Benefit They're Real Tinted Primer

There seems to be a primer for everything these days, primers for things I didn't even know you needed a primer for! Such as lashes for example...I wasn't aware I needed to prime my lashes before applying my normal mascara but apparently you do. Lucky for me I'm subscribed to Elle magazine and the December issue came with a cute mini sample of the Benefit They're Real Tinted Primer, a whole nine weeks before the official launch of the full size version.

I've not tried the They're Real mascara before and I wasn't sure if the key to getting the primer to work well was to use it on top of its sister product but I used it under a couple of coats of the Roller Lash (one of my fave Benefit mascaras) and it seemed to work out ok.

The primer is designed to go on before your normal mascara (obviously!) and it will do all the separating, lenghtening and boosting work for you. The brush is a lovely thin one, which really grabs hold of the lashes and separates them really well. Once you pop your normal mascara on top it looks absolutely fab. The primer certainly helps it to 'pop' a lot more.

If you don't fancy big black fluttery eyelashes then the primer comes in a mink/brown shade so it can be worn on its own for a bit of a more natural look.

As someone who didn't even realise I needed to prime my eyelashes, I was quite impressed with the They're Real primer. My lashes don't have much curl to them and are very straight but the primer helps to grab the lashes really well and pull them up, giving them a bit of length as well as curl. I'll definitely be picking up the full size once it's released, will you?

Benefit Roller Lash

OK here we go…probably one of the most reviewed/featured mascaras on blogs across the land at the moment, so here's my thoughts too.

I must admit I'm not a huge user of Benefit products. I've tried a few here and there. I am a dedicated fan of its Hello Flawless Powder but I couldn't ignore the hype about the Roller Lash and so I popped to my local supermarket and picked up a copy of Elle magazine, in which a mini version of the mascara is a freebie. The magazine cost £4 and to be honest, I would probably pay this for the mascara mini alone and chuck the magazine away as it's just one huge book of adverts…

Benefit are marketing this a bit like a hair roller but for your lashes. The mascara uses a Hook 'n' Roll brush, which grabs, separates, lifts and curls the lashes, setting them in place for around 12 hours. It's also water resistant and contains Provitamin B5 and Serin ingredients, apparently known for their lash-conditioning benefits.

As I said, bloggers have been raving about this all over the place but I wasn't expecting to like it. I wasn't a fan of 'They're Real' and I seem to have rather odd, straight lashes that defy most mascara's curling/volumising powers, but I have to say I am really impressed with the Roller Lash. When applying it I can really feel it gripping the lashes and going about their curling business, it certainly makes them look longer and separates them a lot better than many other mascaras do.

I am already a huge fan of this mascara and have been recommending it wherever I can and I think I'll definitely buy the full size of this one.

Have you tried the Benefit Roller Lash yet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments...

Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara

Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara - £6.99






I thought today I would continue with the Maybelline 'Big Eyes' theme after reviewing the Maybelline Big Eyes palette yesterday.

I didn't really need a new mascara but this was just calling out to me. I was intrigued by the double-ended wand and just had to give it a go. I have to say I'm really glad I picked it up as it's become one of my go to products of a morning.

At £6.99 it is heading towards the more expensive end of the scale but it's not a ridiculous price as some high street mascaras can be. The wand for the upper lashes is quite chunky but it really gets into the lashes well. It can go a little clumpy but what I like to do is use the lower lash wand to separate the upper lashes. Genius!

I love the finished look of this mascara. It really lengthens the lashes well and I particularly like the lower lash wand. It's teeny tiny and gives great length to the lashes but doesn't leave them too spider leg like.

There's very little transfer onto the upper lid and it comes off really easily with a bit of eye make-up remover. I would definitely recommend this one for anyone looking for a little treat for the eyes.

What are your thoughts on the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara?

Seventeen Super Lash Mascara

Seventeen Super Lash Mascara - £4.99







Another mascara to add to my collection, oops. The Seventeen Super Lash Mascara is part of Seventeen Cosmetic's new 'super' range so I just had to pick this up. for £5.99 it's much cheaper than a lot of other drugstore mascaras and the packaging is very similar to Mac's Wonder Woman collection, but at a fraction of the price.

Unfortunately I picked up the brown/black version of this instead of the pure black, which was REALLY annoying at the time but I've actually found that it's not too bad. On the wand the mascara looks really brown but on application it just looks pretty normal so I'm really glad about that. I really like the wand of this mascara as it's nice and thin so you can pull it through the lashes quite well, removing the majority of clumps as you go.

On application the mascara is quite wet and stays wet for a little while, which is a bit annoying as there can be some transfer on the upper lid and onto the cheeks, but overall I quite like it. I'm finding it fun to mix up different mascaras on a daily basis to create lots of different looks. I particularly like the fact this doesn't leave the lashes too clumped or spider leg like. I would definitely recommend this one for anyone looking for something cheap and cheerful.

What are your thoughts on the new Super Lash?

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara in Black - £5.99






I kind of made an unspoken rule to myself to not buy mascaras from the likes L'Oreal, Maybelline, Rimmel etc because they are getting ridiculously expensive, almost to the £10 mark and even over but this one was more reasonable at £5.99 and for L'Oreal make-up I thought that was quite a bargain.

When I saw the new Miss Manga mascara I thought it was weird to be honest. The advert makes the girl's eyes look really, really clumpy, like they have little dots of mascara on. Not very manga at all if you ask me and I even commented on Twitter somewhere that 'clumps seen to be back'… they're not and this mascara isn't as clumpy as I thought it might be. I have to admit there is some clumping if you apply too much but overall I actually quite like this mascara, which is quite surprising. I guess you shouldn't judge a mascara by it's TV advert.

The mascara has a 360 degree wand, which I find helps grab the lashes a lot more. It's nice and easy to hold and because the wand is thinner towards the tip you can really get into the corners. I think if you're going for a manga look then this is definitely worth buying but it's also great for people like myself who don't really want the full on manga look but maybe just a little bit of volume. It certainly makes a nice change to the Natural Collection mascara I've been using. It's much more dramatic!

Have you tried this? What are your thoughts?

Collection Longer Lash Lengthening Mascara

Collection Longer Lash Lengthening Mascara - £2.99

I wasn't in the market for a new mascara really but I've used the brand's Skylash mascara and really liked it and because it's so cheap I thought I'd make a cheeky new purchase. The orange packaging is what caught my attention and the fact it claims to lengthen lashes, which is something I'm always striving for.

After rotating it with my Natural Collection mascara I've come to the conclusion that while this is a good mascara, it's not one of the best. I definitely prefer the Skylash mascara, which really lengthens the lashes well and gives them a bit of curve too. While I like the thin brush, the Longer Lash mascara regularly clumps and leaves mascara under the lashes, which irritates my eyes. This has happened on a number of occasions. The brush also has a lot of wispy bits on it as you can see above, almost like fur running down the brush, which is where I think the clumping comes from.

It does give the lashes a bit of length but I've found better results with other mascaras. I guess it's just a case of trial and error. I think this mascara is good if you don't want to end up with thick, spider leg-like lashes as the brush is very delicate and soft and it's a reasonable price too so I don't mind so much that it's not as good as I was hoping.

Have you tried this? Let me know what you think.

Cargo TexasLash Mascara

Cargo Cosmetics TexasLash Mascara - £14*

I wasn't really looking for a new mascara but I was recently sent this one and decided to give it a try. I've heard of Cargo Cosmetics before but I don't think I have tried any of their products and everyone likes a new mascara don't they?!

I was intrigued by the 'TexasLash' in the name of this one but I can't seem to find anywhere online what it actually means. The brush one this one is pretty fat, which is usually something I don't like on a mascara but I found this one a lot better than most. It did create some clumping but it wasn't too bad. There wasn't any fallout unlike a mascara I tried last week and I think it did a good job with really lengthening my lashes, which is a pretty difficult thing to do to be honest.

Overall I quite like this mascara. It's a little expensive for £14 so I probably wouldn't purchase it myself but it's a good one to add to my collection. It's nice to have a few you can rotate, I would definitely recommend!

This post contains PR samples

MUA Lash Boom

MUA Lash Boom - £3*

I'm a bit disappointed. I really love MUA and was excited when I saw their new Lash Boom mascara had been released.

I was really happy to receive it in the post but upon application I've found I'm not so keen. The purple tube is pretty cool and I was interested to see how it would lengthen and volumise the lashes but when I took the wand out it looked really scary. The brush is thin with a round end, which apparently helps you to reach all of the lashes. In all honesty the round end picked up lots of excess mascara and was too big for my lashes, meaning I ended up with mascara in my fringe and, as you can see above, lots of fallout.

Personally I don't think this really lengthens my lashes either. I have weird eyelashes that tend to point downwards a little or straight out so I'm always really keen to try mascaras that pull they upwards and give me a normal looking lash and unfortunately this didn't.

I would have liked a mascara tube with one of those devices that removes excess mascara when you pull it out. I had to wipe the brush several times to get rid of excess and even then it still clumped a lot.

Despite this review I am a real fan of MUA. I think they're brilliantly cheap and cheerful, but unfortunately not every product works for everyone. This is just one of those products I've not really got on with but I'm sure someone else will see it as the holy grail of mascaras. I'm sure I can find this one a good home.

Have you tried the MUA Lash Boom?

This post contains PR samples

Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara

Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara - £1.99

Recently I was on the hunt for my usual Collection 2000 mascara, but unfortunately it wasn't in stock! I had a voucher for 100 extra Boots points with any Natural Collection purchase so I thought I'd try something new.

I went for the Lash Length mascara as my lashes always look really short and I have to say I'm quite impressed! For £1.99 this mascara is really pretty good and I love how my lashes look after application. The mascara brush is really fine and easy to use, making the mascara glide on nicely.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the end result and I'd definitely recommend it for a cheap and cheerful mascara. I much prefer it over those that cost £10 plus.

Collection 2000 Skylash Mascara

Collection 2000 Skylash Length & Definition Mascara - £4.99

I've been looking for the perfect mascara for such a long time and I think I've finally found it for just £4.99! I've always liked Collection 2000 for it's cheap and cheerful products and at the time of buying this I wasn't up for spending almost £10 on a mascara, so I opted for this one and I even prefer it to the Benefit They're Real mascara that I bought a sample of.

It really lengthens the lashes well and fans them out nicely. I really like fact the excess mascara is wiped away when the brush is removed from the tube and the brush makes it really easy to evenly distribute the mascara and create that nice fanned out look.

This is the second mascara I've purchased and that is really unusual for me. I would certainly recommend it, for £4.99 it's so worth it!

Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara

I'm still not sure about this mascara. Bloggers have continuously raved about it so I thought I would pick up one of those small samples in Boots in order to try it out.

The brush is really interesting and the end is great for getting into the corners, but the excess mascara isn't removed when you take it out of the tube so it can get a bit clumpy.

It does give the lashes some nice length and I can really see the difference but clumpy lashes really bug me. My Collection 2000 Skyscraper mascara does a much better job of fanning out the lashes, leaving them equal and not clumped.

I guess I'm 50/50 on this mascara. It is nice and good for dramatic eyes but I don't think I'll purchase the full size version.

MUA Every Lash Mascara

MUA: Every Lash Volume & Lengthening Mascara - £2*

This mascara has got to be the strangest one I've ever used. Not because there is anything different about it, it's just it didn't really give me the usual surprise that MUA cosmetics normally do.

I'm not usually a fan of the brushes that come with lengthening mascaras and it was the same with the Every Lash Mascara. I found that the brush somehow made my eyelashes clump together instead of seperate them.

I also found that the formula of the mascara made my eyelashes very sticky and crispy. For a good half an hour after application my eyelashes were sticking together and later on in the day they felt very crispy and tough. The mascara was also extremely difficult to remove and even after using make up remover and having a bath and washing my face, the mascara was still in place, but had formed into a weird stringy residue.

For £2 it's a real bargain and I always recommend MUA products so if lengthening mascaras are for you then this is definitely worth trying!

I'm sure this mascara is a brilliant product for other people but personally I didn't really get on with it. Anyone who reads my blog will know that I absolutely love MUA products so I was a bit disappointed that this didn't work for me, however I did give it a try and I'm sure I can find a new home for it!

This post contains PR samples

Look Beauty Stretch Factor

Look Beauty Stretch Factor Lengthening Mascara - £6* 

I'm sure your well aware of the fact that I made a big purchase at Look Beauty recently. The first 100 people to make an order on the new website received one of the new Stretch Factor Mascaras, and I was one of the lucky 100!

I wasn't necessarily after a new mascara but everyone loves a freebie don't they? I'm glad I did receive it for free because I was originally wary of paying £6 for it.

The mascara comes in a simple but cute pink tube, with a patterned lid. Nothing too fancy at all. Upon opening the mascara I found the wand to be one of those strange contraptions with really thin bristles that I haven't been keen on in the past.

When removing the wand from the tube it's quite stiff and difficult to get out. I think there could be some sort of magic device inside that removes excess mascara from the wand as it actually looks like there's no product on it at all.

Not one too be put off I went ahead and applied the mascara and found that it was actually really lovely. The thin, stiff bristles made it much easier to apply the mascara thoroughly as it kind of brushed through my eyelashes, eliminating clumps.

I actually really loved the finished look. I'm a big fan of my Clinique and Maybelline mascaras that I rotate every day but I think this one could be a real contender for every day use!




This post contains PR samples