

We included products in our tests that appeared in many of these lists over and over again, but in general we didn’t put much stock in them because they weren’t the result of regularized, objective testing plans (mascara performance will vary from person to person depending on everything from daily routines to eye shapes, and it’s easy to be biased by packaging claims). We also looked at mascara recommendations from different publications, including beauty magazines, more generalized fashion magazines, and online recommendation and reviews sites such as Paula’s Choice Beautypedia (home to hundreds of expert reviews, rated broadly on a poor-average-good-best scale with individual pro/con write-ups) and Makeup Alley (home to thousands of user reviews, both written and scaled). Of the many, many tweaks makeup manufacturers have made in recent years to “improve” their product, this is a big one that can actually make the application process less finicky. And if you’ve been devoted to traditional nylon bristles, give a molded, spiky brush a shot. In our tests, they held their shape much longer than non-waterproof formulas. If you’ve always stuck with non-waterproof formulas, take this chance to try a waterproof or water-resistant mascara.


Compared with our top pick, this mascara was more work to put on, but it outperformed Buxom Lash in terms of length and volume (with a slight uptick in clumping). Though the formula wasn’t best at either volume or lengthening/separating, our testers liked the overall quality and versatility of the waterproof formula. This mascara’s dual-ended brush has a molded elastomer side for applying a light, separating base layer that can be worn on its own for a more natural look, and a second side with nylon bristles for adding length and bulk, without the clumping that you might see after applying multiple layers of a lesser mascara. If you want to switch between natural and intense looks, get the CoverGirl Bombshell Curvaceous by LashBlast. Buxom’s moderate difficulty in removal-you’ll do best to use a makeup remover-is balanced by its ease in application. Buxom struck a balance between the amount of formula that was transferred by the brush and the ability of that brush (with molded, spiky elastomer bristles instead of nylon bristles) to keep lashes separated or correct clumping after it happened. But more product also leads to clumping on lashes, so a mascara typically has to trade off between keeping lashes separated and making them appear thicker. At $19, it’s an expensive tube, but it’s still at the lower end of the non-drugstore mascaras we tested.īuxom Lash didn’t test tops in volumizing: We found that volume claims on a mascara are usually a stand-in for the amount of product that ends up on lashes and the ability of that product to make lashes stick together in bundles, creating the illusion of thicker lashes. As a waterproof mascara, it stood up well to all-day wear, yet among waterproof mascaras it was relatively easy to take off with makeup remover.

Best mac mascara for short lashes full#
Its brush shape covered the full lash line in a few swipes and rarely created clumps of stuck-together lashes that needed to be pried apart, and if any did appear, the brush’s well-defined bristles were able to comb them apart. Our five-person testing panel rated Buxom Lash Waterproof the highest for separating and lengthening, and the easiest among our final 13 mascaras to apply.
