Benefit BADgal BANG! Volumising Mascara

When Benefit launch a new product, the whole beauty community knows about it. Even if you’re not a Benefit fan, you have to appreciate how effective their PR team is as they always know to create the biggest buzz when it comes to their new product launches. The newest launch which is all over YouTube, social media and blogs right now is the Benefit BADgal BANG! Volumising Mascara and I’ve been giving it a try for the last couple of weeks. With mascaras I don’t think anyone can do a mascara review within six weeks of owning it as a mascara formula changes so much from the very first use as it begins to thicken.

So this isn’t a review, instead it’s more of a informational post which I’ll update in four weeks time when I’ve used the mascara for six weeks. I’ve featured other mascaras on my blog before the six week use mark, and I’ve then gone on to change my opinion weeks after publishing the post, and there’s so much crazy hype around this mascara I figured it would be the best way to do it especially as it’s £21.50 – is it as amazing as its claims, or is it overhyped?!

Benefit BADgal BANG! Volumising Mascara

Available in a full size 8.5ml for £21.50 or a 4ml travel size for £10 from the Benefit website.

BADgal BANG! 36-HOUR* FULL-BLAST volumising mascara creates MASSIVE volume without weighing down lashes. The gravity-defying formula contains aero-particles, one of the lightest known materials, derived from space technology. This innovative intense pitch-black mascara layers easily for bigger & BIGGER impact. Its custom big Slimpact! brush is streamlined to reach root-to-tip, corner-to-corner, upper & lower lashes for BIG VOLUME WITH 360° REACH!
*instrumental test on 21 women

• Smudge-proof, water-resistant, volumising mascara
• 90% saw dramatic volume**
• 94% said it instantly lifted lashes**
• 92% said it lengthened lashes**
• ProVitamin B5 known to fuel thickness & strength

The Benefit BADgal BANG! Volumising Mascara is packaged within a black, rubberised plastic tube which has a plastic studded design to the lid. The ‘Slimpact’ brush is said to be streamlined to “to reach root-to-tip, corner-to-corner, upper & lower lashes for big volume with 360°  reach”. It is very slim with lots of tiny spiky plastic bristles which get shorter towards the end of the wand. I do prefer natural bristle mascaras as I have very short, straight lashes which are pretty sparse too so there’s not a lot going for them so I need all of the help I can get.

Benefit They’re Real and Benefit Roller Lash are both plastic bristle wand mascaras, whereas the BADgal Lash mascara has a natural bristle wand so I did expect the new BADgal BANG to have the same natural bristles but it has synthetic bristles just like They’re Real and Roller Lash. My holy grail mascara is the Benefit Roller Lash Mascara – I love it so much as it manages to add curl and length to my lashes but I’ve never got on very well with They’re Real so I had no idea how BADgal BANG would work for my lashes.

Firstly the wand is very wet and I do find that it holds a fair amount of excess product which makes application rather messy. When combing the wand through my lashes, I do occasionally notice specks of mascara on my brow bone or cheek which has flicked off the wand during application. I don’t know if it’s because of the tapered wand, but the valve in the neck of the bottle doesn’t remove enough product from the bristles so I always try and wipe off as much excess product as possible prior to application. Due to how wet the wand is, I do find that it does overload the lashes even with just one coat so I really do think this mascara will improve over time as the formula begins to thicken which is why I want to do an update in four weeks time.

I have to admit I don’t love this mascara right now as it overloads my lashes which makes them look clumpy due to how much product is coating each lash. The Benefit BADgal BANG! Volumising Mascara does create quite dramatic, thick black lashes which might be exactly what you look for in a mascara, especially if you already have long lashes.

I’m hoping that once the formula has slightly thickened, it’ll offer a little more separation to my lashes but I do like how the formula doesn’t crumble or smudge once it’s on the lashes; it’s just the application that’s a little messy. As I said I’ll add a footnote within the post with my final thoughts mid-March but I’d definitely recommend reading multiple reviews on the Benefit BADgal BANG! Volumising Mascara, especially from those that have lashes which are similar to yours but I’ve got my fingers crossed it improves over the next few weeks.

I’d love to know if you’ve tried the new Benefit BADgal BANG! Mascara yet?! Are you tempted?

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