I bought this product after wanting a new foundation. I've been using studio sculpt by MAC for a very long time because the color match was so good (NC42) and it left a nice, satin finish. Well, the benefit play sticks are also satin-type to semi-matte finishes and cover so well. The way I use it is by taking the stick and putting 3 streaks across each cheek, one one my forehead, nose and chin and blend away. This foundation blends so well! It's the type of foundation I can use in 5 minutes, and I'll have full natural looking coverage. I use the color jump rope and it matches my NC42 pretty nicely, except, it does have a slight pink undertone to it. If I need more coverage on certain areas, I will go back and put a seconds layer and pat the product as I would with a concealer. Even though it is pricey for a stick foundation, it is worth it, as the product is easy to travel with, does not require brushes(unless you want to of course) and it has ingredients that are supposedly good for your skin. Downfall is that there are only 4-5 shades, I believe, so not everyone will have a match. Would definitely recommend.

I took a chance & chose this off someone's list who wanted to swap with me. I was afraid at first because the color was the lightest color & I thought it would make me look too white(I'm fair skinned but I'm never the lightest shade). When I swatched it I saw it was actually pretty good color for me. Now, I HATE liquid foundation but I'm forced to wear it because I need full coverage & my HG powder I found with full coverage, broke me out. So.. I decided to give stick foundations a try & I do really like them. I don't know why I waited so long to try this particular one but I'm glad I swapped for it now that I have. I have deep red acne scaring all over my face & this gives me the full coverage I need. I don't need concealer with it because it works as both. It doesn't make me look cake faced the way Max Factor Pan-Stik made me look. I set it lightly with some powder & it looks flawless. The staying powder is actually pretty decent also. If this doesn't start to break me out(praying it doesn't), I'm sure this will be my HG. continued >>

I'm trying to be a bit unbias in this review as my true dissatisfaction comes from the Benefit rep who sold me this...here goes: as far as coverage goes, this made my face look flawless and it matched my skin extremely well. I also like the "stick" form and being able to apply straight to my face and just blending out with either by fingers or brush. However, after 3 days of use, I broke out horribly!!! I'm talking the worst breakout I have ever had in my life. So bad, that the girls at Sephora gave me HUGE free samples of tons of skincare products to help. According to them, someone like me (oily combination, sensitive skin) would never warrant a recommendation in benefit products.

This is a great foundation/concealer for me. I have problem skin, but it sits comfortably and doesn't cause any reactions or break outs. The coverage is buildable and has a natural to matt finish depending on how much you use (it even covers my rosacea). Its portable and convenient to use although I don't use the stick directly on my face for fear of spreading germs. It lasts for ages because its quite concentrated/creamy.

This foundation gives lovely even colour if you don't apply too much, lasts well if you set it with light powder, and looks flawless and smooth if you moisturise beforehand. I tend to paint a couple of stripes on my face in the areas where I most need product, and then I blend it out with my fingers. If I'm feeling fancy, I blend it out in circular motions with my Illamasqua highlighter brush. Both achieve pretty much the same effect. I imagine this would work well with a stippling brush too, but with a flat foundation brush I didn't have so much luck.

I have a kind of love-hate relationship with this foundation.

This is a great colour match for my pale skin (I wear 'Spin The Bottle') and it makes a lovely foundation: not greasy, not cakey, not obvious, and I don't feel it on my skin (unless I apply too much). It looks flawless most of the day if set with a light powder, and it is incredibly quick and easy to apply. The stick lasts quite a long time too. It's quite rich, so it's great for Winter time, or for anyone who is on the slightly drier side of normal skin. (My skin is mostly normal, but my nose can sometimes get a little oily, and my cheeks a little dry.)

However, for a foundation that costs upwards of £20 and purports to have such great ingredients to promote healthy skin (soya oil, chamomile, green tea extract, and gingko) I expected an improvement in my skin in general, but it really didn't do much. I found this particularly surprising because soya oil and green tea are powerful antioxidants and chamomile is very skin-soothing. I expected to use it for a few weeks and have radiant, even skin and I was pretty disappointed. I suppose the quantities might be low, or perhaps the other ingredients cancel the benefits out.

Nonetheless, since this foundation contains more natural stuff than your average make-up product I feel much better about wearing it on a daily basis - so this has become a staple in my collection.

If you want a straightforward, gentle foundation that's super-easy to apply and will make your skin look amazing when it's on, then this is for you. To summarise: it does precisely what you want a good foundation to do, but unfortunately it doesn't do everything it says on the tin - and for that reason it loses a point.

Okay - I just wanted to clear a few things up with this foundation since it seems to be getting really mixed reviews.
I first bought this foundation on a Christmas trip to NYC, where the Benefit MUA in Sephora was doing makeovers. At the time, my current foundation was looking cakey and the MUA basically dragged me over to put this on my face! I loved it! It was my HG foundation for 18 months and honestly I can't remember why I stopped using it. I think I started using a tinted moisturiser over the summer and simply forgot I had the Playstick.
There are 2 basic rules when applying this foundation, and I think that it's the failure to follow these steps that creates the ambiguity around it.
1. ALWAYS APPLY A MOISTURISER FIRST. This is a basic step that should be followed with any foundation, yet so many people seem to skip it. With the Playstick, this enables the product to glide on and blend so easily without compromising the overall coverage. The MUA I had used the Benefit You Rebel Lite, mixed with their That Gal shimmery primer. (On it's own that combo looks awesome in the summer).
2. APPLY THE PLAYSTICK WITH A SPONGE. Simply swipe the sponge over the stick and start blending it onto your face. This means you use a minimal amount of product, and the moisturiser helps the sponge to glide over your face. You're left with a really flawless finish. The Playsticks lasted me a good 6 months each, and I really like full coverage.
The only con I found with this foundation was that you really do need to set it - something like MAC's blot powder would be good - patted onto the skin with the powder puff provided. This will hopefully stop so much transfer, and I would also recomend setting it with a fixing spray to make it last longer. Touch-ups are so easy however, since you just pop the stick and a sponge in your bag!

I really liked this foundation...for the short amount of time it stayed on my face during the day. I tried it without and with primer but it never seemed to stay on for very long. The foundation itself also didn't last me very long, but that's probably because of how often I had to reapply during the day to keep my acne/scars covered. for $34 I wish it could have lasted me a bit longer :| time to go find another new foundation

Very disappointed by this,
unnatural finish, greasy looking and rubs off on anything that gets too close.
It does cover skin very well if you have acne, but you would have to reapply so often.
I am annoyed i got tricked into buying this by the sales assistant!

I tried this for the first time today because I wanted something creamier and lighter than my usual foundation (I was using a Clinique one before) and I absolutely love this product. It goes on easily and a little goes a long way. It feels so light on my face. The colour (spin the bottle) is perfect for my skin tone and it looks flawless. I also love the smell of it. I haven't worn it for a full day yet so I don't know how well it stays on during a busy day but with the compact stick top-ups would be easy anyway. Also, the women at the Benefit counter were so helpful and easy to talk to. Definitely a convert to Benefit products. Can't wait to get some more.

Horrible. Stick is so chalky, does not go on smoothly at all. Suffocates skin and causes lots of breakouts... and my skin is not sensitive or prone to acne. So overpriced, returned back to the counter.

Blahh...is my best word to describe this product. Limited color range, seems oily, doesn't have the best coverage, pricey, blah. I'm not a huge fan of benefit cosmetics.

i tried this out as i was looking for something with medium coverage to even out my skin tone. this stuff seems to greasy and oily. as it oxidized it turned my skin orange. wont purchase again

I purchased this to replace my MAC stick foundation which was discontinued. This is my HG foundation and it has replaced liquid and loose mineral powder foundation. This is so easy to use and non-messy! I don't have to worry about it spilling or breaking.
Before putting this on, I moisturize my face and apply to my eyes, undereye circles, nose, forehead, and chin in short strokes. Then I blend gently with a sponge. It literally takes me a minute to apply and blend, and it blends so seamlessly. The best part of the play stick is that it looks so natural and yet it has such good coverage to even out my skin tone and makes my skin look flawless when its actually not. I get compliments on my skin all the time thanks to this product. This has very good staying powder and lasts all day. Only con is that this is expensive but considering that this has lasted me 6 months, it is worth the money. Highly recommended!

I LOVE THIS. A representative from BeneFit was in Sephora, and she offered to do my makeup. The major thing I noticed about myself after she was done was that my skin was FLAWLESS. My skin usually has really red areas, and large pores all over my cheeks, but it was PERFECT!!!!!! I went on a hunt to find what she used to make my skin so smooth, and I found this! I love how matte this dry, since it's a cream to matte formula. I'm super happy I found what she used, now I definitely need to get some for myself! :)
The price doesn't really matter, the product is just super good!

Great full coverage. makes my skin looks healthy and gives it a glow. was using smashbox full coverage foundation and this took its place. it lasts all day if used over top of a primer and completed with a finishing/setting powder. Looks great with Tarte cheek tint! Love it!

I love this foundation :)
When i first got it, it took my a while to get used to it because i have really dry skin & i kind of found it hard to apply in a way, but when i put a moisturiser on first i found it went on beautifully, i love this foundation so much, love the shade, love the texture & the sheen it gives my skin when i use it, i would really recommend this to anyone :) continued >>

I LOVE this product sooo much.
It's creamy, and has a beautiful finish.
I reccommend you get a colour match at your local benecounter!
It's long lasting and wearing.
doesn't clog pores and doesn't have a scent.
It's perfect and I <3 it.
I highly reccommend this product :D It is a staple in my make up box! continued >>

What Benefit say -
"A cream to powder foundation stick that helps promote a healthy complexion while giving natural-looking coverage. Scribble in any fun shape and blend for a satin-matte finish."

Pros:
- Full coverage (covers redness and eye bags)
- Very creamy
- Good range of colours for fairer skin ladies
- Glowy finish
- Nice packaging
Cons:
- Too expensive (£25.50)
- Drying
- Can sink into fine lines
- Not natural looking (you need to add contour afterwards)
- Transfers if you don't set it

Full Review -
Ok, I have a love-hate relationship with this product, so I had a difficult time rating it. Let me tell you why... I first started using the playstick when I was 18 years old, I'm 24 now and I'm still using it... that should mean Holy Grail, right?
I have a lot of redness in my face that needs correcting, but my skin was always great until the age of about 22. So from 18-22 this product was my best friend, it covers EVERYTHING, but my god, when I hit 22, my skin suddenly dried up, and I could hardly use this product. GUTTED! This foundation flakes like hell if you have dry skin, its not moisturising enough (I have heard opposite reviews for this, saying that people would rather use it in the winter, because its quite oily, but in my experience it's completely the other way around).
Nowadays, I can use this product in summer, and its a GREAT concealer, on days when my eye bags are the worst, nothing else will do it. In relation to Benefit's claim that is gives natural looking coverage, I'm disagreeing - this is one of the heaviest coverage foudations I own. But I DO agree with the healthy glow that it promotes, considering just how heavy the coverage is. You do need to set it also, otherwise it transfers a bit, which can add to the heavy feeling of the foundation. I would suggest using a primer with this, and any heavy cream foudation; the playstick wont cake up, but it with flake if you aren't moisturised, and it will settle into fine lines after a while if you don't prep.

Final Thought:
I will probably always buy this product, although I am using it less and less, it's great for younger skin, and a brilliant heavy duty concealer. If you have problematic skin though, on the dry side especially, steer clear.

I didn't actually buy this product in the end, I travelled from Huddersfield to Leeds specifically to buy this product as I had it recommended to me.
I ended up being massively disappointed, during my 'makeover' with a benefit sa i noticed her own makeup was caked in her fine lines making her look much older than her 27 years (this was first concern).
Anyway she used porefection as a base then applied benefit play stick in 'spin the bottle' colour with 'sugarbomb' over the top...when I first looked in the mirror the foundation colour looked orangey when I had told her I wanted to match my own skin colour as much as possible.
I decided to continue my shopping to see if I would change my mind after wearing the makeup a while but as time went on the foundation began to sink into my fine lines too (i'm only 23 so don't have many) and drawing attention to them made me feel really self conscious. I have never known a foundation to do that before it was perhaps because it was a cream foundation, but in the ended I hated the look and feel of it. Would not recommend or try again.

I love love love this foundation stick! It is creamy, easy to blend and dries quickly without a cakey feeling. Combined with a tinted moisturizer, it makes my skin look flawless and it super easy and fast to apply in the mornings. It's also portable so you can just toss it in your bag and do touchups later during the day (though this product stays on for a long time so there really is no need!)