Oh mascara, the one thing that I have to have on my face when I leave the house. I don’t care if there isn’t an ounce of makeup anywhere on my face, but mascara has always been my ride or die. However, on that note, I’ve never been an expensive mascara girl, personally. I’ve always found that a $8 tube of mascara can be just as good as a $22 option. I swear it’s all in the wand. Because I’ve been using under $15 mascaras for quite some time [also read: nearly my entire life] I thought it would be a fun test to see which under $15 mascara really takes the cake [or makes your lashes look like a million bucks]. Give me the closest thing to fake lashes and I’m happy.
When it comes to applying, I will fully admit that I’m a “more is more” girl. I start by swiping the lashes normally, and then go on the backside to give them a little extra oomph and finish by topping off the bottom lashes.
One last tip — when it comes to getting the lash length and fullness that you desire, I would absolutely recommend using a lash serum to achieve those results! Give it a good 3 months and you’ll start to see a noticeable difference! This one is my favorite, but here you can see our full comparison post!
Let’s jump in and see which mascaras have me swiping up 😉
The Brands We Tested:
- Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara
- e.l.f. Cosmetics Big Mood Mega Volume & Lifting Mascara
- essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara
- L’Oréal Paris Lash Paradise Mascara
- L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Original Lengthening Mascara
- Maybelline New York Lash Sensational Sky High
- Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara
- Maybelline Lash Sensational Full Fan Effect
- Revlon So Fierce Mascara
Favorite Overall
L’Oreal Lash Paradise
In full disclosure, I have been using this mascara for over a year now and was slightly biased going into this comparison because I’ve loved it every time I use it. I love it because it not just thickens, but lengthens as well and stays put all day. I haven’t had issues with it flaking off. For under $7, it’s a no-brainer option to have in your makeup bag!
Runner-Up
Revlon So Fierce!
Next up, I was very pleasantly surprised by this Revlon So Fierce! Mascara! I had never tried it before, but it did an awesome job lengthening. It did feel very wet with its first use, but I think after a little bit of a time it would calm down a bit. I would highly recommend giving this one a shot!
Best for Lengthening
Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High
If you’re looking for straight up length, this Sky High mascara may be the best route to go! It took my lashes straight up to my eyebrows I felt like – perhaps a little spider-like, but great length overall. Tip: I like to use this after using the Lash Paradise to help fan out the lashes a little more!
Left Side with Mascara vs Right Side with Nothing
Best For Young Adults
Essence Lash Princess
Last but not least, I feel like this under $5 option is absolutely worth sharing, especially if you have tweens and teens who are experimenting with mascara! I wasn’t expecting much given it’s $4 price point, but it actually did a great job! I love that it didn’t transfer to my skin at all. I know my nieces have this and love it!
The Mascara’s That Didn’t Make The Cut
- Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara – It’s not that I hated this mascara, but I also didn’t love it! It was very average for me. I felt like others proved to me that there is more bang for your buck elsewhere!
- e.l.f. Cosmetics Big Mood Mega Volume & Lifting Mascara – I felt like this did a very poor job of creating any fullness to my lashes. The shape of the wand made it harder to apply to my bottom lashes and overall, it just didn’t do anything for me!
- L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Original Lengthening Mascara – The wand on this is very thin which took me getting used to. The mascara felt very wet and transferred to my skin easy. It’s a no for me!
- Maybelline Lash Sensational Full Fan Effect – Apparently curved wands and I don’t get along very well. I found myself very annoyed by the way I had to apply this [I felt restricted by the curved wand] and didn’t find it to do a great job coating or lengthening!
- Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara – The wand on this was quite short which I didn’t love! It did a decent job of lengthening, but I don’t see myself spending the money on this one again.
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Founder and creator of LIY, Erin turned her dream of a hobby blog into a full-time career which she now runs alongside the LIY team! When not in front of her computer screen [with a La Croix or wine in hand] or in front of a mirror taking mirror selfies, you can find Erin spending time on the water, cuddled up with her two pups and husband most likely watching the latest Shark Tank episode, or getting lost in an easy beach read.
