Benefit They're Real Mascara
Benefit's they're real beyond mascara is anew product out on the market, they promoted it in Elle Magazine in the June 2013 issue.
With the magazine you got a sample size mascara with 40.g of product. The sample bottle is really small and compact - great for putting into your makeup bag.
I've never really brought a high end mascara before on it's own I've tried MAC zoom lash from a holiday collection years ago and I loved it but I've never repurchased it. Because I usually wear false lashes on a daily basis I usually just opt for a cheap one, I did have Natural Collection's black mascara which retails at only £1.99 in Boots, however it's not a great mascara and it doesn't do much for your lashes, the packaging isn't great either but what do you expect for so cheap.
After trying the Benefit Mascara for a few days I knew I loved it instantly I'd also ran out of the Natural Collection mascara so it came in handy! I went into Boots looking for a new Mascara because I didn't think the small benefit one would last me a long time, though so far I've used it everyday for a month and it is still going strong. I didn't really know which mascara to get I looked at all the drug store brand counters and I was um-ing and er-ing over what to get, I knew I didn't want the natural collection one again, but what to get? I wandered over to the Benefit counter mainly looking at the Eyeshadow Primer as one of my favourite YouTube Gurus uses that all the time. They had a display of the Beyond Real mascara and it retails at £19.50, which to me was expensive since I only ever brought cheap ones! However I had a Boots voucher if you spent £20 you got an extra 200 points so I bit the bullet and brought it, since I knew I loved it anyway from the sample size.
There is no difference of the actual product from the sample size to the real full size product apart from the packaging, which is really nice! Also the actual full size product has 8.5 grams of product inside compared to the sample size of 4.0g.
The Packaging
Outer Packaging:
The mascara comes in a black box with the colour theme of black and white, which is always sophisticated and a classic! it also has an edgy bright orange which makes it a bit more fun. They also used different fonts which again makes it look more stylish.
The box tells you all about the mascara as well as how to use it. I really like that it gives you so much information it's great for people who perhaps haven't tried many mascara's before and don't really know how to use it to it's best. It has it in English as well as French, which is good for an international perspective.
Mascara Bottle:
The bottle itself is a shiny metallic colour. The lid is a dark silver colour and the actual bottle is a purpley gun metal colour. I'm not 100% sure if it is actually made of a thin metal or wether its just a hard plastic - no idea I'm just a girl hehe!
Again benefit have used the same different fonts on the bottle and this time the colours are just black and the bright orange. I really like this bottle it's stylish and different to the usual black classic bottles of other brands like MAC and Chanel etc... Also the bottle isn't a straight round shape it's more like a cuboid. Which again is really different and edgy.
The Formula
The outer packaging states about the formula; being long wearing able to lengthen, curl, volumize, lift and separate and it also states that it won't smudge or dry out.
Are these claims true?
According to the packaging's statistics 94% saw dramatic length and volume, 90% saw base-to-tip curl, 94% saw visible lift and 100% saw long- wearing results - all these results were observed in a consumer panel survey.
My view on the claims....
Personally, I defiantly agree that it lengths my lashes, normally my lashes are very short and thin and not that great (probably from wearing false lashes all the time! But I'm addicted!).
Length & Volume
It defiantly did also add volume, however i found this to be brought in the form of clumpy thickness - which doesn't really bother me but after 3 coats you do get 'spidery lashes' which some people don't like.
Base-to-tip curl
There is defiantly a slight curl, nothing dramatic though that I notice when wearing this mascara and I didn't use an eyelash curler either when using this. I imagine that with an eyelash curler the lashes would be super curled used in conjunction with tis mascara.
Visible lift
I'm not 1000% sure on what this means but there is defiantly some 'lift' from the base of my lash line to the tip of the lashes.
Long-wearing results
Oh damn is this one true! You can wear it all day and it won't budge...- it doesn't smudge unless you get watery eyes then it does because it isn't waterproof. And it takes forever and ever and ever to get off! And the next morning even after trying to get it all off the night before there is still some mascara left over! It is defiantly long wearing. It probably won't be great if you have sensitive eyes though because it does take quite a lot to get this off which may irritate your eyes if they're sensitive.
Misleading claim?
Annoyingly like most mascara companies, Benefit have gone with the photo of - before mascara (which looks as if the person is wearing a little mascara) to the after of false lashes. It really bugs me that they do this because some women might think wow I want my lashes like this and they never will be like that from one product.
Although saying this the mascara does blend really nicely with false lashes, as I wear them everyday I really notice that because of how black the mascara is it really blends them in well with the false lashes.
The Brush
The packaging also mentions the brush. It tells you how to use it and also shows a photo of the brush. The photo is exactly right, this time - no false lies.
The brush itself is made out of plastic and has a little tip that the packaging claims to help curl and separate lashes. The tip really does separate your lashes, it's also great for being able to get into the corners and also for being able to do the bottom lashes since its smaller. However, the tip does sometimes get too much product on it, but this can easily be sorted by wiping it off the tip. The tip is made up of a few long prongs or spikes which aren't very close together.
The main length of the brush is quite thick but not massive, it also has different sides prongs or spikes. Short ones at the base and tip of the brush and long ones in between. It also has rows of little spikes in between, it goes - long spikes - short spikes - long spikes and so on. This part of the brush doesn't get many clumps on it at all, the odd long spike gets one or too but that's fine. The length of the brush claims to help achieve maximum volume, length and lift...which it does do.
Pros & Cons list
Pros:
- Super Jet Black
- Lengthens
- Separates
- Makes my lashes thicker/volumized slightly
- Lasts all day and doesn't budge
- Blends well with false lashes
- The packaging
Cons:
- The price at £19.50 I find it to be a little expensive but hopefully it will last longer than my usual cheap ones
- The main length of the brush is hard to use for under your lashes
- It is a little clumpy/spidery looking (which as I said I don't mind but others may so I put it in the cons list)
- The fake photo claim with false lashes - I hate when companies do this!!!
Out of 10:
Personally I'd give this product a 8.5 to a 9 out of 10. Whilst is a great product looks wise and formula wise it does take a long time to get off - which is most annoying at night time when you're tired and wanting to go to sleep. Also the price is a little expensive and I'm not a fan of the false claims with the before and after photos.
