Benefit They’re Real! mascara review, swatches, photos

You know, I realised the other day that I don’t think I’ve talked about mascara on this blog for well over a year. I’m not sure why that is, beyond that a) I tend to get into a rut and wear the same type of mascara for tube after tube without variation and b) I’m really persnickety about mascara and very few tick my three main concerns:

1. It must be black. Inky black, the ‘black of the sky on a moonless night in the middle of nowhere’ type of black. Not brown-black, not grey-black. It can’t dry ashy either. Black, black, black, blackblackblack.
2. No flaking, no smudging. I wear glasses from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, so anything that leaves smudges on my lenses or leaves a decorative pattern of mascara flakes on my cheeks is verboten.
3. No crispy lashes.

Benefit – They're Real!

Enter Benefit’s They’re Real! mascara. An inky black water-based gel mascara that lasts way longer than a traditional mascara – to the point where I happily wear it on my bottom lashes because it doesn’t budge – but isn’t crispy like a traditional waterproof mascara. It’s water resistant, but more towards the waterproof end of the scale.

Benefit – They're Real!

God, excuse how tired I am here. I obviously broke my New Years resolution to wear eye cream this week.

I have wimpy lashes naturally so I don’t think anyone is going to fall to their knees and loudly proclaim that I must be wearing false lashes when I’ve got this on, but They’re Real! does the job when it comes to making what little I’ve been blessed with actually stand out. It paints them black, gives a taper on the ends of the lashes and generally holds a nice shape without being chunky. On a more make-up artist orientated note, They’re Real! adapts easily to both being pushed against the lash (to create thickness and volume at the lash roots) and stroked through the lash ends (to give a tapered, realistic looking finish).

Removal is a snap with any basic make-up removing wipe, although the formula doesn’t agree with oil-based cleansers like Dermalogica’s Precleanse – rather than emulsifying away, it turns into stubborn black commando stripes under my eyes that amuses The Chap to no end. Skip the oil, stick with a wipe.

Benefit – They're Real!

Something worth adding is that this is the first time I’ve used a mascara with plastic/silicone bristles and actually liked the results it gave me. Most cream- and oil-based mascaras seem to grab too heavily in the plastic combs and make them nigh impossible to stroke through my eyelashes without being a clumpy mess, but the combination of water-based gel and plastic brush work together perfectly. The rounded ball end of the brush is nifty for grabbing the itty bitty lashes right at the edge of my eye and bringing them to the mascara party.

Short version: it’s a nifty mascara if you’ve always wanted to try the lovechild of Benefit’s Bad Gal Lash, Too Faced’s Lash Injection and Maybelline’s Great Lash. It doesn’t leave smudges under my eyes or on my glasses, it stays black all day and I can remove it without scrubbing at my peepers. Happy with that!

They’re Real! mascara is AU$38 for 8.5g. Benefit is available at selected Myer stores, from the Benefit boutique in Paddington (02 8353 5000) and from Adore Beauty. Lash on!