Aura Paint- A Benjamin Moore Exclusive

 

 I was one of the lucky ones to be invited to join a word of mouth campaign for the Benjamin Moore Aura paints from BzzAgent. I was so excited to try this paint out. I have used several other brands of paint before and this is one that I just have not gotten around to trying yet, and now was the perfect time. Items that were included in my BzzCampaign kit were coupons for friends a discount on the gallon size paint, a pint of Aura Waterborne Interior Paint - Eggshell Finish (524) - White, a beautiful inspiration guide, a large pallet of colors to choose from, and a coupon for a free gallon on paint of my choosing at my local Benjamin Moore Store.  Free paint is a good thing! I was very happy that the pint was included because with out knowing anything about this paint the one thing I could tell you immediately is that it was thick because the pint was so heavy! It also gave me the opportunity to test the paint out.

 Before I went to get my free gallon I first had to decide on a room to do. That was simple enough, we had just separated my 6yo daughter and her 4yo brother into their own rooms. They had slept in the same room since they were very little and when we moved into our new house they did not want to separate, but it is time now. We moved into a brand new house with contractor beige walls. The 3rd bedroom had always been my guest/antique room. We moved all the antiques and everything out of that room and put my sons new bed in there, he just needed a splash of color now. My daughters room has the contractor beige walls too however the second her brother moved to his new room, her walls became covered in Justin Bieber and Hello Kitty posters and stickers and adornments.

The wall I will be painting- the old guest/antique room this window is just to the left of the pictures in the first photo

I let my 4yo son pick out his favorite color and after a long hard thought he narrowed it down to two, a dark purple or a green. He loved the dark purple because he loves Louisiana State University, thanks to his daddy and his older sister attending LSU. But he finally decided on a really nice green after going through Target deciding on what to do his room in. He loved Targets trucks and automobile wall decals so the green would go great with that! I went to get supplies such as a roller and tray etc while the kids were in school. I also used that time to head to my local Benjamin Moore store. This is where I am knocked off my happy cloud. I walked in, dressed nicely, and I introduced myself to the worker. I told him who I was and why I was there. He told me they did not carry what I would need. However when I first entered the store, it was smack dab in my face about 20 gallons of the paint in a display for sale! I asked him about that paint that was for sale, he told me he could only do it in a dark color and I probably wanted a light one so he couldn't help me. He was so rude and insisting that he did not have anything for me. But I told him in fact I did want a darker color and I showed him the one my son had picked out. He snapped up a gallon, went in the back to mix it, came out and snatched the voucher/coupon for the free gallon out of my hand and told me basically that I had better enjoy my free $65 a gallon a paint and hurried me out the door. I just sat in my mini van stunned for a second. But I was not going to let some grouch ruin this for me.

Painting day arrived and we moved all the stuff off the wall we were going to paint. I grabbed the paint can and realized this can was missing something...the name of the color! When that man at the store mixed it, he made no receipt label for it, no color dot on the top, no sharpie of a mention of what was in the can, so I prayed that when I opened it, the color would be to my sons liking, and hoped I would never need a can of that color again.

Before Painting- Contractor Beige Walls

So I poured the thick green paint into a tray and went to work. Mind you I am no professional at this and it just may or may not tell..... but the jest of the job was that I only did one coat to achieve a good color and an even coat. The paint went on like butter but dripped like it had melted after applied to the wall. The can was even shaken and stirred a lot right before painting. It didn't do this every time but when it did I was chasing drip lines for a while. It looks great and I only used about a quarter of the gallon. There was very low odor and it did dry fairly quick. Little hands were touching it about 30-45 min after I was done and it left no marks on the walls and no paint on their hands!

My thoughts on this paint???..... I would probably buy it again if the price went down dramatically. I liked that I did not have to prime anything and that in fact this did cover in one coat. If I were to buy it again I would look in another county for a Benjamin Moore Store, I will not be going back to the one I went to. It was very easy to clean up and by clean up I mean the place on the hardwood floor where my paint tray decided to leap to off the ladder...oops! Other than that I cleaned the tray out at the end and it came out simple enough, brushes all went into the trash so I cannot vouch for them :) I love that it is supposed to be mildew resistant and has color lock technology, yes I said technology, in a paint. I am anxious to see how the color actually holds up and how the paint holds up to a 4yo boy, that will be the true test! In the end the result was beautiful or as my son says "cool". It livened up the entire room, so it doesn't matter really whats on the other walls. He was like a kid in the candy store seeing the end result!

Color was Richmond Green -553

If you would like more info you can visit benjaminmoore.com to learn more about Aura Waterborne Interior Paine and all the brands Green Promise products.

Disclosure: I am a BzzAgent, and received this product as part of a word-of-mouth campaign. I receive free samples, or low cost products, in exchange for my opinion, and review, of the productsr Disclosure: I am a BzzAgent, and received this product as part of a word-of-mouth campaign. I receive free samples, or low cost products, in exchange for my opinion, and review, of the products