Benefit They're Real Mascara

These dang bottles have been sitting up at the front counter of Ulta forever now, and I had managed to not purchase them by incredible manifestations of willpower.  However, a girl can only resist the pull of longer and thicker lashes for so long.

Benefit promotes this mascara with some pretty remarkable marketing claims:

"94% saw dramatic length and volume.  90% saw base-to-tip curl.  94% saw visible lift.  100% saw long-wearing results".

The wand reminds me quite a bit of the Givenchy Phenomen'eyes wand at the tip due to the small bulb of bristles there that are supposed to help lift and curl your lashes when used vertically.

The formula is jet black and is REALLY thick, as you can see in the photo above.  This makes application a little tricky because it wants to stick to everything and can end up looking a bit spiderweby in the lashes if you aren't careful to remove extra product in the wand before applying.  Trying to comb it out after it really difficult, too.  Wiggle it a bit during application to make sure you get the product in there really well, and go slow to avoid a mess.  The thickness of the formula makes it hard to apply evenly if you go too fast.

Did it do what it was supposed to?  Let's see.

Left: No Mascara                                                                           Right: They're Real Applied

 

 There was definitely visible lift/curl without the use of a curler.  That amazed me since all of the other mascara that I have tried that said it would do that never, ever did.  I applied only one layer to the top lashes and they were lengthened, thickened and curled.  Woo!

My only complaint is that they are not waterproof.  I noticed while wearing this with a few more layers for a more dramatic look that my lashes felt kind of heavy, and where my lashes has managed to brush against any skin it was starting to come away and leave smudge marks.

All in all this is a really good product.  Just be aware of how much you are putting on.  Also, you'll need a good eye-makeup remover to clean it away at the end of the day.  Grab a cotton pad, apply your removed to the pad, and then hold to the eye for about 20 seconds before you start to wipe.  Otherwise you'll be scrubbing at your eye for an insane amount of time and it will hurt.  


**what is up with the font in this post?!?!?!