"This big, BAD, black eye pencil is a beauty addict's dream and a makeup artist's must-have. Dark, smoky, mysterious...being BAD never looked so good"! - Benefit

Sounds appealing doesn't it?

So when I saw a free sample with a magazine last year I snapped it up! The magazine was around £3.50 and you got a free Benefit Bad Girl pencil - size roughly 10cm. I had wanted to try some of Benefit range and had seen this pencil in a shop and it had been just under £10! This was far too expensive for me to justify and all the other Benefit products were just as pricey, so seeing this free gift was the answer.

The eye liner pencil comes in a pink box, with bold black writing shouting "Bad Girl" at you. The pencil inside it exactly the same and comes with a black lid. It is chunkier than other eye lines I have used and looks more like a crayon then a pencil. The packaging and pencil itself are attractive, and although basic, they're simple design but in bold colours really catches they eye. The fact that the pencil comes in a box, I think highlights the quality you would be paying for if you bought the eyeliner

For my first use I used it as I would any other eyeliner, sweeping a graduated line over the top of my lashes, and adding a little colour to my upper inner lash line as it was a night out. It applied well and gave a sharp line where I wanted. As it was a powdery consistency I was also able to smudge the outer corners. It gave a smooth look an I was very pleased.

After a few uses I noticed that is wasn't performing as well as the first time, the line was far to thick and it was clumpy when applied. I sharpened the pencil again to a sharp point and reapplied and it then worked as good as new.

I have found that for optimum use I do have to sharpen it every time I want to use it. I don't use a lot on my eyes but it goes blunt very quickly. I think this is due to the soft powdery consistency of the pencil. But due to this I got through the product in just over 6 weeks, which if it had paid nearly £10 for the pencil I would not have been happy with!

As it was a free gift I couldn't really complain, but it had put me off every buying the Bad Girl pencil and any other Benefit products. If they all use up so quickly then in my opinion they are not worth the expensive price they ask for!