My Top Five Mascaras

Once upon a time, mascara used to be my favorite beauty product to purchase. I know, shocking coming from the person whose lipstick drawer no longer shuts without a bit of struggling. I went through a lot of makupe phases before I settled in with my lipstick spree, and mascara was certainly one of them. My eyelashes are naturally long, but they're quite light compared to my eyebrows. you can barely see them without mascara, therefore it is an absolute necessity for me, even when curled. Over the years, I've tried many different mascaras, both high-end and drugstore, and found what has worked and what hasn't for me. A lot of them have been repurchased and some were one and done's based solely on the price.

1. Benefit They're Real

I am not even kidding when I said that I have had two full sized versions of this mascara and at least six sample sizes, if not more. This was my favorite mascara for a solid two years of my life and I still love using it to this day. I love that the brush has a little ball at the tip, making it easy to reach your inner corner as well as making sure your outer lashes have product on them as well. It doesn't clump on me, it separates my lashes well and makes them look incredibly long, and it doesn't make them feel uber heavy.

2. TooFaced Better Than Sex

I was afraid that I hated this mascara at first. It applied terribly my first few times and I genuinely thought that I wasted my money. It wasn't until I started truly playing around with it that I realized how great it actually was. Once you learn that you have to make sure the brush is fairly clean before applying, it's smooth sailing from then on. This gives my lashes a nice full and voluminous look. They always look thick, dark and healthy when I use this product.

3. YSL Shocking

Much like the TooFaced mascara, I thought that I completely wasted my money on this product. I bought it on a whim at a Sephora in Madrid because why not? I paid way too much for it without any knowledge about it, aside from hearing Fleur (FleurDeForce on YouTube) saying that she liked it. My first few weeks of playing around with it was just a clumpy and thick mess. I absolutely hated it and was so upset that I spent so much money on a mascara that wasn't going to work for me. Then I learned that I had to wipe the brush off a bit on a tissue before applying and after that, it was my favorite mascara for a long, long time. Of course, you lose some product doing this, but honestly, it was worth it. I remember this making my eyelashes look incredible. They were curled and long and outstanding. I haven't repurchased this one solely because of the price and because I've wanted to try other mascaras, but I could see myself buying this again down the line.

4. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes

I can't talk about mascaras without mentioning my favorite waterproof one! I recently purchased the full-sized on this mascara because I ran out of the sample and could not imagine my makeup routine without it. I use it on my bottom lashes because I have the tendency to get watery eyes during class and whenever I would wipe under my eye to get rid of the tears, it would completely mess up my mascara and I'd constantly have streaks under my eyes. I don't get that with this mascara. In fact, this mascara barely budges even with eye makeup remover (you really have to work with it). I use it as my final coat of mascara after I apply my normal one on my upper lashes and it just holds the curl so well. I need this product with me at all times, honestly. When I saw my sample size getting dry I wanted to cry because it wasn't working the same!

5. Maybelline Lash Sensational

I couldn't make a list of my favorite mascaras without including a drugstore option. Now, I'm sure there are dozens of other incredible drugstore mascaras that I haven't tried yet and this is a new favorite, but I think it's worth mentioning because I love it right off the bat. It has a curved wand and synthetic, short bristles that really guide through your lashes to separate them. I love that how it holds a curl and really pushes them up and out to maximize voluminosity. I was concerned about the brush when I first saw it because I thought it would be hard to grab the inner and outer lashes, but really if you flip the brush around, you can use the tip to reach your inner corner and make sure that the product applies evenly.

What's your favorite mascara?