Benefit: the honest verdict.
The brow-bar brand that owned the early-2010s Australian beauty floor. Tested across Gimme Brow, Hoola, and Benetint.
- Position
- Mid-market · Makeup
- Founded
- San Francisco, US · 1976
- Available at
- Mecca + Sephora + David Jones
GLOW read.
Benefit's strength has always been the gimmick that actually works. Hoola is the bronzer that taught a generation of Australian women how to bronze their faces, it's a properly cool-toned matte that doesn't go orange in our light, and it's still the best teach-her-mother bronzer on the shelf. Gimme Brow holds its position as the gateway brow gel. Benetint is a 1970s formula that's still doing its job.
Where Benefit struggles is everywhere else. The complexion range is dated. The mascaras (Roller Lash, They're Real) have been comprehensively overtaken by Maybelline Sky High at one-fifth the price. The packaging design language, the 1920s pin-up theme, felt distinctive in 2008 and feels tired in 2026.
Buy Hoola, Gimme Brow, and Benetint. Skip everything else.
What works
- Hoola, the cool-toned matte bronzer that defined Australian bronzing in the 2010s
- Gimme Brow+, gateway brow gel; still the best in its price tier
- Benetint, 50-year-old lip-and-cheek stain that still works
- Brow Bar service (in flagship Mecca + DJ stores) is genuinely good
What doesn't
- Mascaras have been overtaken by Maybelline Sky High at $25 vs Benefit's $52
- Complexion range feels dated, POREfessional primer is the only complexion piece worth buying
- Packaging design language is tired, looks like 2010 on the shelf
The buy.
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