Review: Benefit BADgal BANG Mascara

If you're on any kind of social media, you will have heard about this mascara! I don't think I've ever seen so much hype over a mascara!

Benefit had been teasing for a couple of weeks last month that something "out of this world" was going to land on their shelves soon. Obviously, the beauty world went crazy trying to guess what it could be. People were guessing a new highlighter or perhaps an eyeshadow palette. I must admit, with the space theme and the "out of this world" stuff, I was thinking it could be a highlighter/highlighter palette.

I will admit, I too was intrigued (and maybe a little excited) to see what was heading our way. It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of Benefit make up (their blushers and cult bronzer, Hoola, especially) so was eagerly awaiting the big reveal.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed when they announced it was a new mascara - BADgal BANG. Benefit's social media was being plagued with comments from their fans saying how they felt underwhelmed, disappointed etc. that it was only a mascara. However, with so much hype, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little intrigued as to what was so great about this mascara. I used to love the original BADgal mascara so I used some reward points on my Debenhams Beauty Club Card to see what all the fuss was about!

Benefit claim the mascara provides "36 hour full-blast volume." The science behind the mascara is that it contains aero-particles, which are one of the lightest known materials, to provide volume without weighing the lashes down. The formula also contains ProVitamin B5 to promote thickness and strength in the lashes.

First off, I love the packaging! The mascara comes in a matte, black tube with a studded lid. It's that classic Nars-esque rubbery packaging which looks really slick but just attracts loads of make up smudges and smears once it's been put in to your make up bag. That said, I still love the packaging.

The wand is a slim brush with smaller bristles on the end which become gradually longer. My first thoughts were "OK, how is this going to build volume?" I was not disappointed!

The formula itself is kind of wet but easily buildable with a couple of layers. I love how the brush grabs all my eyelashes and coats each lash really well with just one stroke. It gets a little clumpy/spidery if you aren't careful applying it but 2-3 layers made my lashes look super full and long. 

I love that it almost makes me look like I'm wearing eyeliner on my top lash line as the bristles really grab hold of the lashes from root to tip. 

Overall I really like this mascara but do wish it would also curl my lashes. I often find that even if I curl my lashes, applying a "wet" mascara sometimes straightens them out a little. That said, "wet" mascaras are easier to build up as long as you don't let the lashes dry too much between layers.

A good mascara and a brilliant marketing campaign. I was starting to get a little bored of always using my Urban Decay Perversion mascara so I'm looking forward to switching things up a little.

I didn't get a chance to take a brilliant photo but here is how my lashes looked...

Did you try BADgal BANG? What did you think? If not, will you be buying it?

P x