Panda-eye busting magic!!! (Benefit She Laq)

Member Name: Furrball

Product:	Benefit She Laq
Date:	24/09/09 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stops make-up smudging and running, quite easy to remove, lovely design.

Disadvantages: High price, stings if gets into the eyes, a bit fiddly

I love to wear thick black eyeliner and lashings of mascara, but I have moist skin around my eyes and often find it smudges. A couple of years ago I noticed this little blue bottle at a Benefit counter, and wondered if it could be the answer to my panda-eye problem. I'm glad to say it worked a treat and I have used it ever since.

The little bottle of She-Laq arrives in a small blue drawstring pouch along with four different sized applicator brushes (including a mascara style wand). As expected with the Benefit range, the packaging is striking, original and intriguing. The little blue bottle and fortune-teller design does give an impression that this is a mystical potion.

I use the project primarily on the eyes, particularly covering eyeliner on the upper and lower lids. The different sized brushes help greatly with application - I use the smallest brush on the lower lid to help prevent getting the liquid in my eye.

The liquid slightly hardens the make-up that it is applied to. I have found that it also seems to matt the make up it is applied to, but doesn't have too much of an effect on the appearance.

She-Laq gives excellent staying power to my eyeliner and mascara. I don't get any smudges when I use it. I've used this numerous times when performing with my band on a hot stage. I would normally expect my make up to run and smudge, but using She-Laq stops this from happening.

This product stops my make-up from slipping off, but is quite easy to remove, although I'd recommend using a waterproof make-up remover. The make up seems to wipe off in clean chunks.

This is one of my all-time favourite beauty products and an essential item in my make-up kit. There are a couple of downsides though.

If applying this on the eyes, be careful - if it gets in the eye it really stings (and I doubt it can be very good for you!).

If you don't use it for sometime, the lid can get glued to the bottle. I've really struggled to open it in the past, and had the whole family trying to get the lid off.

Also, the instructions recommend that you wash the brush every time after placing it on your eye and putting it back into the liquid, otherwise it will taint the product. If you're impatient like me, this gets a bit annoying!

The smell is also quite solvent-like (reminds me of lip-cote) so this might put people off.

She-Laq is also a little pricey - it cost me nearly 20 GBP when purchased in-store.

Overall, I love this product and I think the downsides are totally outweighed by the benefits. The product is original, effective, well designed, trendy, and good quality. Even though the price is a little high, I think it is good value for money, particularly as I've found no alternatives on the market.

Summary: A make-up bag essential to stop make-up running and smudging.