Luscious lashes xx

Growing up I remember my mother would always say to my brother 'fiddle with it and it will fall off' (sorry Aran!!). The same is true when it comes to natural beauty. The more you fiddle with hair, eyelashes, nails etc the more brittle they will become, eventually showing signs of wear or worse.

I'm so wary when it comes to false eyelashes (my mantra is that anything suffixed with 'extensions' is a no-no) as I don't want to end up damaging my lashes and risk living my life looking like a mole!

Because of this I'm constantly trying to find ways to enhance my lashes without damaging them.

At present I am completely head over heels with Bourjois' Liner Effect Mascara.

This mascara not only costs under £10 (I always go for cheaper mascaras, as they're so disposable) but it also lasts for weeks! Bargain!
The wand has shorter bristles on one side to get close to the lash root, elongating the eye line and giving the impression that you are wearing eyeliner.
The other side of the brush has longer bristles to separate the lashes and add length and volume.
They also do a waterproof version, which is perfect for swimming / beaching / gym-ing, or if you find that your mascara tends to end up half way down your cheeks toward the latter end of the day!

However....I am being tempted away from Bourjois by Benefit's new 'They're Real' mascara... I took a look a couple of weeks ago but hesitated after having bought 'Bad Gal Lash' in the past and throwing it in the bin after one application. It was terrible and really put me off Benefit. However the clever advertising campaign for 'They're Real' was enticing....I'm talking about the 'before' and 'after' shots of women's lashes, not the awful fake boob pictures!!
A few days ago a friend of mine came over and I immediately noticed her gorgeous lashes. She told me that she had purchased the new Benefit mascara and would never look back! It made sense to me that she reviewed it for my blog, so here is her take on 'They're Real' from Benefit:

Review of Benefit “They’re Real” Mascara

I have always had minimal eyelashes. They just don’t grow! And they are uneven as well; I have more on my right eye than the left, so false lashes are a must in my makeup bag.

Or so I thought...

Whilst wandering around Boots, I was pinned to a make-up demo chair by an eager Benefit consultant. She tried a few things, but when she got to the mascara, she did one eye and showed me in the mirror. The difference was incredible. I actually looked like I had false lashes on! She made me do the other eye as there is a knack to it, but it’s really easy to do! The wand has a spiky ball at the end which is used to draw out the lashes first, and then use the rest of the wand to go over the whole lash line. I only use one coat and that’s enough for me!
It claims to lengthen, curl, volumise, lift and separate, be jet black and have a long wearing and smudge free formula. I’m not sure about the curling, but it does the rest!
It also says it isn’t waterproof, but to get it off, you need an eye make-up remover, and it is pretty tough, so I'm sure light rain or weeping wouldn’t shift it.

One thing to note is that it isn’t water based so cannot be used with semi permanent eyelash extensions.

My verdict... 4.5 out of 5!