Benefit Released A New BADgal Bounce Mascara — Here’s My Honest Review

I’m picky when it comes to mascara, which means I tend to not get excited when beauty brands launch new ones. Benefit Cosmetics, a brand that’s as picky about engineering mascara as I am about wearing it, is the one exception. The brand hasn’t dropped a new mascara since 2023 and hasn’t added any new products to the BADgal family since the original BADgal BANG! launched in 2018.

I swear by BADgal BANG! mascara for my long, sparse lashes, so when I heard there was a new BADgal on the horizon, I was eager to see how Benefit Cosmetics planned to improve on my go-to mascara formula. I always thought my lashes couldn’t look better than they do with three coats of Benefit Cosmetics BADgal BANG! Mascara, but the latest addition to the Benefit Cosmetics family is a game-changer for anyone looking to plump up their lash line. The final effect was one I normally only achieve when I add false lash sections on top of mascara.

Fast Facts:

• Price: $29
• Best For: Sparse lashes in need of both volume and length.
• What I Love: Its dual-sided brush delivers lots of length and volume without clumping and it washes off easily.
• What I Don’t Love: It takes some trial and error to unlock the mascara wand’s full potential.

My Lashes

I’ve always considered myself pretty lash-lucky. While somewhat sparse, my lashes are long and with the right mascara formula, I can create a brow-sweeping, false lash effect. On the flip side, lengthening mascaras with fiber brushes — think spiky instead of fluffy — tend to emphasize my less-than-full lashline and often leave my lashes looking spidery. My eyes also tend to feel dry so I usually steer clear of waterproof mascaras that leave my lashes feeling brittle and my eyes feeling like sandpaper.

How To Apply

The beauty of BADgal BOUNCE is the hyper-personal experience afforded by its two-sided brush. The fibrous, spindly side — most like the BADgal BANG! mascara wand — adds a thick, even layer of mascara while its fine-toothed bristly side separates and fluffs up individual lashes.

After a few rounds of using each side independently — fiber end to lengthen and bristle side to fluff and lift — I tried twisting the wand while running it through my lashes from base to tip, starting on the fine bristle edge. That, ladies and gentlemen, is when the magic began. By using both brush sides in tandem I was able to achieve long, fluffy, and fanned-out-looking lashes that deliver greater impact than even my longstanding BADgal go-to.

The BADgal BOUNCE Mascara

I truly didn’t expect BADgal BOUNCE to outperform its predecessor, but a side-by-side, or eye-by-eye comparison puts the newest member of the BADgal family firmly in the lead. While both mascaras deliver on length, BADgal BOUNCE (worn on my left eye in the below photo) goes above and beyond from start to finish, quite literally. Its rice wax wax formula has both a lightweight barely there feel and lots of buildability. Even after three coats, my lashes didn’t feel stiff or weighed down, one of my main complaints when it comes to high-impact mascara.

My biggest gripe with mascaras that deliver the false-lash effect I crave is how difficult they can be to wash off. I don’t care how wide it makes my eyes look — if a mascara takes more than two rounds of oil cleansing to remove or requires repeated rounds of rubbing, scrubbing, and irritating my delicate undereye skin, I don’t want anything to do with it. I can happily report that I was able to remove all traces of my ultra-fluffy BADgal BOUNCE lashes with a single round of oil cleansing and gentle massaging.

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for a mascara that adds length while also filling lash line gaps, look no further. If your lashes are already ultra-full, you might not benefit from the latest addition to the BADgal family the way someone with more sparse lashes would, but the high-impact look, lightweight formula, and convenient washability are likely to impress anyone, regardless of lash length or type.