Back in my San Fran days, They're Real mascara was my true jam. Then, when I created this blog, I was having an affair with Roller Lash. Fast-forward to 2018 and here I am - talking about Benefit Cosmetics most exciting mascara launch yet - BADgal BANG! I have been testing this little guy for almost a week now and here is my two cents.
About the Product
Claims: 36-hour wear/ massive volume/ lightweight/ intense pitch black colour/ smudge-proof/ water-resistant/ B5 supports natural lash thickness and strength/ false lash effect
Price: 24 USD (125 AED in the UAE). You get 0.30 oz/ 8.5 g worth of product. Made in France.
Packaging: unlike the other two top-selling Benefit mascaras, BADgal BANG! comes in a rubberized, soft-touch packaging with a faux-studded cap. Now, the best part of this mascara is the brush. The brand describes it as a "slimpact! brush" but to keep it short: it is a slim, cone-shaped plastic wand, which has an incredibly flexible and bendy body. The tip is quite small and the good thing about it is that you can easily access both inner and outer corners of the eye, as well as roots of lashes.
Formula: to me this is quite a wet mascara. Although I don't use it for that long, from my experience with Benefit mascaras in general, they do get better as they dry down a bit; typically on a second or third week of use - you start to really fall in love with them. That being said, if you like a semi-dry formula, just give it some time. Just as promised, this is a very pitch-black mascara.
Application: great thing about BADgal BANG! is that the brush practically does all the job for you. But hold on! If you don't scrape off most of the product back into the tube, you might as well end up with a little too much mascara on your lashes. So, here comes my #1 application tip: remove the excess and build the volume gradually. This little guy plays no games y'all. It is a monster and by that I mean - it will give you a dramatic volume before you even get a chance to gasp for air. Believe me you, I've tried a ton of mascaras in my blogging years and none of them would look this intense with a single coat only. It also dries down relatively fast.
But let's dial down and talk about my lashes...
I have long, lifted and ... sparse lashes. I know, I know - so unfair. So two things I always look for in a mascara are: volume (a) and definition (b). My lashes can't handle too much product either and a "three-lash-look" is not too unfamiliar to me. That being said, I have to use a comb with BADgal BANG! to make it look feathery and "fluffy". Otherwise, I feel like I am overwhelming my (already) follically challenged lashes. If you also could use more help in the volume department, get yourself a Real Techniques Lash Separator and thank me later! The comb will help remove any clumps/extra mascara residue, as well as separate and define your lashes (read more about it here).
Result: long, dramatic, blackened, seductive, lifted, thick lashes.
Wear: I have yet to meet someone, who wears her/his mascara for 36 hours, but! It is indeed a very long-lasting formula. I can wear it all the way from 8 to 8 (i.e.12 hours) and it will still look good at the end of the day. It is quite light, but definitely not as weightless as my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes or even the brand's very own Roller Lash, so it can feel a bit drying on its 10-11th hour (which is something you would expect anyway). I do wear it on my bottom lashes as well and I see a very faint little shadow under my eyes in about 8-9 hours; which means that if you have oilier skin - make sure to set your undereye with a fine/loose powder, so that there is no colour-transfer. There are also a few little flakes here and there, but they don't leave black marks on the skin and can be easily removed. In other words, nothing to panic about: BADgal BANG! is practically bulletproof.
How To Remove: I use my holy grail Boscia MakeUp-BreakUp Cool Cleansing Oil, but any micellar water or oil-based makeup remover should do the trick. Thankfully, unlike They're Real (which was a b-word to remove), the new mascara is a piece of cake.
Verdict
Benefit Cosmetics hit the nail on the head with this new launch. If you love a dramatic volume, you will love BADgal BANG! I actually find that it looks best on people with naturally thick lashes; it just takes them to a whole new level, giving that perfect colour-saturated false lash effect. It will open the eye, making you look like a doll. Want to hear something great? You won't even have to pile it on, because one (maximum two) coats is all you need. Although I am not sure how a product like this would hold the curl, it does live up to pretty much all of the other claims. So far I am really enjoying it, but I will be definitely posting more product updates on my Instagram, mainly because I need to see how it works once the formula gets a touch drier (i.e. will it stand the test of time or not). It is, however, very easy to go overboard with it - so like with any other "rich" product, do proceed with caution and take your time to carefully apply it. Minor flaking aside, I think it is a very lovely product designed for people who love some lash-drama. If you prefer more of a natural lash look, you might want to stick with Roller Lash instead.
Available at sephora.com and sephora.ae
