April (she/her) is the beauty director at Good Housekeeping, Prevention and Woman's Day, where she oversees all beauty content. The mascara has a vegan-friendly formula, including coconut oil and fruit extracts, and we liked how well the wavy-shaped brush was able to grip our lashes. What’s more, the formula is infused with lash-strengthening vitamin B5, and conditioners leaving our tester’s brittle lashes soft and glossy. The straight brush has tiny bristles that gripped our eyelashes, lifted them from the root upwards, and offered full coverage without stinging our eyes.

Another cult favourite mascara launching a waterproof version is Benefit, with arguably some of the best lash products on the market. While the non-waterproof version of this mascara achieved viral fame on TikTok, we implore you to try this one, too. This means, rather than coat the lashes in pigment, they wrap tiny micro-fibres around each hair, forming ‘tubes’ of mascara. And while it’s what’s inside that counts, the glass rectangular and curved design adds to its appeal – a break from traditional cylinder tubes.

If you like dark, dramatic, in-your-face lashes, testers say "this mascara makes that easy and fast to achieve" with its rich, true-black formula. Our Beauty Lab experts evaluate performance (volume, length, curl, separation), wearability (flaking, smudging) and ease of application; we also send mascaras home to a panel of consumer testers who weigh in on their everyday performance in real life, too. For waterproof mascara, the Lab monitors results as testers doused their mascara-coated lashes in warm water to see how well each product resisted smearing and running. If there’s one product recommendation beauty editors get asked time and time again, it’s “what’s the best mascara?

The luxe, Instagram-worthy rose-gold tube is also infused with lash conditioning ingredients, so no matter how many layers you add, your lashes stay soft and supple. The thin, flexible spoolie defines and separates for a fuller fan out that combs through natural-looking volume and length. Inspired by Dry Bar's iconic round brushes, this mascara’s innovative wand is designed to separate, lift and volumize lashes — like a professional blowout for your eyelashes. Minimalists or those who prefer a more natural and subtle look should look to classic black or brown mascaras.The brush is of medium thickness, and we felt its soft fibres effectively lengthened and volumised lashes.

What sets it apart is that it promises and delivers on weightless volume, length and lift for the perfect all-rounder mascara. For those looking for full-on volume, you’ll love how effortlessly the over-sized brush creates a bigger, bolder finish. When our Beauty Lab pros test mascara, we start by rounding up hundreds of the most popular mascara formulas on the market and then whittle down the field. The tapered brush fans eyelashes out smoothly, achieving both thickness and length, without our tester needing to add many coats. In our penultimate test, our consumer use study was carried out on 402 testers, and we tallied results from 6,432 questions answered in addition to compiling results from 3,766 people on their eye makeup habits.It also has a SkinSAFE score of 100%, meaning it's free of common allergens and safe for those with sensitivities. A small, thin and slightly curved brush makes it easy to get to the tiniest lashes without any smudging, and its manoeuvrable formula makes it easy to create a naturally defined and well-separated look.

Below, you'll find reviews of our top picks for mascaras that add length, volume, curl, definition and impact to lashes, based on extensive testing and expertise, plus information on how we test mascaras in the GH Beauty Lab.It’s user friendly even when you’re in a rush, and the lightweight formula doesn’t stick together or transfer. Full ‘N Soft Washable mascara is infused with vitamin E and a quick-dissolve system that allows for easy removal and prevents lash loss.