Review: Benefit's They're Real! Mascara

Sorry or putting this up late. I called in sick to work, and then slept the rest of the day! Oops!


Benefit's They're Real! Mascara is a cult favorite among beauty bloggers and vloggers alike. I don't think I've seen a single negative review from any of the people I follow myself, which is why I decided to pick up this mini size of this ever-popular mascara when I was at Sephora.

The full size of Benefit's They're Real! Retails for $23, while the mini is only $10. You can buy either size online directly from the company, or in Sephora stores. Honestly, I find high end mascara prices ridiculous, because it's unhygienic to keep a mascara for much more than three months. If you're a fan of this mascara, I'd recommend getting the mini.

The mini of Benefit's They're Real! Is packaged very similarly to the full-sized version, but with the main portion of the tube being a warm dark grey color, rather than metallic like the larger size. The product name is printed on the front of the tube in black and orange, along with the Benefit logo in smaller print. The cap is a dark gunmetal color, very much like the newer Urban Decay packaging. The wand of this mascara is interesting in theory, with wide-spaced rubber bristles, and a rounded tip that also has bristles on it, for getting at the smaller and harder to reach lashes.

The Benefit website says that this mascara will give you “Dramatic length and volume, base-to-tip curl, visible lift, and long-wearing results.” It's described further on as a lengthening mascara. It's a very dark black color, which lends itself to very dramatic lashes when applied.

Despite all of the claims made about this mascara, I have yet to have a good experience with it. Every time I try to use They're Real! It sticks my lashes together so badly that it looks like I have three or four lashes. I have very long, and full lashes, so it doesn't take much more than a single coat of a decent mascara for me to be happy with how they look, but this is the first time I've honestly hated a mascara.

The lashes sticking together would be a fixable problem for me, if only the product would dry down on my lashes before ruining any eyeshadow I have on. If it would dry, I would maybe feel more willing to use this from time-to-time, and just comb through my lashes after it's dry, but it smudges onto my lids while it's drying, and I end up having to re-do my entire look, every time, without fail.

I can't even show a picture of this on my actual lashes, because I can't stand to have it on my face again. I gave it multiple tries, and it just does not work for me.

This mascara works for so many people, I really do wish it worked for me, but it just doesn't. If you're curious about They're Real! Definitely go with the mini size, that way you're only out $10 if it fails for you the way it did for me.