They say you don’t need much. Well-groomed brows, curled lashes and tint on the lips are enough for any woman to look presentable. But not everyone was born with naturally curled lashes. Most of us need some help.
There is no doubt that mascara and the eyelash curler are two of the most ingenious beauty creations in modern history. With these two tools, your lashes can go from nondescript to wow in a matter of minutes.
But not every woman is comfortable with mascara and an eyelash curler. I own a lot of beauty products but an eyelash curler isn’t one of them. I’m scared of that contraption. A few years ago, I became obsessed with false eyelashes but I couldn’t even apply them because I have this fear of the glue sticking my eyes shut. I’m also scared of extensions and eyelash perms.
I first learned about Benefit Cosmetics’s new mascara Roller Lash from a friend who we will call “beauty insider.” She showed me a prototype of the new mascara and basically said this was Benefit Cosmetics’s star product for the year. I was a bit skeptical. I was pretty happy with Benefit’s mascaras they’re real and BADgal, and thought a third one would be a bit redundant.
A few weeks ago, the girls from Benefit Cosmetics Philippines invited a few beauty editors and writers for tea to introduce their new brand manager Donna Shaw and to try a new “mystery mascara,” which was, of course, Roller Lash. I tried it and was surprised that, using the right technique, it indeed curled my lashes.
That night, I told one of my beauty-crazy friends about it. I gave the mascara to her and, after a few days, she proclaimed, “This is their best mascara.” Okay, this friend is an authority on beauty and makeup, and I believe she meant what she said.
Roller Lash, says Benefit, is a “super-curling and lifting mascara.” It comes in a pink and black packaging with the cover resembling pink rollers (remember those contraptions we wore in the 1980s and 1990s).
Roller Lash targets ladies with short and straight lashes that are unable to hold a curl. It has a patent-pending Hook ‘n’ Roll brush with custom-designed hooks to help catch, lift and curl lashes. The mascara’s instant curve-setting formula, which holds for 12 hours, contains provitamin B5 and serine, which provide lash-conditioning benefits. The amount of product applied to the lashes is key to holding the curl so each comes with a specially designed wiper.
What I love about Roller Lash is its longevity and this may sound contradictory but it is also easy to remove. Many eye makeup removers sting my eyes so I am very careful with what I use. With Roller Lash, I can use a bit of Physiogel Cleanser on a cotton pad and my lashes are back to normal. The product doesn’t clump or give me raccoon eyes.
A consumer panel survey on 31 women after four weeks of using Roller Lash showed that 97 percent said it visibly lifts lashes, 87 percent claimed it gives long-lasting curl, and 94 percent attested it made eyes look more wide open.
Roller Lash will be available at all Benefit boutiques and counters starting March 5.
- E-mail the author at luckydinna@gmail.com.