You might wonder how it can be that some mascaras cost $5 while others cost north of $40. For those of us who watch our money yet take caution of what we put around our eyes, is there any reason not to opt for the cheaper version and call it a day?
According to previous HuffPost coverage, luxury mascaras may indeed offer benefits that drugstore versions don’t.
For one, the formula. Luxury mascaras can take advantage of “high-end ingredients that drugstore mascaras cannot afford,” cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson previously explained.
Now, take the issue of excessive flaking, when a mascara disintegrates and smudges under and around the wearer’s eyes. You may be less likely to deal with that cosmetic problem with a more expensive mascara. “The fibers used in high-end mascaras may adhere to the lashes better because [those brands] can either afford to add more of them or a combination of fibers to give the desired effect,” Wilson explained.
And, as many of us mascara lovers may intuit, the design of the mascara brush is “just as important as the formula.” Having the money to spend on designing an especially effective brush may make a luxury mascara stand out.
Makeup artist Aleksandra Ambrozy told HuffPost that in her experience, “drugstore [mascaras] just don’t deliver” compared to higher-end options, especially when it comes to bestowing notable length and volume sans clumping.
Some of the price differences between luxury and drugstore mascaras can also come down to marketing. And, for parent companies that own both high-end and drugstore brands (for example, L’Oreal owns luxury brand Lancome and drugstore brand Maybelline), the company may share elements of the formulas across entities. (One way to check either way? Compare the ingredients.)
It all depends on the individual, of course, and as us makeup lovers know, a drugstore mascara can certainly knock it out of the park — you don’t have to spend a lot to rock a gorgeous eye look.
Read on for luxury mascara picks from our team and the experts.
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“I like mascaras which give length and volume without clumping and I always find that the drugstore ones just don’t deliver,” Ambrozy previously explained to HuffPost, noting that in her experience as a makeup artist, high-end mascaras have performed "far more superior to drugstore ones."
“My all-time favorite [mascara] right now is Maneater by Tarte," Ambrozy said. "[It provides] amazing buildable volume and length."
Ambrozy also recommended Dior's Diorshow Lash-Extension Effect mascara in previous HuffPost coverage. That version of Dior's runway-famous Diorshow mascara has since been discontinued, but based on our research, we think Diorshow Iconic Overcurl mascara is a great substitute.
This style is the brand's current bestselling and highest-rated mascara on Sephora, designed to deliver major curling and emphatic volume. Its strategically bent brush helps draw out the curve and length of lashes while the formula nourishes with jojoba esters.
Ambrozy also recommended Lancôme's since-discontinued Grandiose Extreme mascara. Based on our research, we think Lancôme's Lash Idôle lengthening and volumizing mascara is a close match. The two Lancôme releases share overtly bent brushes designed to push up and fan lashes alongside ultra-tiny bristles to define and lengthen.
One hack from a pedestrian mascara lover (myself)? If you're unsure about trying a more expensive formula, try out the travel size first.
As Wilson noted in previous HuffPost coverage, the inclusion of certain ingredients — like polymers — in high-end mascaras could justify an increased price tag.
Tubing mascara may be a good example of this. Distinct from standard mascara, tubing formulas contain polymers that wrap around lashes to lengthen and define; traditional mascara, on the other hand, utilizes pigmented waxes and oils that have a greater propensity to smudge and flake. Folks with sensitive eyes may also find tubing formulas preferable since they require much less tugging and rubbing on the eye area to remove.
Caliray's Come Hell or High Water tubing mascara is an Allure 2022 Best of Beauty award winner, designed to curl, add volume and wash off with warm water.
Tarte's Tartlette XL mascara is an incredibly popular tubing option, currently the bestselling tubing mascara at Sephora and an Allure 2024 Best of Beauty award winner. The formula is equipped with peptides and biotin to lift lashes while thickening and conditioning them for a defined, lush look.
"As a longtime member of the straight lashes community, I’ve tried at least 20 mascaras in an attempt to get mine to have some sort of volume or curl," wrote former HuffPost writer Kristen Adaway in previous coverage.
"[Benefit's Badgal Bang] mascara makes it look like I actually have long lashes ... and after multiple hours of wear, didn't smudge or give me the dreaded raccoon-eye effect," Adaway said. "I also have sensitive eyes and I had zero irritation while I was wearing it."
Too Faced's Better Than Sex mascara is an iconic high-end mascara, not just for its brow-raising name but for its dramatically fluttery look. Paired with a curl-priming polymer formula, the mascara's hourglass brush and grabby bristles claim to coat every lash while pushing lashes out for length.
I've long loved Milk Makeup's Kush volumizing mascara for the fringey, thickly defined volume it gives me, which I attribute to its finely bristled brush and buildable yet nourishing formula.
In my opinion, Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara is a slept-on heavy hitter. It purportedly increases lashes' curl by 35%, delivering an effortless smoldering eye. Its inky color adds extra definition to eyes, and the wand's defined brush sports short and long bristles to capture every single lash.
Thrive Causemetics' bestselling Liquid Lash Extensions is another popular tubing mascara, both for its sensitive eye-friendly ingredients and its results (which, per reviews and reviewer photos, live up to its name). I've been pining for this mascara myself.