Benefit vs budget

 

So I do a lot of fashion posts (naturally), I do quite a few lifestyle posts (especially lately) and yet I barely ever do beauty blogposts so I figured it was about time I did. I've done smokey eyes, brows and beauty buys and now it's mascara time! And it seems that everyone's favourite is 'they're real' by benefit so I decided to pit it against Rimmels 'day 2 night'. Let the best mascara win...

 

I won't lie - I was pretty impressed. I've arranged the photos by no mascara, one coat and then two coats (which is what I normally wear) to show you the difference it makes. Sorry about the weird lighting, it doesn't make it that easy to see my eyelashes properly but never mind. The benefit mascara has an RRP of £19.50 (although I did get mine a hell of a lot cheaper because I bought it while I was in America) so it is pretty expensive but it's a really nice mascara. It goes on without clumps and makes your lashes long and evenly separated, and the brush is good for getting the short lashes in the corners. It dries quickly so you don't have to wait inbetween coats, although it doesn't come off very easily. I suppose that's a good thing if you're an emotional girl who cries a lot and needs her mascara to stay on, but an ice queen like me needs a mascara that comes off easily when you use a makeup wipe. I use Simple face wipes which have always been good, but this mascara goes sticky as you try to take it off - not a very nice feeling! Overall though, it's a really good mascara and I can see why it's loved by many.

 

For those who don't want to spend all their wages on mascara, I thought I'd show you my long-time favourite - Day 2 night by Rimmel. It has two different brushes combined into one, although in the 2 years I've been using it I've never once bothered with the 'length' brush and have instead just stuck to the 'volume' brush. Once upon a time I was one of those 13 year olds who use about 5 different mascaras every day, not realising that none of them are actually doing that much. I also used to buy every new mascara that came out just for the sake of trying it. I also went through a 14-15 year old phase of clumpy eyelashes but luckily it was in the era before the 'selfie' and so there are no close-up photos to act as proof. When I finally saw sense, I moved onto this mascara and have been using it ever since because I haven't seen the need to change; if it ain't broke then why fix it? It's only £7.99 - a lot cheaper than the benefit one and lasts really well - a tube typically lasts me about 6 weeks if I'm using it everyday. Again, it makes my lashes nice and separated although not quite as long as the benefit mascara. It does make them thicker though which I like. It's a fibre brush which most people tend not to like but I think it's really good and never have problems with clumps.

All in all, I'd say this battle is a tie in terms of mascara-quality. But in terms of value for money, the Rimmel one is definitely better. Anyone who's considering converting from 'they're real' then this is the way to go. Bye bye blow-out, hello budget!