Refinery29's selection is purely editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items we love! As part of our business model we do work with affiliates; if you directly purchase something from a link on this article, we may earn a small amount of commission. Transparency is important to us at Refinery29, if you have any questions please reach out to us.
Mascara tends to be one of the more contentious makeup products; what works for one person, doesn't work for the next. Even in our R29 office, we're split on what makes a good mascara.
It's why we decided to road test Benefit Cosmetics' new waterproof mascara. The kitschy brand is well-loved for its BADgal Bang! mascara, which boasts "massive volume". Now, it has come out with a waterproof version that some say holds for 36 hours.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
We put the mascara to the test on four of our team members — here are our verdicts.
Zahra Campbell-Avenell, Head Of Editorial
I like a natural-looking mascara for daytime, so this fit the bill. The tiny brush lifted and separated my lashes without coating them with heaps of product (thus avoiding the dreaded ‘spider’ lashes) but I didn’t love how bendy the wand was, which made it harder for me to control. The mascara was lightweight and lasted all day, so it was a good office-appropriate choice for me, but I wouldn’t pick it for evenings/dramatic makeup looks.
Maggie Zhou, Writer & Producer
I have straight, downturned lashes so I'm always a bit skeptical of 'volumising' mascaras, which tend to clump and weigh down my lashes. But I was pleasantly surprised by the spoolie brush which was thin and meant that hard-to-reach lashes weren't a problem. You know when you crack open a new mascara and have to wipe off the excess product before applying it? Yeah, that wasn't a problem with this wand.
My lashes stayed lifted all day, but smudged a tad by the end of the working day. I'm not typically a fan of waterproof mascaras because of the hassle of removal though, so I'd probably just stick to Benefit's regular BADgal Bang mascara.
Alicia Vrajlal, Culture Editor
As someone who doesn't wear a lot of makeup, I like wearing a mascara that gives an effortless lift to my lashes. I found that this mascara easily curled and lengthened my lashes, but it was a bit heavier than I'm used to, and didn't separate each lash.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Kate McGregor, Managing Editor
I’m a big brush kind of girl so I was cautiously optimistic about trying Benefit’s BADgal Bag! Mascara, but pleasantly surprised with the outcome. My eyelashes are very blonde, so coating the route is usually tricky for me to do without making a mess — the skinny brush allowed me to get right down to the base and actually gave my lashes decent volume without clumping. I’ll definitely be reaching for this mascara again, especially when I’m in-between tints!
