Benefit Bathina Take a Picture Body Balm Review and Swatches

 Let me just add my hot weather rant to yours: this humidity is killing me. It's so hard to get the motivation to get out of the house, especially when you don't really need to. Anyhow, now that skin season is here, I thought I'd share a product that might come handy to some of you: Benefit's Bathina Take a Picture it Lasts Longer Body Balm. Whew!

Simply put, it's a cream highlighter especially intended for the body. The color is fairly similar to Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl-- pink with gold shimmer. It's supposed to give your skin a luxurious sheen. Does it? Continue reading below.

Benefit Bathina (P1600/1.5 oz.) is a pretty solid balm with a cloth puff for buffing into the skin. As you can see, the tin has a charming vintage vibe. This product is not at all new, (although it has been revamped a couple of years ago) but so far, most of the reviews that I have read about this product were written by bloggers colder climates than ours. I wanted to see for myself how it would fare in humid Manila.

The back of the packaging says: 

Gorgeous legs & arms when you dare to go bare. This irresistible golden-pink balm glides on sheer, glimmering body finish. So go ahead, take a picture... it lasts longer...

To apply: For glimmering results, apply evenly with velvet puff. To accentuate the glow, buff in a circular motion.

The product has a baby lotion-y scent which is noticeable for an hour or so. If you're like me who wears perfume on a daily basis, pick a complimentary scent to avoid clashing. It does not feel heavy or sticky as long as you don't touch the areas where you put it on. But if you make the mistake of wearing it on a very humid day, it can feel uncomfortable. Today I put some on my arms but just wiped it off ten minutes later. Too bad because it looks pretty nice too.

Sorry but no pictures of what it looked like on my arms-- I was running late as it was. But here's a swatch to show you:

The circled portion shows you where Benefit Bathina was applied. Can you see the sheen?

Bare hand

Hand applied with Benefit Bathina

Can you see the difference? Note that in the bare hand photo, my arm is held horizontally so the natural light makes a sort-of 'bloom' effect. In the hand swatch, my hand gleams even though it's directly facing the lens.

A lot of reviews (including Temptalia!) complained that Bathina is just too subtle. That was my first impression too, but I realized that you really had to swipe the balm a bit more generously to see the effect. Even then, it's not full-on shine but a lit-from-within glow. It's quite beautiful and subtle; in the right light you can even fool people into thinking that you just have gorgeous skin.

But... (of course there's one) but unfortunately, the effect will only last an hour or so before you have to reapply again. Plus, there's the humidity factor. You know the feeling when you wear a very rich lotion or body butter in the summer? That's exactly what you will get. Plus it does not have any SPF.

So the pros:

• Cute tin
• Pretty effect
• Easy to apply

And the cons:

• Expensive
• Can feel heavy for summer
• Not long lasting
• Scented

I would say that this is not a must-have but a nice-to-have. Before I finally got Benefit Bathina I tried to look for similar products but found none.

Do you think you're going to be getting Benefit Bathina anytime soon? Do you already have it? What do you think?