Review: Benefit They’re Real! Push-up Liner

This must be one of the most eagerly-anticipated product launches of this year so far. I’d heard about it from Larry (who went along for the press trip to San Francisco) and he was raving it. When I heard that, I was tingling in anticipation (or maybe those were shudders of envy cos I really wanna travel hoho). In any case, I was already hustling the poor Benefit digital advocate months in advance about this product. Heh.

I finally managed to get my grubby greedy paws on them last week at the Benefit launch event, so yes, ladies, time to draw those lines. As RuPaul (a really famous drag queen) says – eyes wide shut, legs wide open. Or not. Hah. Line ‘em up baybehs!

Finally.. Like the Eye of Sauron, I seeeee you.

Fellow beauty bloggers having a go at the new liner – on the Benefit staff, no less, who obviously have so much faith in the ease of use that they’re willing to put their faces in the hands of total strangers

Benefit They’re Real! Push-up Liner – SGD38

And this is how I look with the eyeliner on.

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner model

Kidding. Will put up a photo of myself with the eyeliner soon! (wanted to put up this review first so that you guys can decide if you wanna buy it at the Flash Sale at Sephora on 13 June)

I say…

I’m pretty psyched that everyone in the world is as excited as I am about a new eyeliner -

First of all – do not yank out the cap. It’s a twist-open cap.
There’s a bright orange stopper in the rubber tip which should be removed before usage.
To dispense the gel, tap that ass or twist the end of the gel liner pen. For the very first time, after about 50 clicks (yes I counted!), the gel should be dispensed. It’s really a random factor though – Yina got hers out after about 20-30 clicks.
The name of the product is derived from the fact that gel is being pushed up towards the AccuFlex tip (and here I was thinking that my lashes were gonna be pushed up heh).
Just a little goes on a long way – the gel glides on smoothly and is an intense deep matte black.
Because the narrow tip dispenses the gel in a very fine line (meaning no blobs), there’s no need for 2-handed usage. Compare this to a very similar product: the Maybelline Lasting Drama Pen has a tip with a wider opening, and hence had a slight tendency to dispense in blogs. Hence, there was a need to put the gel onto the back of the hand / a clean surface, and then use the tip to pick up the gel.
Whether it’s left or right-handed application, this Benefit liner is easy to use.
I love that the liner is not the usual circular tube, but instead, has a cross section that is shaped like a square with rounded edges. This means no more accidental rolling off the table, and more importantly, gives a great grip.
You can hold it like a pen and manipulate the lines very easily, whether you’re drawing the upper, lower, or inner lash line.
The tip is soft and flexible and doesn’t jab into the eye.
In addition, the cutting is more suited for drawing eyelines – I like to think that the lower portion helps to push the lashes aside so that you can get a closer line.
Now comes the most essential part – the wear time.
It’s mostly waterproof and smudgeproof. However, it does smudge on my oily eyelids after about 6-7 hours – but into a rather flattering smoky eye effect (for the top lid).
That said , the line is still there. I guess the color intensity just transferred onto the lids due to the eyelid oil. This happens even when I draw just one layer (vs my multiple layers using other liners).
When I use it to draw the lower eyelash line, it also does smudge very slightly after about 6 hours of wear.
It is rather tough to remove though (testament to its longstay power). Unfortunately, the Bioderma doesn’t work well, as it’s only able to remove about 50-60% of it).
My Innisfree Juicy Apple Emulsion also took 3-4 more pads of soaking to remove.
I found that I had to take more time to remove my makeup, cos if I didn’t, I’d be stuck with raccoon eyes for the rest of the day, and wake up the next day looking like a panda… there’s just something about gel liner that makes it really tough to remove completely. There’s always some residue hovering around.. kinda like eye shit.
However, since Benefit knew that this was gonna happen, they actually created another product to help remove this – They’re Real! Remover (review to come soon!). It is used with a cotton pad, and it did remove the liner much faster and more efficiently (provided that you do it thoroughly and not a swipe-and-go thing)

Anyhoos, I’m actually pretty happy with the effects, considering that gel eyeliners were my biggest bane cos of the oillids. Gel gives a great matte (and slightly more natural effect), but there’s always the hassle of the brush-and-pot combi, so now it’s become really convenient to carry around.

Psst. If you wanna get your hands on this, there will be a Flash Sale at Sephora ION on 13 June, Friday. Limited quantities are available, so head on down early!

THE COMPARISON

Now the similarities between this and Maybelline’s Lasting Drama Pen Gel Liner are striking, so I’ve done a tiny little comparison here.