Product Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara

  

This has undoubtedly been the most hyped up mascara of the last six months or so and was the best selling mascara in the UK for 2012. Retailing at £18.50 it promises dramatic length and volume, base to tip curl, visible lift and long wearing results as observed by 90-100% of people in a consumer panel survey. It also claims to provide clump free, beautiful lashes.

I'd held off buying this mascara for quite a while, I have far too many, way more than I can use up before they dry up or get too old and unhygienic to use. However I am a sucker for a bargain and when I saw this on Buyapowa for £13.50 I thought I would give it a try. That site is bad for my bank account seriously.

So I clicked 'join co-buy' and waited with much anticipation for the postman to come a-knockin'.

The outer packaging is nicely designed, I'm not sure if it fits in with Benefit's existing style of vintage style imagery but it certainly fits their fun flirty brand. The mascara itself has quite a unique applicator, the standard spikey plastic wand has the addition of a little ball at the end designed to catch all of those inner corner lashes and tricky to reach places.

So the good points of this mascara. It's extremely black, the blackest mascara I have come across. It brightens the eyes and certainly gets every lash. It stays black all day without fading out to that murky grey that some mascaras do. Unfortunately for me this is where the good points end.

The applicator is very spikey and if you poke yourself in the eye it's bad news. Not just like normal mascara wands, but to the point your eye spasms, turns red and waters like the Niagra Falls. Okay so you aren't meant to poke yourself in the eye but it does happen and it seems to happen a lot more so with this wand. Maybe it's just me being careless. So that aside what other problems did I have?

You are meant to be able to build this mascara up, using it first in a rocking side to side motion to coat the lashes then in a vertical motion to create lift and get all those tricky lashes that like to hide away. But after just one coat I can feel my lashes getting clumpy. I've watched YouTube video after YouTube video to try and get the right technique but nothing seems to work. Yes you get volume and lift but my lashes also just seemed to get weird bobbles at the ends. The small ball at the end of the wand always comes out coated in far too much product for the small lashes to hold and even after wiping away the excess it doesn't seem to help much. My lashes are left spidery even after using a lash comb and have that horrible crispy feeling which gets harder and harder throughout the day. I also found that although the mascara didn't smudge or fade it did flake a little.

In all I am really disappointed with the Benefit They're Real Mascara. I was expecting good things and I just find it really unworkable. Maybe you just need good lashes to begin with to make this work, a lot of people love this mascara and maybe you will too. It just isn't for me.

Links:

Buyapowa 

They're Real at Boots 

Benefit Website 

March Glossybox Review

So here it is, the March Glossybox. As you will know if you read my February Glossybox review I wasn't very impressed with the last box I received and was considering cancelling my subscription. So how did the March box do?

Well it was a definite improvement from last month as all of the products included in my box were usable. 

 

Box Contents:

- The usual A3 fold-out leaflet containing details of the box contents and links and advertisements showing where to buy the products

- "My Little Travelling Book" with snippets of information about various cities around the world and stickers

- TRESemmé Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray

(This is a handy bag or travel size of 100ml which you can buy in some stores, the 500ml standard size is priced at £4.69)

- Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, Fragrance Free

(7ml sample, retails at £25 for 50ml)

- Nails Inc Polish in St. James

(4ml sample, £11 for 10ml)

- Juicy Couture Couture La La Perfume

(1.5ml sample, retails at £63 for 100ml)

- Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics Lip Blush in Marshmallow Pink

(Full size, £12 for 2.5g)

I still dislike the fact that one of my five products in the box is a perfume sample, I can pick these up for free in department stores. They do come in handy on nights out as they just pop into the smallest of purses and handbags. I just feel these should be bonus items in the box alongside five other products. The perfume itself smells nice, I would definitely wear it but not necessarily go out and buy it. If I saw it on offer I might contemplate picking it up. 

The Nails Inc nail polish is a lovely colour, I'm happy with the size as who really ever gets to the end of a bottle of nail varnish without it drying up? I haven't tried it on my nails yet so I don't know how long the polish will last but I will be giving it a go soon.

The Elizabeth Arden cream is big in the beauty world and I'm looking forward to trying it. The size is perfect for popping in the handbag and using on dry patches as the day goes on. I always find my elbows get dry and sore and I never have anything handy that will do the job so I'm hoping this will help.

I had mixed feelings about the inclusion of the TRESemmé hairspray. Whilst I really like this hairspray and I already use this so it will just replace mine when it empties, I feel that it's not a high end product and it's far too accessible to everyone for just a few pounds to justify including it in a Glossybox. I think everyone has tried these at some point and it doesn't really belong here.

I had heard of Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics but had never tried them. I'm always wary of buying online when I can't try out the products and so receiving a product in Glossybox is ideal as I might be inclined to give more of their products a go. Their Lip Blushes only come in two colours, I received the lighter of the two but I much prefer my darker shades. Regardless, I will wear this colour. The product itself is similar to the Clinique Chubby Sticks or the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains. I've never tried the Clinique Chubby sticks but I do really like the Revlon ones. The formula of the Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush seems more moisturising than Revlon and the stain lasts really well but I'm not sure that they are worth the £4 extra plus £3.95 P&P. So overall they only work out 5p cheaper than the Clinique Chubby Sticks which are £16. I think for now I will stick with my £7.99 Revlon Balm Stains where I can choose from a good colour selection and try them out in store and if I feel like splashing out my next call would be to give the Clinique Chubby Sticks a go. 

Overall I think there were some great products in this month's box. I'm not sure I would be rushing out to purchase them all again and I'm not sure all of them belong in Glossybox but all of the products will be used and I feel that I got value for money this time around. I think I will keep my subscription for now and see what next month brings.

Product Review: L'Oreal Paris GlamShine Stain Splash

So I'm just gonna put it out there. These are freaking awesome! 

Little bit of corporate stuff here to get us started. L'Oreal own, amongst other brands, YSL. A while ago YSL brought out their Glossy Stain range priced at £23.50. Kinda pricey but this is high end stuff, you have to shell out for quality right? Wrong. These new L'Oreal lovelies are pretty much the same. Probably almost the same formula, do the same job. And for a more purse friendly £7.99. Add to that they are often on 3 for 2 at Boots and you have yourself the bargain of the year so far.

So what are they? Basically they stain your lips (and boy do they stain, after swatching every single shade in boots it took some serious scrubbing to remove from my hand), then with subsequent coats add a stunning glossy finish. Not the "I can't stop drooling" look a lot of glosses cause, but a full looking glossy lip. The colour is buildable, they aren't sticky and they taste and smell incredible. If you've ever used the Bourjois 3D Effect glosses it's pretty much the same taste without the sticky gritty texture and a better finish, if not think Love Hearts sweets in glossy lippy loveliness.

The colour range is smaller than the YSL ones but really when it comes to a stain I don't think you need all of the little inbetween shades. Stains work alongside your natural lip colour so you are going to get variation from person to person anyway. Still, there is still a good range available. Boot's website shows six shades but I remember at least another two being on the shelves at my local store.

The packaging as you can see in the photos is beautiful and it definitely doesn't look like something you can buy at your local supermarket (but you can!) so you can feel confident pulling it out of your handbag to re-apply. It's a low maintenance product, the stain lasts hours and you just have to top up the gloss now and again which in turn layers on the stain. The wand is great for application, quick, easy and foolproof. They also seem to make your teeth look whiter. These are so gorgeous and easy to use I will probably be recommending these for my friend's wedding make-up. She will hardly even have to think about it, quick slick of these between photos and kisses and she will be good to go again.

I picked up three of these. Romy, Eve and Milady. Milady creates the most stunning plum lip and I am tempted to go and try out a few more shades once payday arrives.

Check out both products mentioned here:

L'Oreal GlamShine Stain Splash at Boots

YSL Glossy Stain at Boots 

February Favourites

So it's the start of a new month which means that in traditional blogger fashion I am going to do a favourites blog.

I've been trying a lot of new products lately, some will probably make it into my March favourites, but I didn't feel I had been using them enough throughout the whole of February to include them here. But these are the products I've found myself picking out again and again to use throughout the last month.

Large "Donut" Bun Ring (Primark £1.50)

I've been wanting one of these for a while now and I finally picked one up during a Primark outing and it has been worn so much. It's great on those days where you just want your hair off your face or when you could never wear it down because it's ready for a wash but you just don't have the time. I'm quite late on the donut bandwagon but for me this is a new love.

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow (£17.00)

Another product that has been on my wishlist for a while now. I'm quite pale and find it very hard to find good contour colours without them making me look orange. This is fantastic. It's a buildable cream that blends beautifully and has more of a pinky-grey undertone than the typical orange-brown undertone many contours have.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Nova (£5.99 in Boots, can often be found on 3 for 2)

I was excited for the release of these products and they did not disappoint. I bought these in three colours, Nova, Big Bang and Apocaliptic, but so far Nova has been my go-to. It applies smoothly and has a nice creamy texture, isn't too drying and lasts for a reasonable amount of time for the type of product it is. I love the shade, it provides a lovely pop of colour without being too dramatic for daytime.

Illamasqua Brow & Lash Gel (£11.50)

My brows have been a little unruly of late, I have finally got round to re-shaping them but before this the Illamasqua brow & lash gel had been my saviour. A clear gel that holds brows in place all day, great if brows grow the wrong way or are just a little long or lack shape. I usually brush a little of this through until I get the shape I want then carefully fill in any gaps once it has dried.

L'Oreal La Touche Magique True Match Anti-Fatigue Illuminating Concealer in Rose Porcelain (Boots £8.19)

The best concealer I have found yet for under the eyes. Blends perfectly, isn't heavy and has a peachy tone to correct dark circles. No matter how much or how little make-up I am wearing I will always use this and a small amount goes a long way. 

Clinique High Impact Mascara (£16.00)

I used to use this years ago and it was amazing but then the price tag forced me back to cheaper drugstore mascaras. These days a good drugstore mascara isn't much cheaper so for Christmas I decided to ask for this again and have been loving it ever since. Quick and easy to apply, has a good consistency; not too wet or too dry and doesn't clump. My only gripe is that it runs far too easily if my eyes water so my next purchase my have to be the waterproof version. 

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Black Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner (Boots £3.99) 

This is up there with the best of them. I would liken this to the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners in terms of texture, colour pay-off and durability but for a fraction of the price. Lasts all day and for £3.99 you really cannot go wrong with this. Even goes on easily and stays put on the waterline which can be tricky to find in a waterproof pencil. Definitely pick one up if you love your eyeliner. These are also available in six other shades and at that price I will be tracking a few of them down to try.