Mascara, with its rapid-fire transformative power, can rev up your look with just a few quick swipes – no special skill set needed. Benefit, the brand at the top of the retro-packaging game (that is simultaneously kitschy + addictive … and way too much fun to look at), is taking things up a notch with their new Roller Lash Mascara  (CAN $29.00 launching on February 27th) that aims to not only give you mile-long lashes, but also eliminate the need for any pre-curling via its 12-hour innovative setting formula.

PS: My press kit arrived with Roller Lash tucked cozily inside this adorable little makeup bag, which also held 3 vintage-style rollers. The crazy part? I actually remember using these exact rollers back in the day.

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara

Benefit’s new Roller Lash is a black mascara that claims to hook, lift, and curl your lashes via a unique Hook ‘N’ Roll Brush (patent-pending) and an innovative 12-hour setting formula, free of parabens, sulfates, and phthalates.

My eyelashes are relatively long (blonder tips give the illusion of a slightly shorter length) with a decent enough thickness and natural curl. As a self-professed mascara fiend, my standards for what constitutes a good mascara are rather demanding and high; for starters, I want my mascara to be easily buildable, flake-proof, and smudge free (all non-negotiable), with a preference for the formula to fall on the wetter side. Why wet? Mainly because it takes a few seconds longer to dry/set which gives you a bit of play time as far as separating/combing through the lashes is concerned, and will most likely not dry out in the tube as fast as other mascaras. Another deal-breaker is crunchy lashes — although clumps I can live with (easily removed with a lash comb, or camouflaged with other makeup). My favourite mascaras, are those that give me both volume and length, and having curl hold is something I’ve always considered a bonus.

Results: First things first, Roller Lash while not 100% odourless, has a very mild and inoffensive scent – points scored for this. Secondly, the tube fits comfortably in one’s hand with the rubberized & ridged feel of the cap making for a solid grip. Lately, I’ve been getting more into curved mascara brush heads, and the one found on Roller Lash seems to be angled just right for getting down to the nitty-gritty roots of lashes. The brush also sports bristles of varying lengths, with the shortest being on the inner part of the curve – which has this interesting ‘hooking’ effect (and that totally remind me of the little barbs on a cat’s tongue) that do a good job of gripping lash hairs for easy product deposit. Lastly, I really appreciate that the brush doesn’t come out of the tube loaded up with product; in fact, you almost don’t need to wipe off any excess at all.

As far as actual results go, the swatch photos below (note that I did NOT use a lash curler at all) make my going into detail rather redundant, but in a nutshell: you get separation, length, and curl that holds throughout the wearing, and while there’s enough body given to the lashes even with the first coat, do not expect high-impact volume. That aside, Roller Lash is an amazing mascara that definitely delivers on its promises. Not the blackest mascara I own, but dark enough nevertheless (50 Shades of Black?). I experience no ‘crescent-moon’ smudging (those annoying shadows under the eyes – as if one actually desires to look punched), and barring a couple of ultra-fine flakes, the wear is excellent until removed. Which brings me to the last ‘benefit’ (couldn’t resist) – removal is effortlessly accomplished with your go-to remover (my Holy Grail is the dual-phase one by Neutrogena), without the need for excessive force, tugging or pulling on that most precious of commodities, your lashes. Some nutshell this was, lol!

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara

Ingredients

Water, Paraffin, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Polybutene, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Palmatic Acid, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Vp/ Eiosene Copolymer, Acacia Senegalgum, Copernicia Cerifrea (Carnauba Wax), Euphorbia Cerifera (Candeulla) Wax, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Silica, Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Align Serine, Bht. [+/-: Cl 19140 (Yellow 5,Yellow 5 Lake) Cl 42090 (Blue 1 Lake) Cl 77007 (Ultramarines), Cl 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride)), Cl 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens) Cl 772889 ((Chromium Hydroxide Green) Cl 77491, Cl 77492, Cl 77499 (Iron Oxides), Cl 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), Cl 77742 (Manganese Violet), Cl 77891 (Titanium Dioxide)]

{Bare lashes}

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara, with 1 coat applied

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara, with 2 coats applied

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara, with 2 coats applied

Benefit | Roller Lash Mascara

Never having tried every mascara that Benefit has ever produced, Roller Lash has impressed me enough to land a spot in my go-to drawer of products. I would have liked to see a little more in the volume department (another option is a mascara cocktail – using Roller Lash for length and curl, and a thicker formula for volume. Works like a charm), but that aside, I love the length and separation this gives me. I put Roller Lash head to head up against pre-curled lashes, and it still seemed to magically give the appearance of more – and continued – lift. Verdict: totally worth it.

Available as of February 27th at all Benefit counters across Canada, Sephora and Sephora.ca

Press sample provided for my unbiased consideration