Benefit They're Real Double The Lip & Duo Eyeshadow Blender Swatches

Benefit They're Real Double The Lip and They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender are the latest products from the brand, and have been out in the market for about a month now. And, I have swatches of both the Double The Lip Lipsticks and Duo Shadow Blenders!

As you can guess from the name, the Double The Lip Lipsticks are a two-in-one product - there is a complementary darker and lighter shade in the same tube, with the darker shade serving as an in-built lipliner, and the lighter shade serving as the filled-in lipstick colour. The They're Real Duo Shadow Blenders also operate on a similar principle - there are two shades, one light and one dark, in a tray, and you use a sponge applicator to swipe and apply both shades at once.

Benefit They're Real Double The Lip

Anyway, if you're wondering how all this works, and what the shades look like, well, here are swatches of both, along with my quick thoughts!


Benefit They're Real Double The Lip Swatches
Criminally Coral is a medium-toned coral lipstick with a warm red liner shade, and probably a good day-to-day shade for warm-toned ladies who want a little bit of colour. This is one of the shades where the "liner" shade is a bit more obvious.
Nude Scandal is a very lovely wearable my-lips-but-better type nude, with a darker nude shade as a liner. As you can tell, the "liner" isn't as obvious in this shade.
Lusty Rose is a neutral rose shade, a little rosier than Nude Scandal, with a slightly darker rose shade as a liner. Again, the liner is subtle with this one. Nude Scandal and Lusty Rose are probably the most universally flattering shades in the range, so if you don't know where to start, those are good bets to check out.
Juicy Berry is perhaps my personal favourite of the bunch, because you know I love my berry lips! This is perhaps the darkest shade in the range, but it isn't particularly dark or vampy, either. It's a berry shade, with a deep berry liner. The liner is a bit more obvious with this shade.
Pink Thrills is a neutral pink of medium brightness, with a corresponding pink liner. This shade also has fairly subtle liner.
Fuschia Fever is a bright (but not too bright) cool-toned pink, with a corresponding pink liner. This is brighter and cooler-toned than Pink Thrills.
Flame Game is perhaps the brighest shade of the bunch, and is a pretty bright orange shade with corresponding orange liner. Again, the liner colour is pretty close to the main lipstick colour in this one.
Revved-Up Red is the red shade out of the bunch. This is a fairly moderate, wearable red, with a corresponding red liner shade.


Benefit They're Real Double The Lip Swatches
My thoughts on the Double The Lip Lipsticks were that this actually is a pretty nifty idea. I've never actually used lip liner - I already have fairly well-defined lips and am comfortable just wearing lipstick by itself - so when I first saw the two-toned lipstick bullet, I thought it was actually a lipstick to create an ombre or gradient lip! After swatching these however, I realized that although the two-toned lipstick bullet might look kinda ombre-ish in the tube, when swatched, the colour difference is too subtle to really be a true gradient lip, although there definitely is a difference in colour if you look really closely. To me, this is a good thing: on the one hand, the slightly darker outline shade provides some extra lip definition for those who would like it, but it doesn't veer into "clownish OTT" lip liner category. And that's a great balance for the lipstick to strike.

I also really like the general shade range - there are a couple of shades that I would classify as "universally flattering", and there's something for everyone - oranges, reds, nudes, berries, and so on. The shades are also pretty wearable across the board, and I guess make for good options for safe pops of colour. The texture of the lipsticks was pretty soft as well - in fact, I probably broke a couple of the lipsticks trying to swatch them - so I imagine if you're looking for a lipstick that won't feel drying or hard, this is a good option.


Benefit They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender
Now that we're done looking at the lipsticks, let's move on to the They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender swatches! The "two-shades-in-one-swipe" theme is also present here, with two shades in one single pan. There is also a rounded sponge applicator included. The idea here is that you use the sponge applicator, swipe it across the two shades, and then swipe the two shades onto your lids at once - and viola, lovely blended and colour-coordinated eyeshadow!

The interesting thing is the sponge applicator - it really isn't quite like any other eyeshadow applicator I've seen. It's literally a fairly large round ball, as you can see in the photo below. There is a small plastic handle attached to it, and if you're used to using traditional long-handled eyeshadow brushes like me, then using the tiny plastic handle can take a little getting used to, although it's not hard to use. The idea is that by swiping the applicator across your lids, it applies and blends the colours for you. Benefit also recommends that you wipe the sponge applicator with tissue to remove the excess eyeshadow between uses, to ensure that each time you swipe the sponge applicator, you get a nice-looking un-blurred gradient.

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Benefit They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender: With a nifty sponge applicator
The swatches on my arms were all done with the sponge applicator, and I probably went over the swatches twice (while trying to ensure the same colour placement so you can see two distinct shades). As you can see, the applicator does help to blur the colours together somewhat, and it's not the most precise method of application. So if you're super finicky about which shade goes where on your eyelid, you could just take your own eyeshadow brush to the shades (although that would make application less quick). Fortunately, the entire range of shades are basically various shades of neutrals, so you can get away with some impreciseness in the application.


Benefit They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender Swatches
Provocative Plum is actually the least "neutral" set of colours in the bunch, with a plummy brown shade paired with a light pink. I liked that this shade didn't seem too ruddy on the eye, like some plums or red-based shades can do. If you like purples, this is definitely going to catch your eye.
Bombshell Brown is one of my favourites, because I love me a good neutral brown-and-beige combination. This is a lovely deep slightly cool-toned brown, paired with a light neutral beige. I think the two shades offer a nice contrast, and look good together.
Brazen Bronze is a warm brown paired with a bronze shade. All the shades have shimmer, but for some reason this particular duo seemed to reflect the shimmer a little more. This would be great for warmer-toned ladies.
Easy Smokin' is a good choice for a very muted smokey eye - and I do mean very muted. This consists of a light pink shade with a neutral brown. It's not a combination that will give you the super-dark, super-dramatic kind of blackened smokey eye, but it will offer a nice contrast between two neutral shades that is good for everyday wear.
Beyond Nude is a warmer, somewhat lighter version of Bombshell Brown. The brown shade here is lighter and warmer, and it's paired with a neutral beige shade. I think most ladies could wear this, but it would probably look best on those with warmer undertones.
Sexy Smokin' is another one of my favourites, because I can never resist a good taupe. This is one of the darker duos, and pairs a deep neutral brown with a neutral taupe shade. This is really good for a wearable smokey eye, and I imagine would be great on most skintones.
Naughty Neutral is also a good neutral pairing. Like Bombshell Brown, it consists of a brown shade paired with a light beige shade. However there is a slight pink tinge to the shades, so this gives off a more feminine vibe.
Kinky Khaki was a surprise favourite for me. I do generally like khaki shades, but this is a very pretty pairing of deep neutral brown with an antique gold-olive shade that I really ended up loving. This, alongside Sexy Smokin', is one of the darker duos avaialble, and would look great on almost everyone.


Benefit They're Real Duo Eyeshadow Blender Swatches
Some final thoughts on the Duo Eyeshadow Blender shades: These all have shimmer, although Brazen Bronze and Kinky Khaki are a bit more obviously shimmery. They're all quite suitable for everyday wear, and are "safe for the office"-type shades. I think the metal casing, although a little heavy, seems robust enough for travel (although knowing myself, I'd probably end up losing the sponge applicator). I also thought that although the shade range was primarily made up of neutrals, which might seem boring to some, I imagine this was for a good reason - you probably don't want to blend brights on your eyes with a round sponge! That said, the shades are all very pretty neutrals that aren't boring, and cover a good variety of undertones and colour families - there are warm shades, cool shades, plummy shades, bronze shades, and khaki shades. Most of the shades would suit a good variety of skintones, too, so they are worth checking out.