I very very rarely write negative reviews on my blog, I'm fairly easy going and product wise I have a general idea of how it's going to be before I buy. But the Hoola benefit fake tanner just did not live up to any expectations I had at all. I bought the product because there was an awards night at my university and just thought that I could do with a bit of a tan with the dress I wearing. I had seen PatrickStarrr Vlog about the Benefit Hoola fake tanner before and when I saw a blogger selling it on Depop I grabbed it. Thrilled to pieces, I couldn't wait to use the fake tanner I had heard such good things about.
Benefit Hoola Fake tan



The packaging of the tanner is beautiful, it gives really summery vibes and I love the copper lid and the idea of the applicator in the lid, the package is fantastic and would look great on my shelf, if I wasn't chucking it in the bin after this post.

The main issue I have with this product is the advertising of Zero Tanlines, as you can see from the photo's below my tan was patchy, and this wasn't from rushed application. I ex foliated before hand  and made sure my skin was dry and soft before applying it- but maybe I was too moisterized. The product is a gel, which is also new for me. I've used both a mousse and a spray beforehand which have worked well (I prefer a mousse) as it's easier to see how much I'm applying and what colour I'll go. This benefit product is supposedly one shade for all- being very pale I should be more careful with shade selection as it's so easy for me to go orange (which I did) with any product unless it's specified for light skin.


The gel went on and actually the gel itself spread very easily and evenly, but the applicator in the lid did not buff the tan into my skin, it just moved it around leaving me with a really patchy, streaky look. The gel is thick stuff too! So when it start's to dry it's hard to blend and trust me it dries quickly. The notourious sock made a return ( I obviously hadn't picked up a tanning mitt because I thought the applicator in the lid would do the trick) and I gave myself a dodgy tan.



The only saving grace of this product was it's pleasant smell. Fake tan smell reminds me of hangovers, but this had a lovely, summery, light scent. But this wasn't too overpowering and will layer very well with different body butters and summer

In conclusion it seems that Benefit have got the aesthetics right, great packaging, lovely idea and a delicate fragrance, but when it comes to things that actually matter like the formula and application the product just didn't work for me. They need more shade ranges, the gel needs to be thinner and the application technique should go back to the drawing board.

I know I've given this product a bad review but please remember my experience may not be the only one out there! There is a possibility that this 'batch' was a little off in their measurements and it's probably not right for my skin type or shade. However, I think it's really important that bloggers/youtubers include negative reviews on their blog too. We can't all love everything and it's important to let readers know that as it makes our positive reviews more genuine. Bloggers (not that I consider myself one, I'm more of just a girl that blogs!) are often written about negatively saying that they misguide their readers since they are given samples, taken on PR days etc and so feel that they have to write positive reviews. I feel like that's not the case at all and to be honest I think this topic deserves a whole blog post itself. Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent a bit. Basically I think it's essential to include reviews or products I don't like just as much as products I do to maintain an honest relationship with readers of my blog. This post isn't to say don't ever buy a product from benefit again, but if you're considering getting this one, proceed with caution.