3 years ago, I slammed Benefit Thrrrob Face Powder as being a useless piece of sparkly pink crap. So why I ended up purchasing it some time last year is beyond me. Isn’t nice to know that I’m able to admit to mistakes? 😛
I still stand by a lot of what I said previously. Benefit Thrrrob (3 r’s – WHY?!) face powder is not for use all over your face unless you are thinking of joining the circus or auditioning for the Chinese opera. Its too pink and people at Benefit Cosmetics must be on something if they thought this powder could really be used all over.
However, use it just as a blush and ahh…. that’s another story altogether! Having owned Dandelion, Georgia, Coralista and Sugarbomb and liking all of them (much to my surprise) I had to see just how good or bad Thrrrob was by comparison. You don’t read a lot about Thrrrob online. I’m not sure why because its quite a pretty pink blush.
In pan, Thrrrob is a pale pink with purple undertones. This makes it veer towards the slightly cooler end of the spectrum but only very slightly. It is also quite pale so I do find that I have to layer it on to get it to show up on my skintone. If you are fair, I believe this blush can work for you. If you are tanned, I will suggest you skip this one.
You can see all the sparkly bits in this close up picture. For some reason, when I first swatched this blush when it was first released about 3 years ago, I found it deposited shimmer on my skin. Correction. It deposited glitter. The shimmer particles were large and glittery and I did not like that.
However, although I see shimmer or glitter in the pan, when I apply mine to my skin, there is little to no shimmer at all. What I get is a wearable very pale pink blush that just gives a hint of colour to my cheeks. There is just enough colour to brighten up the complexion but not so much as to be overdone.
FOTD and Thrrrob v Dandelion Swatch comparison
In this picture, I’ve actually piled on the blush just so it’d show in a photo. Otherwise, it was hardly showing up at all. In person, I use about 3 layers to get a pretty flush of colour, or 2 with a dense brush.
I’ve shown you 2 side by side swatches of Thrrrob and Dandelion, the other pink blush in the Benefit stable. Can you see it? You might have to squint or view it from afar with just one eye, while standing on one leg. They are both very light, very sheer blushes. However, you might just be able to make out from the two swatches that Dandelion has a warmer tone while Thrrrob is cooler. If you have a neutral tone (not noticeably cool or warm either way like I am) you should be able to handle both colours quite well.
Cons: Only suited for fair skintones, Light colour tends to fade quite quickly for me
I honestly thought I wouldn’t like Thrrrob. It looks so blah in the pan and it is very sheer. But I surprised myself at how often I was using it in the mornings for a quick flush of colour that was not stark on the skin and just made me look bright and chirpy. However, I do find that due to the light colour and the sheerness, it does fade more quickly on me than the other colors I have so I don’t have much colour left by day’s end.
Have you tried Thrrrob? Or have you passed it by like I have all this while? Benefit says it is a “turned on” face powder and they have incorporated the naughty innuendo into the cover that looks like a lace up corset. It would be nice to think it does y’know do what it says, wouldn’t it? 😉
Paris B
Benefit Thrrob Face Powder blush retails at US$28 online or at about RM130 (?) at Benefit Cosmetics counters locally
Jayie says
April 25, 2011 at 4:19 pmI have tried dandelion and it doesn’t show up much on me at all despite a few layers… but I am loving Bella bamba so much!!! gorgeous colour and 2 swipes are enough to brighten my face!! 😀 was using coralista too but I’m loving Bella bamba pinkish colour more on my nc20-25 skintone 🙂
ParisB says
April 25, 2011 at 4:35 pmI’m enjoying Bella Bamba too – just didn’t want to write about it because the web was totally inundated! haha… And I can’t seem to get nice photos of it 😛 Its a lovely colour!
Denise says
April 25, 2011 at 4:32 pmWow, gorgeous! But this doesn’t have the flip-top cover of Bella Bamba does it?
ParisB says
April 25, 2011 at 4:47 pmMine is the old packaging so no, its not a flip top cover. I believe all the powders will have flip top covers soon so if that’s your cuppa you might have to wait for it. I’m not fussed by the packaging. In fact, I prefer the detachable covers 🙂
makeup.addict says
April 25, 2011 at 5:23 pmI haven’t even attempted to purchase/swatch Thrrrob, Dallas or Georgia just cause I know it won’t even remotely show up on my tan skin no matter how much I pile it on. The only box powders from Benefit I own are Hoola, Coralista, Bella Bamba and Sugarbomb. Sugarbomb being my least fave as it lacks pigmentation and it just takes too much work to get it to show up on my skin.
Another thing about the new Benefit flip top packaging, as much as I love how convenient it is, the thing I hate the most about it is that Benefit reduced the amount of product in it (from 12g to 8g if I remember correctly) while the price of the box powders still remain the same. Benefit is seriously pushing it if they think that just by adding a mirror and a mediocre flip top that the edge of it keeps digging into my blush when I close it without being extra careful means that they can overcharge their customers. But this is just my two cents regarding the matter. 🙂
ParisB says
April 25, 2011 at 6:41 pmHey I agree wholeheartedly with you re: new packaging. I don’t like the flip top and I didn’t realise it had less product, but its certainly smaller. If they release all colours as a fliptop that probably means they’re all getting downsized too!
For the most part you picked all the colours that will show on tanned skin. Sugarbomb being the exception 😛 Its a pretty blush but on anything other than fair skin its nothing but highlight.
Tine says
April 25, 2011 at 5:32 pmI think the blush looks gorgeous on you, and I LOVE that blouse you’re wearing!
ParisB says
April 25, 2011 at 6:43 pmThanks!! And the top is a dress 😀
Sam says
April 25, 2011 at 5:35 pmHmm…may need to check this out as my MAC Moon River is nearly all gone. It’s a gorgeous pink!
ParisB says
April 25, 2011 at 6:44 pmI hope you like it 🙂 I’m not familiar with Moon River though so I’m not sure how it compares 🙂
Connie De Alwis says
April 25, 2011 at 7:58 pmLooks REALLY good on you!
Certainly not the kind of pink for me but I do enjoy Bella Bamba very much. One of my staples
ParisB says
April 26, 2011 at 2:41 pmThanks Connie and nope its not for you, that’s for sure! I think of all the Benefit blushes out there, Bella Bamba is probably the most versatile for most skin tones
mona says
April 26, 2011 at 9:43 amCan u please review Benefit Dallas?
ParisB says
April 26, 2011 at 2:48 pmI can try – I have a small sample of it, but I don’t use it often. I’ll dig it out and give it a go soon. Thanks for the suggestion!
eira says
April 26, 2011 at 2:52 pmPB you’re really lucky cos u have such fair skin.
i’m so tanned so most of Benefit blushes have no effect on me whatsoever 🙁
I can’t take lighter colours but darker ones will make me look like oompa loompa
Issa says
April 26, 2011 at 5:29 pmhi! this color looks good on you Miss Paris! beautiful!
ParisB says
April 28, 2011 at 10:28 amThank you Issa! 😀
gio says
April 26, 2011 at 9:30 pmThat shade looks gorgeous on you! I love pink blushes and I have pale skin so I think this one could work on me. Thanks for the review.
ParisB says
April 28, 2011 at 10:28 amThank you Gio. I think it will look pretty on you!
Shay says
April 26, 2011 at 10:07 pmThis blush is too cool for my likings, but it’s really nice on you! Fresh look!
I love my dandelion and coralista! I wonder why ppl say dandelion don’t show up. I am possibly a nc30 (becoz I don’t have a Mac foundation yet). I use no. 30 for Paul and Joe. Dandelion shows up fabulously on me. I apply with a dense brush but only 1 or 2 swipes. It has a sculpting effect on my cheeks. I think 🙂
ParisB says
April 28, 2011 at 10:29 amYup! Its really cool especially when you see it in person. The upside is that I have a pretty neutral tone tending towards cool so happily it works hehe… I think Dandelion is a bit of a hit or miss sort of blush. I do like it but those who are expecting lots of colour won’t and I think many people expect that when you have blush on you should look like you have blush on 😉