On my recent trip to Auckland I couldn't help but head to Smith & Caughey's to check out their Benefit cosmetics counter. I'd been eyeing up the Roller Lash for a while and it'd taken me some time to convince myself to splurge on mascara, at $45 it was a bit more expensive than what I'd usually be willing to pay but I'm glad I took the plunge!
I'd never actually bothered to look at photos of the packaging so when I saw it, I fell in love!
I'd never actually bothered to look at photos of the packaging so when I saw it, I fell in love!
I love the retro, kitsch packaging and colour combination. The cardboard packaging doesn't feel cheap and the tube itself feels nice and sturdy. I'm a little unsure of the handle on the wand being a light pink rubber, I can imagine that it could get very dirty quite easily and be tricky to clean.
I apologise for the photos as they were all taken on my phone so it was very hard to get an in focus picture, but the wand is curved and has your normal brush tips on it combined with small hook-like tips. Most mascaras I use have the curved wand but this is the first I've come across quite like this one.
Packaging aside, we all know the important part is how it performs!
Their website and packaging states:
"It’s a roller for lashes! The eye-opening Hook ‘n’ Roll™ brush grabs, separates, lifts and curls…while the instant curve-setting formula holds for 12 hours. Contains provitamin B5 and serin, ingredients known for their lash-conditioning benefits."
97% said it visibly lifts lashes
87% said it gives long lasting curl
94% said eyes look more wide open
Do I agree? The short answer is yes.
Case in point, we have my bare lashes on the left. They naturally have a bit of curl to them so I don't usually bother using a lash curler but they seem to have lost some of the length and fullness they once had.
On the top right photo you can see how much length just one coat has given me. On the bottom right the amount of lift and curl the mascara has given me is amazing! You can see on the outside lashes that they have really curled and lifted compared to the photo on the left. It's a nice black, without being massively over-dramatic.
The wand made it easy to apply and get right into the inner corners and bottom lashes without getting mascara all over myself. I didn't actually notice a difference between using this brush and your standard curved brush sans hooks to be honest. Maybe it's just a subtle difference that I didn't pick up?
On other reviews that I'd read prior to buying this, people had said that they ended up with it transfering, flaking or getting panda eyes by the end of the day (they claim that this mascara should hold its effect for 12 hours), but I haven't had any issues with this at all. My lashes have a habit of making my mascara transfer onto my brow bone throughout the day but this one doesn't - hurrah!
In fact, that could be one of the only negative points.. this mascara is hard to wash off. And I mean, really hard. I use the ZA Smooth Cleansing Oil to remove my makeup and I can't get it all off without rubbing my eyes quite hard which is something I'd prefer not to do, since the eye area is quite delicate.
I'm still extremely impressed with the performance of it (but at that price, you'd have to be!), but is it something I'd gladly buy again? Hmm.. I feel like I may have to say no because I could find a cheaper product that could do the same - I may or may not need to use a lash curler to get that level of curl but I'd rather have to do that then struggle and tug at my eyes to get the stuff off.
I got a little travel sized Better Than Sex mascara from Too Faced as well, which I'm looking forward to reviewing in comparison to Roller Lash. I've heard so many great things about it!
