Benefit They're Real Mascara

Been quite a while since ive done a mascara review so i thought why not do one. I've been long overdue for one anyways! 

Probably the only full sized mascara ive used and havent reviewed yet is the Benefit They're Real mascara. I've had this for a couple of months now, gifted to me from my Brother for one of my birthday presents! But the thing is i actually wrote him a list of products which contained products i really wanted or ones that i kind of want to try and the Benefit mascara was pretty much one that didnt really catch my attention but from all the hype it got it was one that i was willing to try.

 With the Benefit They're Real line, which contains the Push-up Liner and the Mascara, the body shape is pretty much makes the packaging a whole lot better. I mean obviously the shiny purply grey barrel will catch attention of many but its the little things that makes the products stand out from other mascaras. The bottom starts off circular while it gradually turns into a square shaped barrel, which i love! It's like the chubbier version of the liner. Though it may be a downside if youre travelling as the mascara is quite the bulky one and will take up some space if you're low on it.

Whats different about the mascara wand is that it is a plastic brush and the bristles extends down to the very tip creating a dome-like wand, which is supposed to help with "fanning" out the corner lashes.

At first that was something different to me and definitely exciting but when it came down to applying the mascara to my lashes, it was somewhat of a mess as my eyes are small and hooded and if you chuck in a mascara with a big wand, it is tough to avoid getting mascara on your lids. The bristles at the very tip did help with the corner lashes but it didnt help separate the lashes and was also the perpetrator of getting mascara on my lids.

Top L-R: Uncurled, curled
Bottom L-R: With mascara, After 3 hours

You can see on the third picture that the mascara does hold a curl pretty well after applying it and letting it set. It lengthened well and was quite good in separating! I find it weird for me to go out with just mascara as i just dont think it suits me at all as im an eyeliner girl so I did line my eyes with some purple eyeliner which did make the lashes start to droop down a bit.

I went out shopping for 3 hours and did go out in the heat for some time which resulted in just a small bit of smudging and flaking but the lashes remained undrooped which is the only upside. You cant really see the smudging in the last picture but it did smudge underneath the lower lashes which is no surprise as all the mascaras ive tried smudge whenever i apply it to the lower lashline. My other eye on the other hand did end up flaking a small bit but the mascara didnt claim to be flake-free just smudge-proof.

This isnt my all time favourite mascara, i just find it average. With me, my lashes look the same 80% of the time with any type of mascara on so I could find some cheaper alternatives with a different formula but overall the same look. This mascara doesnt claim to be waterproof but it does have a formula which is a pain to remove when on the lashes, you will need an oil-based makeup remover to remove it. 

I will be using this once school starts (tomorrow, yay *sarcasm*) just to make use of it. But most likely wont fork out $38 to buy it.

What are your thoughts on Benefit They're Real Mascara? Have you tried it/planning on trying it?

Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner

When I heard about the new Benefit Push Up liner releasing, it was one of those makeup products that hit number 1 on my wishlist instantly. Being an eyeliner junkie the thought that a gel liner in a pen form was the most exciting thing to have been invented, no more brush to wash and the struggles of dipping the brush in constantly. 

I was lucky enough to get this on my birthday from my brother which wasnt surprising as I kept pestering him about it and how amazing it is even though I never tried it before.

Yes, I am aware that Maybelline did come out with the first gel liner in pen form which I am super tempted to try as the Benefit Push-Up Liner wasnt exactly the "holy grail eyeliner" that I though it would be.

Firstly with the packaging, I am actually a big fan of! With a twist off lid its a lot more easier to open compared with the KPalette liner which requires me to use a crap load of pressure to remove and even if my fingers arent grippy or if they're covered in hand cream. the cap twists off nicely without much trouble.

The body is in similar shape with the They're Real Mascara which is also a nifty design to hold onto and also makes the liner look a whole lot appealing.

When you first open the lid there will be a plug/stopper thats in the tip which Im assuming is to prevent the liner from drying out too quick, but I was lazy in taking the stopper and putting it back in as it became too messy and annoying so I ended up just never plugging the tip and also losing it of course.

Im sure most of you know about the angled accuflex tip which is the main focus of this eyeliner. You twist the base and the gel liner comes out of the tip.

I found the tip to be surprisingly easy to use, its like using an angled eyeliner brush but smaller and controlled. 

I know there were definitely some problems with the tip such as twisting too much and having to wipe of the excess liner. Even when you close the lid and you open it back up the next day, sometimes 1-millimeters of eyeliner comes out (might not be the same if you left the stopper in) which is also a waste but the biggest problem was that you do sometimes have to twist extra liner out and wipe it on a tissue or the back of your hand when you use it the next day because there will be a layer of dried liner or at least not smooth compared to when it was freshly twisted out. but that could also be the problem of not leaving the stopper in. 

Benefit claims that this eyeliner doesnt smudge, budge and that its waterproof. which won me over along with many raves and positives reviews I saw on this liner.

I knew the ultimate test for the eyeliner would be during a school day which is usually the time when most of my eyeliners with either smudge and/or separate at the ends.

Sadly this eyeliner was probably the biggest pain in the butt, it smudged and transferred under my eyes and what made it worse was that this eyeliner actually a pain to remove so having to remove the black ring around my eyes took a lot of scrubbing and constant wiping. It wasnt even a hot day aswell, literally a cold winters day and the smudging was horrible. 

I tested this liner out on a work day which is pretty much either 3 or 5 hours of standing rarely any sweat seeps through and it still smudged on me but luckily it wasnt anything major.

After all the smudging I ditched this liner but then gave it a second change with the Too Face Shadow Insurance primer underneath and the smudging is massively reduced, though I find it to still smudge at the end of the day  but nothing too raccoon-ish.

Though I can say on the plus side that this is the most pigmented gel liner I have came across and also the smoothest. The application of this is definitely the fun part but there can be times when the accuflex tip drags on the skin and doesnt create a smooth line. 

I have been using olive oil to remove this liner and it does the job well. I would say that this eyeliner is water resistant but probably not so waterproof. I have tested this in the rain and there was no smudging whatsoever but I wouldnt trust it enough to go underwater with it.

It was a shame that this wasnt the holy grail eyeliner that I have still yet to find but Ill still be using this when Im going out for a short period of time, obviously using a primer underneath!

What's your thoughts on the Push-Up Liner?