Beauty Friday: Benefit They're Real! Mascara Review

My mascara go-to is Benefit Bad Gal Lash. I have worn it day in, day out for years. Ever since I got a free sample with Glamour magazine, in fact. Thanks Glamour!

Then came the sad day when my week-old mascara went AWOL. I still haven't found it. I presume it's off having a party somewhere under the wardrobe along with the last nose ring I had and a fair few cotton buds.

Instead of replacing it though, I thought I would try out They're Real! There is so much hype over this mascara, it is insane. Apparently it is now the UK's best selling mascara. Not bad considering it was only released 8 months ago.

It claims to lengthen, curl, volumise, lift and seperate. Phew! Quite the multi-tasker. The advice is to wiggle the wand horizontally for volume and length, then use the end to curl and seperate.

Ok, so my opinion. The bottle, as with all Benefit products, is gorgeous. It's a really interesting shape with great ergonomics (oh yeah, I said it!) and a stainless steel effect. The wand is fantastic. Instead of the usual bristly brush, this appears to be made out of a rubbery-plastic material and reminds me of those earrings that everyone wore in the early 2000s. The spiky effect carries right around the wand, even on the tip so you can use the very end of the wand. The material also allows for greater flexibility than the more sturdy brush type.


The mascara itself certainly lengthens, lifts, curls and everything else it claims. Well, everything except seperates. Especially if you use the supposedly seperating end of the wand. I've heard this described as false eyelashes in a bottle. If that means TOWIE in a bottle (which, let's face it, it would), then this is right on track. Seriously, just one coat of this and I look like I'm rolling up at Sugar Hut.

Before mascara

After mascara

It is a very black shade and I'm all for that. The problem is that I end up with about five eyelashes. I look like I've stuck Aragog to my eyelids. The upshot of this? This stuff is like B&Q emulsion. Seriously, it does not come off. I pretty much have to crack out the Cillit Bang to scrub it off. Which is no bad thing, of course.

All in all, I do wear this mascara. However, I save it for those events where I really dress up. Definitely not one for daily use. Unless I move to Brentwood, in which case I will consider it.