Benefit Roller Lash Mascara Review

It's been a couple of years since Benefit launched a new mascara and the latest launch inevitably has plenty of hype. In an unprecedented move Benefit teamed up with Elle to include a sample version with this months Elle before the actual launch in March, a smart move Benefit hopes to get us hooked on their mascara (excuse the pun!)

Benefit Roller Lash is marketed as a 'super-curling and lifting mascara', and the name and packaging reflect this with the full sized tube designed with a wand brush cap shaped like a cute pink retro hair roller and hence the name Roller Lash mascara. The idea is that this mascara will give you such long lasting curled lashes that you can ditch the eye lash curlers (good news for lash curler haters or those just happy to eliminate a step in make up routine.)

So what makes this one different? Well it always seems to be all about the brush! The Roller Lash has a slightly curved plastic comb with uniquely designed 'Hook'n'roll' plastic bristles which lean diagonally upward to catch, lift and curl lashes Just to be clear the brush is a hard plastic/rubber comb.(see Benefit diagram on their box below)

Benefit's consumer panel survey tested this mascara on of 31 women. After 4 weeks of use

97% reported that it visibly lifts lashes, 87% said it gives long lasting curl 94% said their eyes looked more open. Firstly, Benefit 31 women? I'm sure that they could find many more women willing to test out a brand new Benefit mascara, hey I'm sure some would even go so far to give away their first born child for such an opportunity! I get that they would want to keep the results quiet for a while while they fix and improve the mascara before it gets launched but hey it wouldn't kill them to find an extra ten or twenty women to make the results more robust and representative for all us make up lovers out there.

So Does it work?
 I have very straight lashes so I'm an ideal candidate for this. I found that the slightly curved brush separated lashes effortlessly and with most curved brushes worth their salt it lifted the lashes as you swept the wand through them. I was however very impressed by how curled the lashes looked- it was much better than many other curling mascaras I've tried alone without curlers. This mascara can be built up but you do have to be a little careful the lashes don't end up spiky or spidery.

 If you compare my photos with Benefit on the left the 'So Straight lashes' picture looks like my photo with the mascara on! There are three reasons for this, firstly I have very straight lashes, secondly I don't think the camera was able to pick up how curly they were and thirdly I do  think that Benefit's pictures are a little unrealistic! The last photo using heated lash curlers looks more like the 'Dream Curl' pictured but in real life it looked like I was definitely wearing false lashes even though I wasn't. What I'm trying to say is that sometimes a lot of make up is needed to show up on camera that in real life would look a bit too much. Even so I've never seen my lashes like they are in the rollerlash & curler picture beofre, they did look amazing and would be great for a night out.

However for me the biggest test was whether the curl is long lasting as most seem to have only a temporary effect or the curl needs to be 'locked in' with lash curlers. I was pleasantly surprised that the curl did hold through the day and did not need to be locked down or boosted with an eyelash curler.

This mascara does a great job at lengthening lashes as well. Perhaps because of the small brush handle or plastic bristles when applying this mascara I had to be careful the mascara didn't smudge under my brow- but with the full sized longer handle this probably won't be the case. This is a wet formula which may also contribute to this, There were no smudges wearing this throughout the day. As a contact lens wearer, it's important to wear mascara that doesn't flake or irritate the eyes and I found Rollerlash didn't irritate or flake during the day. However this mascara isn't waterproof  and is only available in black. Overall I was really impressed with the results and found this mascara can give long lasting curled lashes that are almost as good as using curlers. During the daytime you can skip the lash curlers and just use this but for night time I would amp up the curl with the help of lash curlers.

Overall impression
I know that Benefit's previous mascaras are a bit like Marmite in that you either love them or hate them. I never got the hype with Bad Girl Lash mascara but loved They'll Real although lashes do feel  hard and crispy towards the end of the day. From reading other reviews of Rollerlash it seems even haters of They're Real love this mascara so it's definitely worth checking out. I'm super impressed by Rollerlash's long lasting curl. I think I would rate They're Real and Rollerlash as equally good, I think They're real has a little more volumne but Rollerlash has more curl. However the upshot is that I would definitely recommend this mascara. The full sized mascaras will be in the shops March 1st priced £18.50.

Have you tried this mascara? What did you think? Was it better than Benefit' They're Real Mascara in your opinion? Let me know in the comments below.