BeneFit Bad Gal Lash Mascara > Reviews (108)

I've always been in two minds about trying this Bad Gal Lash Mascara by Benefit. I've always been of the impression that mascara is mascara, whatever the price. I've also read a couple of reviews on Dooyoo which suggested that it may not be worth paying extra for.

However, this all changed at Christmas when my fabulous little sister gifted me with a cute tin of Benefit goodies, in which I found this lil beauty.

The mascara I was given and am reviewing is the black one, but I believe it is also available in plum or blue.

** Packaging **

The packaging of this mascara is not as "Benefit" as you would expect. What I mean by this is that Benefit are famous for their quirky and cute retro style packaging that appeals to most girlie girls before they even know what's inside. This mascara, however, comes in a plain black box with hot pink sides. There are no pictures or pretty patterns, just the name on the front (which admittedly is in fancy writing), and the usual blurb on the back. While my opinion is that it's not very Benefit-like, it is still very effective and it looks great. The hot pink stands out against the black which really draws your eyes to it.

The mascara tube inside has the same design as the box, with the lid being silver. There is 8.5g Net Wt or 0.3oz of mascara in the tube, which the bottle says has a 6 month shelf life.

** What Benefit Say About BADgal Lash Mascara **

Benefit claim that this mascara is for the biggest, baddest lashes and that the result is like wearing false eyelashes minus the glue.

** My Opinion **

As previously mentioned, I didn't hold high hopes for this mascara, as I hadn't heard anything to say this would be any better than the Boots 17 mascara I had previously been using.

It didn't take long for me to try this out. We had been invited for a meal on Boxing Day, so I thought it would be the perfect chance to test run it for a few hours before deciding to wear it for a full day. I'm always a bit wary that my mascara will melt and smudge as the day goes on.

When I first opened the mascara and pulled the applicator wand from the bottle I noticed that the bristles used to apply the mascara were a lot thicker than any other I have used. I was a little disappointed however, as the mascara itself was all clumped around the bottom of the brush. This lowered my already not so high expectations a little more as I presumed if it did this on the brush, it would also do it on my lashes - not the look I was going for!

I proceeded to wipe some of the clumps on the rim of the bottle and began to apply the mascara. The brush seemed to glide through my lashes effortlessly, leaving a good covering, meaning that one coat did the job. This was impressive and made me doubt my opinion thus far. But the proof is in the pudding as they say. There's no point having a mascara that goes on well if it doesn't stay there, so I was still a little sceptical.

The look was good. I have very dumpy eyelashes and this did do a good job of creating the illusion of longer lashes.

It looked quite natural too, well as natural as a mascara can look and it felt great. Every other mascara I've ever tried has dried quite hard on my lashes, so you could literally crumble it, whereas this dried and my lashes were still soft. This made it feel extremely light and natural. This of course can be a bad thing as you can forget you're wearing it and rub your eyes.

So, how did it last? We were out for around 3 or 4 hours and I can report no smudging or melting at all. When I removed my make up, there was still lots, if not all of it there and it was removed quite easily with a baby wipe. I decided to try it out for a full day next and can report that once again, it was very effective. So after such low expectations to begin with, I am a convert!

The only downside I have found is the shelf life. A mascara of a similar size will usually last me around 6 months with daily use and multiple coats. I'm sure this is going to last me over 6 months. Of course, this isn't a huge flaw. If it has lasted this long it has served me well and any longer is a bonus I suppose.

** Price and Availability **

This mascara costs £14.50 and can be purchased online directly from Benefit Costmetics, in larger Boots stores, or in department stores such as Debenhams. In my experience, the price of Benefit products tend to be the same across all sources, but you can occassionally pick up a bargain on ebay.

** Would I Recommend? **

Definitely! Especially if you have short, stumpy eyelashes like me.