The 15 Best Mascaras of 2024, Tested by Real People

Best Overall

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

$29 at Amazon $29 at Nordstrom $16 at Sephora

If you're looking for a great beauty product, Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara is one of the most popular mascaras in the U.S. for a reason. “One of my absolute faves — it gives your lashes volume and length,” says Medhin. Our team agreed, granting it a perfect score and praising the mascara for its ease of application, performance, and appearance.

We love the hourglass brush because it separated our eyelashes and combed through them without clumping. It has a great grip and application, and we noticed it didn’t smudge or flake. It emphasized our natural lashes, making them thicker and multidimensional without being too dramatic. Plus, despite being waterproof, this formula was easy to remove at the end of the day.

Size: 0.27 ounce / 8 mL | Mascara Type: Curling, lengthening | Key Ingredients: Acacia Senegal tree extract, peptides, film-forming polymer | Wand Type: Hourglass

Best Budget

CoverGirl Exhibitionist Uncensored Mascara

$7 at Amazon $10 at Target $10 at Walmart

We have a full list of incredible mascaras here, but not all of them are necessarily budget-friendly. We appreciate Covergirl for providing an affordable and effective mascara like the Exhibitionist Uncensored Mascara. This mascara is very easy to use, and the shape of the brush makes it simple to apply to the upper and lower lashes.

This mascara also received a perfect score in every test — use, wear, look, and performance. It didn’t smudge, flake, or transfer onto our skin, and it didn’t get that crunchy feel even after wearing it for hours. We loved the dark black color which created a definition among our lashes. It gave them a lift, curl, and plenty of volume and felt comfortable to wear. Plus, it came off with a makeup wipe without smearing or stinging. 

Size: 0.30 ounce | Mascara Type: Curling, lengthening | Key Ingredients: Coconut oil, jojoba oil | Wand Type: Thick

Best Clump-Proof

Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Lengthening Mascara

$24 at Amazon $16 at Target $16 at Nordstrom

As the name suggests, this mascara might have people questioning if your lashes are real because they will have the volume of a good falsie. This smooth formula and wand prevents clumps so your lashes stay separated and neat. The tip of the brush was helpful in grabbing the corner lashes and the lower lashes during our testing.

The performance was stellar, with no smudging or transfer after several hours of wear. Our team appreciated that the mascara made our eyes look larger and lifted our lashes. It did take a few micellar water-soaked cotton rounds to remove it, but for the length and curl this mascara provides, we believe it’s worth the extra removal time.

Size: 0.3 ounce | Mascara Type: Lengthening | Key Ingredients: Beeswax | Wand Type: Thick

Best Shade Range

CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara

$8 at Amazon View on Target $10 at Walmart

This mascara offers maximum volume at a minimum price. With seven shades of black, brown, and blends of both, Lash Blast from Covergirl suits a range of eye colors and hair colors. Though some of our team weren't fans of the wand shape, we had no issue applying this mascara. It grabbed all of our lashes very easily and coated them evenly. It worked well on our upper and lower lashes and was easily applied since the bristles are short and evenly spaced.

For a drugstore mascara, it passed all of our tests beautifully. It did not smudge, flake, or transfer onto our upper lids or fingertips when we touched our lashes. And it definitely brought the volume. We noticed that our lower lashes looked especially full. Without clumping, Lash Blast dried quickly and remained intact throughout the day. And it came off easily with makeup remover. We didn’t love the strong scent but appreciated that our lashes remained soft when wearing the product.

Size: 0.44 ounce | Mascara Type: Volumizing, waterproof | Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax | Wand Type: Thick

Best Curling

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes Mascara

$15 at Nordstrom $15 at Sephora View on Charlottetilbury.com

With an angular brush and smooth formula, this Charlotte Tilbury mascara creates long, curled, dramatic lashes. It’s not clumpy or messy at all, so it was easy to not get product on our eyelids or below our eyes. We noticed it had precise application — even on the inner corners of our eyes where smaller lashes live. 

The look of the mascara was most impressive. Our lashes looked darker and longer — almost wispy. After using this mascara, our lashes curved up beautifully, giving us the longest lashes we’ve ever seen from mascara (though we noticed some inconsistency between how the mascara lengthened some lashes versus others).

Size: 0.33 ounce / 10 mL | Mascara Type: Curling | Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax | Wand Type: Narrow, angled

Best Volume

IT Cosmetics Volumizing Mascara

$22 at Amazon $22 at Nordstrom $27 at Ulta

If your lashes are a little sparse, this volumizing mascara from IT Cosmetics will restore some fullness back to your lash line. The rich formula impressed our team right away. We loved this mascara because it was super nice right out of the tube — not too wet or goopy. It applied easily and gave tons of volume and length in just a few swipes.

This mascara didn’t smudge, but it did clump slightly. We think that could be fixed with a slightly different application method. We also thought the barrel brush design was cute and spoke to the volumizing abilities but felt a little bulky when holding it.

Size: 0.24 ounce / 7mL | Mascara Type: Volumizing | Key Ingredients: Biotin | Wand Type: Thick

Best for a Natural Look

Glossier Lash Slick Mascara

$20 at Sephora $20 at Glossier.com

This mascara is ideal if you want just a little extra length on your natural lashes. It won’t have that spidery effect of some mascaras, but it will look like you have naturally long eyelashes. We found it easy to apply, and the applicator fit our eyelashes very well. We also appreciated that the formula didn’t smudge or flake at all.

As a tubing mascara, this formula wraps around each individual lash rather than painting it, so it won’t bring the volume that some mascaras have. It emphasized our natural lashes without being too dramatic, though some of our team prefers a more volumizing product. We think this mascara works well if you already have naturally dark and long lashes. Our team wished it was a darker black but liked that we could remove it with warm water instead of going at it with a makeup wipe.

Size: 8.5 g / 0.29 ounce | Mascara Type: Tubing | Key Ingredients: Japanese fiber, vegan biotin, polymers | Wand Type: Narrow

Best False Lash Rival

Milk Makeup Kush Mascara

View on Amazon $15 at Sephora $15 at Milkmakeup.com

If you reach for falsies when you want extra volume, consider grabbing this mascara instead. Between its simple application and dramatic results, the High Volumizing Mascara from Milk Makeup proved a contender among our list of best mascaras. The wand was easy to control during application, and the brush coated the lashes in just a few swipes.

We noticed a few clumps toward the ends of our lashes and that the mascara took a bit longer to dry, but one coat completely transformed our lashes. One of our teammates has light straight lashes, and this coated them completely and almost looked like they had applied false lashes. This mascara lived up to its claims, thickening lashes and creating volume, length, and curl.

Size: 0.13 ounce / 4 mL | Mascara Type: Volumizing | Key Ingredients: Hemp-derived cannabis seed oil, synthetic beeswax | Wand Type: Thick

Best Smudge-Proof

Victoria Beckham Beauty Vast Lash Mascara

$34 at Violet Grey View on Victoriabeckhambeauty.com View on Bergdorfgoodman.com

A new launch from prestige beauty line Victoria Beckham Beauty, this mascara is the perfect go-to for a low-maintenance beauty look. As opposed to thick, fluffy, glam lashes, this mascara delivers more of a soft lengthening effect (similar to Glossier Lash Slick).

Lindsey Metrus, director of commerce social and video, is typically a thick, full-volume lash type of person and found the mascara to be the perfect lash-lengthener when you’re keeping your makeup look simple.

Plus, it’s totally smudge- and flake-proof, so if you’re an eye-rubber, tend to get watery eyes, or live in a humid climate, you can rest assured this formula will stay in place. Last but not least, Metrus appreciates the “heft” that this tube boasts — like most of Beckham’s chic packaging, it’s got a nice weight to it and looks beautiful on your bathroom vanity.

Size: 0.22 ounce / 6.64 mL | Mascara Type: Lengthening | Key Ingredients: Tahitian Sea micro algae, vitamin B5 | Wand Type: Curved

Best with Keratin

Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara

$24 at Amazon $28 at Nordstrom $13 at Sephora

Ilia is one of the most popular “clean” beauty brands, and that label simply means that the products are made without common harmful ingredients. This formula uses naturally occurring ingredients like shea butter and beeswax to condition your lashes, as well as keratin to strengthen the hair follicle. The mascara was easy to use, apply, and grip.

We loved how it darkened and lengthened our lashes without flaking. It did clump slightly at first, but the dual-sided wand helped separate the lashes to reduce that clumpiness. The short side provides curl and volume, and the longer bristles lift, lengthen, and separate the lashes. We had no issues removing it and appreciated the dark pigment and how it coated our lashes, adding volume and boldness to our gazes.

Size: 0.27 ounce / 8 g | Mascara Type: Lengthening | Key Ingredients: Keratin, shea butter, beeswax | Wand Type: Straight, dual-sided

Best for Bottom Lashes

Honest Beauty Extreme Length Mascara + Primer

$17 at Amazon $20 at Target $20 at Ulta

Celebrity brands aren’t always up to snuff, but Honest Beauty by Jessica Alba has produced a mascara that’s worth discussing. As a two-in-one lash primer and mascara, this product uses jojoba esters to hydrate the lashes for a smooth application. The primer goes on smoothly and left no residue on our lashes. The mascara wand is thin and allowed us to comb through our lashes, an ideal wand for bottom lashes.

The mascara dried quickly, didn’t flake or smudge, and thoroughly lengthened and volumized our lashes. There was no clumping, and it didn’t look too dramatic compared to our natural lashes. Our only frustration was the short primer applicator.

Size: 0.2 ounce / 6 mL | Mascara Type: Lengthening | Key Ingredients: Jojoba esters | Wand Type: Narrow

Best Tubing

Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara

$15 at Target $15 at Sephora $27 at Ulta

Tubing mascara enhances the length of your lashes with polymers, which wrap around your lashes rather than coating them. The slender applicator helps with the length effect by creating definition between lashes rather than a fuller clumpy look. Our team thought the wand made it easy to grab and coat each lash. The fine plastic bristles then acted as a comb to distribute the formula evenly throughout our lashes.

We were impressed by how quickly the mascara dried without flaking, smudging, or clumping — it felt like there was nothing on our lashes. Though we loved the lengthening effect, we wished it created more volume. It could have been a bit better with volumizing and curling, but the color was nice and dark.

Size: 0.27 ounce / 8 mL | Mascara Type: Tubing | Key Ingredients: Shea butter, castor oil, carnauba wax | Wand Type: Narrow

Best Longwear

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Perfect Strokes Mascara

$20 at Sephora $20 at Rarebeauty.com $11 at Kohls.com

From Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty comes this enduring mascara, a volumizing wonder that lasts throughout the day. Less is more here, considering the thick formula. We applied three coats and saw some clumping and smudges on our lower lashes which we attribute to the thick wand. But we loved the results.

The mascara was smooth, and our lashes looked thicker and darker and stayed curled. The castor oil in this formula also helps hydrate your lashes almost like a primer to keep the mascara looking fresh for longer throughout the day. When it was finally time to wipe off the product, we appreciated the short removal time: The mascara came off quickly with micellar water, and it didn’t make a mess around our eyes.

Size: 0.45 ounce / 13.5 mL | Mascara Type: Volumizing | Key Ingredients: Castor oil | Wand Type: Thick

Most Precise

Tarte Maneater Mascara

$15 at Target $27 at Ulta $27 at Tartecosmetics.com

For lengthened and defined lashes, look to Tarte’s Maneater Mascara. It’s easy to use, and the brush is the perfect size. We appreciated the narrow wand because it didn’t absorb too much product. The wand size and narrow shape also allow for more precise application, especially on smaller lashes near the corners of the eye.

There was slight smudging, and the mascara clumped a tiny bit upon reapplication, but this could be avoided with a slower, more thorough application technique. We loved the definition this mascara created. It definitely gave our lashes length and made them look fuller. It delivered on the claim of an instant eye lift. The lengthening is dramatic, and while we wished it looked more natural, we thought it looked great overall. Plus, it comes off easily with makeup remover, so you won’t have to spend too much time taking it off at the end of the day. 

Size: 0.3 ounce | Mascara Type: Lengthening | Key Ingredients: Jojoba, carnauba wax | Wand Type: Narrow

Best Splurge

Pat McGrath Labs FetishEyes Mascara

$34 at Nordstrom $34 at Sephora $34 at Ulta

With big lashes comes big mascara, and FetishEyes from Pat McGrath is as thick as it is bold. We appreciated how easily it applied because the applicator has a great grip. This mascara goes on thick without needing to be built up, so you do have to be cautious when applying it. If you are not careful, it can easily smudge or clump. However, with careful application, it is probably the best mascara to compliment a bold beauty look.

This mascara scored well during our look and performance tests, as we noticed it made our lashes appear longer and thicker. Though the mascara did clump some, we were able to comb through our lashes and remove most of the excess without any mess. If you’re worried about too much product, just be sure to wipe the edges of the wand to remove excess and go in lightly to start.

Size: 0.27 ounce / 8 mL | Mascara Type: Lengthening | Key Ingredients: Synthetic beeswax, Acacia Senegal gum | Wand Type: Thick