Colour
Watermelon pink with very fine gold shimmer. This is the first blush I have bought from Benefit (having only owned their creaseless cream shadows, which I love too). Although, I did swatch their other popular blush 'Coralista' in the store and I found that while they're both a coral type of shade, the Bella Bamba definitely has a pink tone whereas Coralista has an orange tone. I personally preferred the Bella Bamba as it was much more pigmented and prefer pinks to oranges. I would say this would definitely flatter most skin tones.
This has been compared with Nars Orgasm blush, which I have only swatched and tried at the store once before, and I would say that Bella Bamba definitely has more pink undertones to it.
Benefit has marketed this as a '3D' blush, I would say just to catch people's interest more than anything! It's the gold sheen in the blush that gives your cheeks a lovely natural glow/healthy flush and dimension when the light hits it.
Application
It's extremely pigmented so a little goes a long way! Begin with a single light tap with your blush brush into the pan (tapping off the excess) and build up from there depending on how intense you want the colour to be. I really liked the way the Benefit sales lady applied it on me which was just to apply a light layer on the cheeks all the way to the hairline, then applying another dab or two just on the apples of the cheeks to have a bit more of a pop of colour. The result was just gorgeous! So I stress again to be very light-handed and you will get the best results...honest! (Any more then you will hate it!)
The label on the bottom of the packaging does recommend to dot along the hairline to give more of a dimensional look which I did try, but I don't think it suits me particularly. I think because of my olive/tanned complexion and the pink tone of the powder the effect looked rather artificial and didn't look right at all. I think your typical bronzer would be better for that sort of thing if you have my skin tone. However, applying in the hairline might look lovely on fair to medium skins if applied light-handedly and blended well to give that natural sun-kissed look.
It comes with a moon-shaped, natural-bristle brush that's rounded compared to previous Benefit blush powder brushes which were just flat/square. So, you get a softer application and easier to blend. I have used it a few times even though I do have much better brushes. I still think it's usable. I would imagine something like the Nars Yachiyo Brush would be very good as it's designed for even distribution of very pigmented blushes. (I bought this brush a couple or so months ago, but have not yet tried it! Will do a review on this as soon as I do! ;-) )
Texture
Smooth, but a bit powdery so there might be a bit of fall out and you need to be a bit gentle when dipping your brush into it, otherwise it could break and you'll get loose powder everywhere. Other than that it blends well and fairly easily.
Smell
Watermelon type of smell to it. Lots of people say they like the smell. I was a bit disappointed because apart from a little watermelon, it also smells a bit like plastic(?) - whatever it is, it's a bit artificial and I'm not that fond of it. Luckily, it's not as strong as I expected and I would need to stick my nose into the blush pan to really smell it.
Size
8.0 Net wt. 0.28 oz.
Packaging
Even though it's just a cardboard box, it is kind of different, funky and fun with the use of psychedelic/holographic colours. It does bring a smile to my face when I take it out for use. :-) It has a lid that you flip open, but it is attached and has a mirror unlike previous Benefit blush powders. The lid is secured with a magnet. The sales lady informed me (and as confirmed by other blog posts and videos) that Benefit will be replacing these existing blushes with the same flip lid and mirror, which I do prefer! It's light and convenient to carry and use on the go. Although I'm a bit wary of it being squished in my bag! Finally, as mentioned above (under 'Application'), it comes with a soft, natural-bristle brush with a lightweight wooden purple handle.
Con
A con particularly, for those who already bought other Benefit blush powders is the amount of blush is a lot less than the Coralista blush which is 12.0g Net wt. 0.24 oz. for the same price. I would guess that their selling it for the same price due to the added mirror (*shrug*). Nonetheless, I'm still happy with it considering the other blushes I have are only about 3.6 - 4g so you're still getting a lot for your money, and because it's so pigmented and you don't need to use a lot of it, I doubt I'll ever hit pan on this one!
Summary
Overall, I'm very happy and excited about this blush and it's colour and the way it enhances my face. I don't currently own a dupe for it.
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