A few months back I got invited to the release party for the new Benefit They’re Real! push-up liners in fun colours. The release was great fun and I got to take home two of the push-up liners to try. I went for the original black, and one of the new liners in green. I’ve been trying them out for long enough now that I feel like I can give you a good opinion on them- let’s go!
The Benefit they’re Real! push-up liner is a real “love it or hate it” product. I’ve read reviews by people that never want to use anything else in their life, and I’ve read reviews by people that never want to use it again. I can understand why this liner invokes such strong reactions- it definitely comes with a manual. Quite literally, in fact, it actually comes with a manual.
The push-up liner has a unique soft rubber applicator with a slit in the top. The product comes out when you twist the bottom, and you have to be very careful not to dispense too much. The liner is a gel/cream type formula, it’s quite thick and dries up matte, so it’s a lot less like a liquid liner than you might expect.
This applicator takes a bit of practice to use properly, or at least it did for me. I found it quite difficult to make a nice, tight line at first, but after using it for a while I’m able to get quite a good line out of it. I do need to stretch out my eyelid for a clean application though, because the applicator, although being soft, is still too rigid for my very stretchy eyelid skin. It also took a little bit of practice to get comfortable with where the product actually comes out. It comes out of the center of the applicator so you need to transfer some product onto the tip first, before you can use it to make a clean wing.
Alright, so let’s see how I did. 
The Benefit they’re Real! push-up liner in black.
Not too bad, huh? Although I still struggle with the applicator a little bit, I absolutely love the formula and the way the liner looks on my eyes. It’s a beautiful deep, dark matte black that lasts all day thanks to the waterproof formula.
Here’s what it looks like in a full-face shot.
Moving on to the new green liner.
LOVE THIS COLOUR! The formula of this one is a little bit more liquid than the black so I find it just a tad easier to apply, although it does make it a little trickier to get an even application.
I love how this liner looks with the colour of my eyes. Green brings out the brown in my eyes and I really like that look. It’s a pop of colour, but the colour itself is subtle and muted enough, I’d say, to not be too over the top. I’ve worn this quite often on days when I wanted something a little different but not too out there.
So, conclusion: the applicator, for me personally, is more of a hassle than a helping hand, and I can understand why people lose patience with this liner. But I also love the formula, lasting power and colours of these liners so much that I’m willing to keep practicing with the applicator, and I do notice that it gets easier to use with time. And really, this liner doesn’t go anywhere throughout the day. I could probably sleep in this and it would still look good next morning!
