When it comes to makeup, I am supremely picky and definitely more of a skin care-first type of gal, so I am always shopping for formulas that elevate my natural skin, brows, and lashes rather than make me feel like I am wearing a mask (not that there’s anything wrong with heavy makeup—to each their own all the way!). Which is why Benefit Cosmetics is one of my go-to makeup brands: the products tend to accentuate your existing features instead of hiding them.
Most of the products are versatile and buildable enough to wear as no-makeup makeup (like the highly coveted Hoola Bronzer and Benetint). Benefit even recently launched a pore-focused skin-care line, which goes to show the brand really does prioritize skin-deep formulas and solutions.
With that said, nothing quite compares to Benefit mascaras, though—which, at this point, are legendary. After trying and wearing literally all of them for years and years, I can honestly say they’re the best mascara formulas around. So, as soon as I learned the brand was launching a new formula, I jumped at the chance to try it. Meet the Fan Fest Fanning Volumizing Mascara ($28).
Benefit Fan Fest Mascara — $28.00
Size: 0.3 ounces
Ingredients: Provitamin B5, cranberry extract, rice wax
Shades: Hyper black
- It has a lightweight, buildable formula
- It never clumps
- The brush makes it easy to apply, even for mascara novices
- It’s expensive compared to drugstore formulas (but those definitely don’t have the same effect)
It’s designed to create the most beautiful, fanned-out effect and has tons of buildability and a weightless effect that feels like you’re not even wearing makeup (but definitely looks like it). The all-new Fan Fest just launched on TikTok Shop and BenefitCosmetics.com on July 28—and, I’m just going to come out and say it, it’s the mascara of the summer.
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My honest review of Benefit Fan Fest mascara
To get a good idea of how well Fan Fest works, I decided not to do anything to my lashes before application—that means no curling or priming. Instead, I went in—brush first—with a couple of strokes on my upper lashes and was immediately impressed by the results. When compared to my natural lashes, the mascara provided a noticeable lifting and lengthening effect that created the illusion of a lash lift and immediately made my eyes look more awake.
What it looks like side-by-side:
The brush was also super easy to use, and I love that it separated each individual lash for an even coat while also styling my lashes in a fan-like shape (hence the name). Even with one coat, I noticed a significant difference in my lash style and how much more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed I looked.
This all would have been enough to convince me that this is the best mascara I’ve ever tried. But the formula is also water-resistant, smudge-proof, and stays put in humidity and sweaty situations. As someone who usually has to wear waterproof mascara on her bottom lashes because of all of the skin-care oils I use, I was a bit skeptical of this. But, after wearing it all day long, the mascara never fell onto my complexion and looked just as fresh as when I first applied it. Plus, it was still really easy to remove (I just used a reusable cotton pad with micellar water).
As I mentioned, I’m a skin care-first girlie, so the formula’s attention to ingredients also caught my eye. The mascara features a mix of provitamin B5 for deep conditioning lashes while wearing, plus cranberry extract to nourish and rice wax to add some definition. Usually, my lashes look a little sad after wearing mascara, but when washing this off, they still looked and felt as healthy as they do when I go weeks without wearing mascara.
Overall, I was wildly impressed by this mascara and will be wearing it all season long (and some) for the stunning fanned-out effect and stay power.
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