Benefit: They're Real! Mascara (£18.50)

I seem to remember telling you about my eyelash envy that I frequently suffer from; let's just say, I don't need much of an excuse to glue false lashes on. My eyelashes are short and fair, so I'm vaguely obsessed with finding a mascara which will work miracles and give me full, long lashes. 

I'm pretty sure most beauty bloggers have heard of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. It's the best selling mascara in the UK, which, considering the plethora of lash-gloop you can get out there, is no mean feat. It also has an exclamation mark in its name, so it must be good, right?

The packaging it pretty cool; silver, sleek and stylish without being bulky or busy.

It's got one of those comb brushes, which from past experience, I haven't been overly thrilled with. I just get better lash coverage from the bristled brushes. However, it gave me something to compare this against, since my regular mascara has one of these crazy wands as well. The aim is that it combs the product through your lashes, reaching each and every one, rather than just brushing it on, which adds volume.

Above is a picture of my poor little eyelashes without anything on. I figured it's only fair (fair, get it?) to show you the before so you can accurately judge the after. 

I used Revlon Photoready 3D Volume Mascara (£5) as a comparison. As you can see, it has a very similar wand. Bear in mind, however, that it's under a third of the price of the Benefit mascara.

I applied three coats in total, the top pictures are the Benefit masacara, the bottom images are the Revlon. I've also taken two pictures of each, one with my eyes open, one with them closed so you can see the top and bottom lashes clearly.

Coat 1:

Coat 2:

Coat 3:

As you can see, the Benefit formula has not only lengthened my eyelashes a great deal but has also separated and darkened them, making them look fuller. I was also impressed with how little this product clumped, as I have a serious problem with this when using most mascaras and it is pretty impossible to smudge, another huge plus.

It's a great mascara but I must say I wasn't blown away. Is it worth £18.50? I don't know. It's one of those products that has been hyped up and I guess I expected more. It certainly is the best mascara I've ever tried, don't get me wrong, there's no doubt about that, but it's not my miracle mascara that I've been looking for. Maybe it's foolish to believe in eyelash-based-miracles, but I won't give up looking.