Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara Just Had A MAJOR Upgrade – We Compare!

Mascara will always be in our beauty bag, and even though we’ve been in lockdown for what feels like forever, it’s one of the products we still constantly reach for. Benefit Cosmetics has been one of our go-to mascara brands since we started wearing makeup, and they’re constantly on the move with new and amazing formulas like Roller Lash, Bad Gal Bang, and of course, They’re Real!

Well, Benefit decided to take their cult mascara and give it a magnetic upgrade, and honestly, we’re seriously impressed! Spoiler Alert: The brand new They’re Real! Magnet Mascara, $27, is definitely making the cut as one of our top five mascaras (we can’t choose one, okay?!). After all, sometimes you want major volume and drama, and sometimes you just want a little length; we need options!

Here’s everything you need to know about the new They’re Real! Magnet Mascara, plus how it compares to the original They’re Real! Mascara, $26.

What it is: An extreme lengthening mascara that uses a magnetically charged brush, which pulls the magnetic, mineral-enriched formula up and out beyond the tips of your lashes. The formula is designed to be water-resistant, lightweight, buildable, and claims to give 36 hours of wear without smudging or flaking.

How it works: Custom-designed zig-zag bristles are strategically positioned to fan out, separate, and define lashes, while the magnetic formula helps to extend your lashes by up to 40%!

First impressions: The new packaging is cute and fun, and best of all, we found the mascara really easy to use. Sometimes it can take some time to get used to a mascara before getting amazing results, but not with this one. As always, we got some mascara on our lids during the process, but this is inevitable with any mascara – nothing a Q-tip can’t fix.

We were immediately impressed with the formula and how effortlessly it coated our lashes. Even after layering it through our lashes just a few times, we had impressive length. It also kept our lashes well separated, and they didn’t clump together.

The results: Wow! The new formula adds instant length and makes lashes look super pretty. You can choose to apply a few swipes for daytime or keep swiping it on for more drama. We say swipes because we don’t recommend using this to build up coats and coats, as it will get clumpy if left to dry between layers. Instead, keep swiping the brush through while it’s wet to perfect your look.

If you have sparse lashes and want lots of volume, this might not become your go-to mascara as it doesn’t add crazy volume (just plenty of length!). However, you can always try layering this with a volumizing formula to build up the intensity.

The wear: Our lashes stayed looking full and lifted all day, and the formula never felt dry, heavy, or uncomfortable. However, the formula does tend to smudge. When we baked under our eyes, we didn’t see any smudging along the lower lash line until after about six hours, but when we didn’t set our makeup with powder, we did see more smudging after just a few hours. If you tend not to have oily skin, then you might not have any smudging at all.

They’re Real! vs. They’re Real! Magnet

The brushes: The OG They’re Real! brush had an hourglass shape with long plastic bristles and a custom-domed tip that targets tiny lashes. In contrast, the new They’re Real! Magnet brush is straight and has much shorter plastic bristles that easily grab lashes and allow you to get right to the root.

The experience: The new brush definitely feels quicker and easier to use than the old brush, the latter taking a little more work to get length and volume.

The look: The new magnet version definitely added extra length and gave a lot more lift than the OG They’re Real! version, while the original formula gives more wispy, fluttery lashes.

Our verdict: We’re pretty obsessed with the new formula! It’s very easy and fast to work with and we loved the lift and length it gave. Even though it does smudge sometimes, it hasn’t stopped us from using it, and we love it as an everyday mascara. Will we be buying the OG They’re Real! Mascara again? We feel kinda bad, but we love the new version so much more, simply for the fact it builds up so fast and adds way more lift and length. However, if you do prefer a more natural-looking, fluffy lash, then you may prefer the original.

Have you guys tried the new one? Let us know in the comments.

Disclaimer: Every product we review has been independently selected and tested without bias by our editorial team. We never take payment to review products, although some brands allow affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you purchase a product by clicking on one of our links.