Blush: Coralista, Georgia, Dandelion, Thrrrob, Throb, Dallas, Hoola, Hula, 10, Ten

Why the messy swatches today? Well, these cream shadows are supposed to be able to double as cream eyeliners, but I wasn’t convinced they were all right for the job. So I attempted to show you what each color would look like if applied thickly (as a liner) and sheered out (as a shadow).

Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner: Tattletale, RSVP, Recess, Get Figgy, Skinny Jeans, Flatter Me, Honey Bunny, Strut, Stiletto, Busy Signal, Gossip