The Best Mascaras of All Time

If there’s one beauty product we rely on to keep our faces in check, it’s without a doubt mascara. That all-important flick frames your face, pulling together your entire look in a few strokes.  It can make you look more awake on a Monday than you actually are. I know besides myself, there are a few of you who have multiple tubes in your bathroom, purse, gym bag, car, kitchen counter, oh wait is that one just me? I’m just a girl looking for the best mascaras after all..

I obsess over finding the perfect mascara and then when I do, I still end up going back on that quest. It’s like finding that perfect pair of shoes or chai tea. Well for me maybe.

The search for the best mascara is a feat in itself, not to mention the search for the best cruelty-free mascara, which is why I get excited when I find those guilt-free formulas that claimed to lengthen, condition, darken, curl, and add volume to lashes just like our old standbys.

We all search high and low for the absolute best mascaras that lift and plump our lashes all while making us look like a Disney princess in real life. You know those big eyes and loonnnng lashes! When we choose a tube of mascara, we mean business. I want to know that this formula works and I’m not wasting my money. Am I right?

Check out all 12 best mascaras below and 15 of the Best Foundations.

My List of Best Mascaras of All Time

1. YSL The Shock Volumizing Mascara

Why we love it: If you want darker, thicker lashes—this will be your new holy grail of mascaras. The inky black formula can get a little clumpy on its pursuit to volume (in a good way), but be warned if you like your lashes on the straight and narrow instead.

YSL The Shock Volumizing Mascara, $29, sephora.com.

2. Urban Decay Perversion

Why we love it: Though the name suggests something dramatic, the effect this mascara leaves is more soft and fluttery than all-out bombshell. But you can layer on more than one coat to reach perversion-level volume.

Urban Decay Perversion, $22, sephora.com.

3. Clinique Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara

Why we love it: Once you get over the novelty of the funny name and extra-fat brush, you’ll find that the formula inside sharply defines and fans each lash. One coat leaves behind a tint of color, while two, three, or four coats creates lashes begging to be seen.

Clinique Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara, $17.50, sephora.com.

4. Lancôme DÉFINICILS High Definition Mascara

Why we love it: Classics are classics for a reason. Devotees to DÉFINICILS swear by it for its natural lash-lengthening effect and impressive long-wear. But at the end of the day, it washes off at the first sight of soap.

Lancôme DÉFINICILS  High Definition Mascara, $27.50, sephora.com.

5. Milk Makeup Weekend Lash Stain

Why we love it: This waterproof two-day lash stain is the perfect one-and-done beauty product the weekend. The best part? No clumping.

Milk Makeup Weekend Lash Stain, $22, sephora.com.

6. W3ll People Expressionist Mascara

Why we love it: This blue pigment makes your eyes pop and since it’s made of pure mineral pigments, it’s perfect for sensitive eyes.

W3ll People Expressionist Mascara in Blue, $24, birchbox.com.

7. Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara

Why we love it: Enjoy the benefits of arguably one of the best mascaras on the planet (the fullness and volume is out of this world) with the added bonus of it being completely waterproof.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara, $23, sephora.com.

8. Juice Beauty Ultra-Natural Mascara

Why we love it: Unlike most natural mascaras that settle under your eyes by end of day, this one is flake- and smudge-free.

Juice Beauty Ultra-Natural Mascara, $22, ulta.com.

9. Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Push-Up Drama Mascara

Why we love it: The cup-shaped bristles push lashes up without the use of a curler and keep them in place all day—think hairspray meets (as the name suggests) a push-up bra.

Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Push-Up Drama Mascara, $7.50, amazon.com.

10. Giorgio Armani Eccentrico Mascara

Why we love it: I was recently introduced to this mascara and immediately fell in love. It’s got a nice big Velcro brush (so genius) that grabs on to every single lash and administers a thick inky formula that isn’t clumpy or sticky. My lashes look insanely long after just a coat or two. Con is that it’s really pricey.

Giorgio Armani Eccentrico Mascara, $32.50, Nordstrom

11. Covergirl Full Lash Bloom

Why we love it: Because you’d have to try really, really hard to make this lengthening, separating mascara clump. And even then it probably wouldn’t.

Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara, $9, amazon.com.

12. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara

Why we love it: Free of parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, and gluten, you wouldn’t believe this mascara was of the natural variety as it works just as good, if not better, than other brands—curling, lengthening, conditioning, and volumizing lashes by 330%.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara, $21, Sephora

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