Late to the party with: Benefit 'They're Real'

I'm possibly the last person ever to try this mascara!
(It was £9.99 for 4g, so pricier than the full size per gram but not by much.)

A few weeks ago, I mentioned having picked this product up as part of my pre-Uni shopping spree.  My beloved Clinique mascara (name totally forgotten and left at home - shall find out!) was on it's last legs and most likely wouldn't last the next twelve weeks, so I was on the hunt for a new one to test out and this had been on my list for yonks.  As I said in my previous post, I can't really justify purchasing the full size of a pricier mascara as they all tend to dry out after a few months regardless of whether they're super fancy or super duper cheap - so when I saw this mini size of 'They're Real' on the shelves of my local Boots I went and chucked it in my basket!

To be thoroughly honest, I can't really say that I have tested this out for long enough to give a concrete opinion as most mascaras tend to improve over time (until a certain point where they've gotten too gooey) but I managed to snap a decent picture of my lashes with just this mascara so thought I'd give my impression of it from using it over the last few days.

Pre-makeup application...

And the end product, with only mascara on the eyes.

The formula and brush took a little getting used to - there was quite a bit of Bioderma involved the first morning I slapped this on and managed to get it all over my eyelids!  The wand itself is made up of lots of very fine plastic bristles and is quite large, which is new for me (the last few mascaras I have used had either fibre bristles or plastic ones with a small thin applicator).  The problem you get with a lot of brand new mascaras is that as the formula is so wet your lashes will stick together at the slightest brush unless you let them dry for a while.  Here, I ended up having to brush through my lashes post mascara application and then apply another coat once the first had dried.  This worked pretty well I think - the end effect is quite fluttery with mostly length and not much volume added.  The kind-of spiky end of the wand also means you can get at the corners easily, I just wish the whole thing was a smidgeon smaller!  It also works really nicely on the bottom lashes, giving you doll-eyes without too much of a panda eye effect.

The really great thing about this though (which I wasn't expecting!) is that it is seriously waterproof.  This first week at Uni has been filled with blood, sweat and tears (I jest, I jest - no blood honest) and it has stayed put without flaking for twelve hours straight - sometimes longer.  At night to remove it I have to use a cotton pad soaked with Bioderma after my Body Shop Cleansing Oil to make sure I get it all off.  You do feel it on your lashes and getting it off properly is a step you do not want to miss!

So far, if 'They're Real' went missing I wouldn't dash out to repurchase - but I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks and keep you posted!

xxx