Benefit – They’re Real! Mascara Review

I have been quite busy with school this past week so I haven’t been able to post much. I finally finished my last midterm today before reading break so I’ll be posting more frequently this next week, so stay tuned! Today, I will be reviewing Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara.

Background: Even though I love makeup, I would say mascara is the one makeup product that I do not really invest in. I hardly wear mascara unless I am going to a fancy event. I wish I was like every other girl who lives on mascara…but sadly, I do not. I much rather prefer eyeliner if I had to choose just one product.

Anyways, let’s move on. I received this product as a present from my cousin last month. It was a part of Benefit’s Matthew Williamson: The Rich is Back make up kit. Since I’m not a mascara girl, I was not really expecting much, but WOW, this product really blew me away (and for good reasons too)!

Packaging: I am a really big fan of Benefit’s unique packaging, and it is one of the things that has always intrigued me. This is the set that it came with, notice all the details put into the packaging of the kit. The packaging of the mascara itself is really pretty as the salmony/orange/pink colour contrasts well with the otherwise monotone grey.

cute packaging of the makeup kit

Wand: This mascara comes with a rubber brush. There are also bristles on the top end of the brush, making it easy to apply mascara vertically for those super short lashes at the corners of your eyes. The bristles also come in varying lengths, so that probably helps lengthen the look of your lashes as well.

close-up of the mascara wand

Application: I really do not like applying mascara. I’ve tried so many different brands which all just clump or don’t even look like I applied it. However, I noticed that this one is really easy and smooth to apply which I really liked. In total, I applied two coats (about as many as I apply before I get frustrated with mascara) with no clumps.

There was no negative impact after using my eyelash curler as well, sometimes curling your lashes can ruin the look of your mascara (Or maybe I’m the only one with bad mascara luck!) I could tell that this mascara is friendly to layering since it does not dry instantly (which is good, because if it dries instantly and you try to layer another coat, it will clump >:( ).

Outcome: Here is the best part! After I finished applying all my eye makeup, I had a bit of time to kill before I had to leave my house, so I decided to take some pictures of it. When I looked at the pictures, I was SHOCKED seeing my eyelashes.

I had to do a double take and think if I was really false eyelashes, because I’ve never seen my own lashes look that long before. This mascara truly does make your own eyelashes look as if they’re falsies which I loved. It also still looks completely natural!

Cons: This mascara is pricey compared to drug store brands.  Other than that, I don’t really have anything to complain about. Some reviews online mentioned that it was unfortunate how they didn’t carry a waterproof version of this, but I hate waterproof mascara because it’s so hard to remove.

Conclusion: In my opinion, this mascara really does make your own eyelashes look like falsies. You really have to do a double take and think “they’re real!” so I now understand the meaning behind their name. The wand is great because there are bristles on the top, which make it easier to accentuate shorter lashes that would otherwise go unnoticed. I would highly recommend trying Benefit’s- They’re Real! mascara!

two coats of benefit’s they’re real! mascara, (also pictured- naked 3 palette, kat von d tattoo liner)

Thank you for reading!

-Carmen