To be honest I have never really understood Benefit's appeal, but my interest was piqued by their new mascara.  They're Real! was launched around August/September in the UK and I finally decided to try it out recently.  Blog reviews were mainly positive but reviews on makeupalley were mixed -  some women rated it very highly while others simply hated it.


So the box has the usual questionable claims of "94% of women* saw dramatic length & volume" etc (*from a panel survey).  I think everyone knows these figures should be taken with a grain of salt - the survey numbers are usually so low that it doesn't give a true representation of opinions.  But the basic premise is that this mascara will give longer & fuller lashes without clumping and weighing down your lashes.


The most distinguishing and important feature of any mascara is the brush.  I am a mascara fiend and will only use the the new flexible plastic brushes now (as opposed to be traditional bristlely ones).  I have compared They're Real! with two of my other go-to mascaras - Max Factor Masterpiece and Chanel Inimitable.  And yes, the brushes for Masterpiece and Inimitable are almost the same, but that is for another post.

As you can see, the brush from They're Real! has longer plastic spindly bits, and the top of the brush is rounded with more of these spiky bits.  This rounded bit is VERY similar to Givenchy's Phemomen'Eyes mascara.

My usual mascara routine is quite complicated, as I have naturally very straight lashes and oily lids.  Curling with my Shu Uemura is a must for me.  In order to maintain the curl, I use waterproof mascara as a base - I find that normal mascaras make my curled lashes droop back to straight.  BUT, I cannot use waterproof mascaras only as I have oily lids.  One assumes waterproof mascara will have better staying power for oily lid girls but I have found that to be untrue - most of them start to smudge on me around midday.  But I bought a non waterproof mascara one day by mistake and there was no smudging at all.  It was a revelation to me.  So my usual routine now is curl, waterproof mascara then normal mascara over the top.

So I trialed They're Real! with my usual one coat of waterproof mascara underneath.  My immediate thoughts about They're Real were:

• the longer plastic bristles really help to separate lashes = no clumping
• my lashes look a bit longer - I think this mascara contains fibres to lengthen lashes
• the spiky ball is nice for the outer top lashes
• the long bristles makes it difficult to apply to lower lashes

Overall I do really like They're Real! - it makes my lashes look fuller and longer without the clumping I usually get from other mascaras (because I apply at least 3 coats for volume).  As explained above I cannot comment on the curling and lifting claims.  The suspected fibres in the mascara means there is a tiny bit of flaking after a few hours of wear, but did not give me big smudges or panda eyes.

The only issue I have with this mascara is the price.  Personally, as good as this mascara is, I don't think it's worth the RRP of £18.50.  If you can get a discount on it then I think it's worth trying.