Wednesday 16 January 2013

Review | Benefit They're Real


silver mini mascara tube
close up of black chunky plastic mascara wand
After hearing so many good things about Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara, I was delighted to discover it in my stocking this year. 
Not only did the box include the full size mascara (8.5g) but a mini too (5g); perfect for travelling.

With claims to be the 'World's #1 Mascara' I had pretty high expectations, and it does not disappoint. The formula is thick but not at all gloopy and glides onto the lashes with ease.
The wand is great- quite large and extra spiky. Its shape is pretty unusual, having a round tip with longer spikes which you are supposed to apply vertically to your lashes for length (or is is volume- one or the other!). 

Personally I like to apply my mascara the traditional way: wand horizontal. Anyway, despite my slight confusion, I manage to achieve amazing results with even one coat of this. Not only does it darken, lift and volumize my lashes, it makes them look so long! Its the best mascara I've ever used- its the 'do-all' mascara! 

A slight drawback is that for me, it ends up under my eyes in a few hours. I think I have exceptionally oily eyelids, because this seems to be happening with all my mascaras, but I've found a simple solution is to powder the eye area before and after application, and it'll stay in place. Another thing which is a bit of a pain is that its really difficult to get off- I find it worse than my previous waterproof one and I never manage to get it 100% off and always have black residue. Finally, I realised it definitely isn't tear/ water proof when I went to see Les Mis wearing it- not a good move!

However, I definitely think the pros out weigh the cons and the effect that can be achieved with this mascara is fantastic. It really frames eyes and does everything a mascara is supposed to do and more. Being the mascara junkie I am, I don't think this will be the only mascara I will use for the rest of my life, but it has and will remain to be a staple in my makeup collection and I am currently using it everyday!

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?
green and pink floral text with brown outline reading 'Julz'

18 comments:

  1. Lovely! Would love to try this - such a helpful review, thankyou! :D

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  2. I have a sample of these mascara and I really like it :D I am such a mascara junkie!

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    1. Yay *high fives* ! Me too I don't think I will ever stop buying new ones! xx

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  3. I want to try this for the longest time!Do you know if they have a waterproof version of it,since I only use waterproof mascara as those are the only ones that hold the curl?

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    1. So did I! I don't think they do actually, this is meant to be smudge proof, though from what I find its not xx

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  4. I purchased this a few weeks ago with high hopes but unfortunately I was thoroughly disappointed. I agree, it does end up under your eyes after an hour but once I wipe it away once, it's fine.

    I just didn't find it done anything WOW for my lashes. It definitely does give them separation and provides a little bit of volume. I didn't see MUCH lengthening and after applying two coats, which wasn't satisfactory for my needs, it got difficult to apply more without my lashes clumping together and looking 'spidery'. And at the end of the day, it's a B*TCH to take off.

    IMO, Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion beats this by a mile. And it's considerably cheaper too. I'm definitely going back to it once I've finished They're Real.

    Happy to see that you get on with it well though but people need to realise it's not all that before they waste their money on it haha.

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    1. Aw man that's a shame! I guess everything works differently for different people, this is what I found to be true. I think depending on how you work with it you can get volume and length, its just the smudging for me that's an issue. I might actually try that, thanks for the recommendation! xx

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  5. I've been using this mascara since it came out and I love it! Always used Bad Gal but this does more for me. I don't really have the running problem, I've nver noticed it anyway. IMO best thing for removal is Ultrabland by Lush, it's an oil based cleanser that just melts the mascara and you just wipe with a hot cloth or a baby/face wipe. xo

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    1. Yay! I have bad gal too and I don't think it is anywhere near as good! I think my eyelids are just exceptionally oily or something! :P Oooh I should try that- thanks! xx

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  6. Awww you cried at the movies? :( haha poor Julz. I don't really think Benefit mascara is worth the price tag, I'd rather save my money for more nail polish and stick to Maybelline hehe ;) xoxo

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    1. Yep, yep I'm silly! Though everyone else did- so it wasn't so bad- I looked the worst though ahaha x Ooh sounds good, I really need to try Maybelline mascaras! xx

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  7. Fab review! This mascara definitely seems to have bloggers divided hehe x

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  8. I have avoided this mascara like the plauge ever since it was realised, there is nothing quite like a hyped mascara to not live up to expectations! I'm currently using a YSL one that i'm pretty happy with but I am getting tempted to see what all the fuss is about.
    Poppy @ lets drive far away x

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    1. I know what you mean, its so annoying when you buy something (particularly when its expensive) and it doesn't live up to the hype! But I am really really liking this, and would say its justifiable to spend the money on. Oooh I've heard great things about that! xx

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  9. I've been looking at this a lot lately and was thikning of buying it, but I really hate when mascaras are hard to take off. It looks great, definitely a product I wanna try out! x

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    1. You should try it, though it is quite a lot to waste if you don't like it. Maybe you should try the small size to see if you like it xx

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