Health & Beauty Shopping Guide

When it comes to beautiful eye makeup, mascara is a must because it accentuates the eyes and improves the shape of your eyes. It's a must-have for everyday styling, whether it's a natural look or a heavy makeup look!

Some mascaras add extra length; let you create curls without using an eyelash curler; and others separate your lashes for a wispy cobweb effect. A good volumizing formula also enhances the natural smoky look of the eyes; thicker lashes add natural shadow and contour to the eyes.

Some are ripstop and can dye your lashes to an unknown depth of black, while others promise the feathery look of false lashes. The variety is part of the fun and challenge of choosing a mascara. To help narrow down your options, we talked to a slew of makeup artists about their favorite mascaras in each category, whether you're looking for a mascara that will give you natural lashes, a high-end brand's drugstore dupe, or The formula won't irritate sensitive eyes, or all of the above.

To help you choose the best mascara for your lashes, whether it's the volume, definition or length you're looking for, the makeup experts here weigh their favorites to help you decide.

1.Best Budget: Essence Cosmetics Lash Princess Mascara 

This $5 mascara is getting rave reviews on TikTok for its low price and high quality. Essence Lash Princess is known for its incredible upper and lower lash thickening abilities. Tapered fiber brushes provide dramatic volume and sculpted length without clumps or balls. Keep your day peeling and fading free! This mascara won't flake, fade or fray, making it the perfect all day long lasting mascara. It is also certified and recognized by PETA as a cruelty-free brand.

Shop at Essence Makeup

Shop at Ulta

2.Best volumizing mascara: Benefit They're Real!

This is Benefit's best-selling mascara. This mascara lengthens, thickens and separates lashes. The specially designed brush features staggered bristles that hug the roots for incredible length and volume. The custom domed tip uses precise bristles to lift, define and curl your tiniest lashes. Since this mascara is difficult to remove, you will need to use a mild oil-based makeup remover to remove it completely.

Shop at Sephora

Shop at Ulta

3.Best lengthening mascara: Urban Decay Perversion Volumizing Mascara

This voluminous, creamy mascara formula thickens and lengthens to create a natural look, or build your coats to achieve longer, more dramatic lashes. A non-clumping, flake-free mascara that curls lashes giving your natural lashes a true lash lift.

Shop at Sephora

Shop at Ulta

4.Best precision mascara: M.A.C Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara

The long-wearing formula lasts up to 16 hours yet removes easily with warm water thanks to an innovative thermal-sensitive technology. Its slim brush reaches and grips even the tiniest hairs with an advanced lifting formula in a saturated blackest-black color. The lifting, defining mascara is flake-proof, smudge-proof and resistant to sweat and humidity.

Shop at MAC Cosmetics

Shop at Ulta

5.Best tubing mascara: Kevyn Aucoin The Volume Mascara

Created by legendary Kevyn Aucoin, the innovative tube mascara wraps lashes with volume and length for a natural finish that lasts all day and can be easily removed with lukewarm water. The innovative formula is infused with bold pigments and volumizing fibers to thicken, separate and visibly lengthen lashes. Mascara Tube Technology applies each lash individually for maximum clumping-free definition and maintains lashes' natural curl throughout the day. Jojoba oil ensures lashes are soft and shiny from root to tip. The formula is smudge-proof and long-lasting, while the unique slim mascara brush makes application effortless and coats each lash from root to tip.

Shop at NordStrom

Shop at Bloomingdales

6.Best “clean” mascara: Milk Makeup Kush High Volume Mascara

This product is vegan, clean, cruelty-free, paraben-free, silicone-free, alcohol-free, fragrance-free, gluten-free and coal-tar-free. First, it contains heart-shaped fibers that stick to the lashes, creating insane volume and fullness, and second, it contains the trendy hemp-derived hemp seed oil, which not only conditions the lashes, but also helps to blend the fibers onto the eyelashes.

Shop at Sephora

Shop at Kohls

7.Best mascara for sensitive eyes: ILIA Limitless Lash Mascara

What sets Ilia’s Limitless Lash Mascara apart from others in the market is that it’s 99% naturally derived—much like the brand’s assortment of makeup products focused on sustainability and good-for-the-skin ingredients. Packed with nourishing actives like arginine, shea butter, and beeswax, this lightweight mascara shouldn’t smudge.

Shop at DermStore

Shop at Sephora

8.Best Natural: Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara

Free from parabens, phthalates, sulfates and fragrances, this beloved mascara uses all-natural ingredients to give your lashes the length and curl of false lashes. Creates fuller, stunning lashes that won't clump, flake or smudge, while Orchid Stem Cell Complex™ is plant-powered + support for longer, healthier lashes stem cell technology.

Shop at Thrive Causemetics