Mascara MVPs: The ones real women keep going back to

from $21.99 at Chemist Warehouse

One of the Internet's fave mascaras — and a drugstore dupe for Too Faced Better Than Sex Volumising Mascara ($51 from MECCA) and Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Beyond Mascara ($49 from Benefit) to boot — this lash-lengthening buy gained a global following thanks to its flexible brush, bamboo-infused lash-strengthening formula and gravity-defying lift.

Review: "Yes, all the TikTok hype is to be believed; this stuff is utter magic. As a falsie and extension obsessive who generally has pretty pathetic natural lashes with or without mascara, this formula has taken me as close to 'spider-lashed' as I'll ever get. It lifts and lengthens every bit as intensely as the name would suggest," — Delaney Loane, BEAUTYcrew's Editor

Key features:

Available in 'Waterproof Very Black', 'Blackest Black', 'Brown', 'Cosmic Black', 'Burgundy Haze', 'Blue Mist' and 'Plum Twilight'
Infused with bamboo extract and fibres
Creates weightless, full and long lashes
Innovative Flex Tower Brush coats every lash
Smudge-resistant and easy to remove
Suitable for sensitive eyes 

Available at:

$21.99 from Chemist Warehouse
$25.99 from Adore Beauty
$26 from Woolworths

from $50 at Charlotte Tilbury

You can enjoy the look and wear of a tubing mascara with this mascara, but it's not a tubing mascara. Instead the volumising and curling formula utilises Lash Vinyl-Black Wrap technology to enhance volume and hold a curl for up to 28 hours after application. 

Review: "I’m usually a tubing mascara kind of girl — Tarte’s Tartelette™ XL Tubing Mascara ($46 from Sephora) is my ride or die — but this volumising newcomer from Charlotte Tilbury has officially won me over. The buildable formula is the perfect consistency (read: not too wet, not too flakey), so I can layer coat after coat onto my lashes without having to worry about smudging or clumping. I have long lash hairs, but they’re blonde, straight, and relatively fine, so I love that I can define, thicken, lift, and curl them into place with just this one product." — Briar Clark, BEAUTYcrew's Beauty Editor

Key features:

28 hour long-wear formula
Utilises Lash Vinyl-Black Wrap technology
Ultra-curved lash styler brush
Enhances lash volume and curl
Creates a double lash effect
Smudge, flake, sweat, clump and humidity-proof

Available at:

$50 from Charlotte Tilbury
$50 from MECCA

from $39 at Sephora

After a mascara that exists in the your-lashes-but-better category? This pick from Rare Beauty lengthens, curls and volumises, but never looks clumpy or feels heavy. Plus, the water-resistant formula promises smudge-proof wear all day long. 

Review: "With ultra-straight, seriously fair lashes, I need all the help I can get from my mascara of choice. And while I might be a total mascara hoarder (it’s a problem, I know), I’ve got a few favourites that live on high rotation. But the tube I reach for time and time again is the Rare Beauty Mascara. Rare Beauty blushes may enjoy a lot of hype, but this tube of mascara is just as good in my opinion. Not only does it help your lashes hold a lifted curl, but it gives them a level of volume that make it a unique outlier in the category. Plus, the formula manages to stay flake-free, allowing me to avoid awkward panda eye smudges come the afternoon." — Emma Allcock, BEAUTYcrew’s Content Producer

Key features:

Lengthens, curls and volumises
Weightless, buildable formula
Eye-hugging, curvy mascara wand with multiple bristle lengths
Ultra-black, water-resistant formula
Promises flake-free and smudge-proof wear all day long

Available at:

$39 from Sephora

from $43 at MECCA

A water-resistant winner that amps lashes up without weighing them down, this jet-black volumiser is another one with a fancy hourglass wand (they're renowned for good reason). You can count on it for a covetable level of curl and colour that won't budge post-application.

Review: "With naturally dead-straight lashes (lucky me), I may not have been blessed in the lash department, but with wonders like the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Brag Mascara, I can cheat the look! With a voluminous, water-resistant formula, this mascara helps to create full-bodied lashes, without clumping or smudging. After using my eyelash curler, I apply two coats and I find it holds all day, which is a winner in my book," — Aja Walter, BEAUTYDIRECTORY's Editor

Key features:

Water-resistant
Creates dramatic, full-bodied voluminous lashes
Full pigment formula
Flexible polymers promote longevity and prevent clumping
Conditioning agents smooth and soften lashes
Wax blend defines, lengthens and volumises

Available at:

$43 from MECCA
$44 from Adore Beauty
$49 from Sephora

from $68 at The Iconic

Looking for a mascara that looks good on film? This luxurious selection boasts intensely rich and pigmented colour pay-off, as well as a dramatic volumising effect for show-stopping lashes. 

Review: "One of the best mascaras ever. I got it from my mum, and [from] the first moment I applied it to my lashes, I loved it. Apart from the elegant, luxurious, gold packaging, and the pretty scent, this mascara [delivers] an instantly dramatic effect. [It] has, in my opinion, a standard looking brush that is great for adding volume and length. [The formula is blackest-black], long-lasting, and doesn't flake off. [It's] also easy to remove with a regular make up remover, [and] it's recommended to clean the brush one a week for better results. [It offers] a similar effect to [the] Diorshow mascara — a beautiful product." — Anita R, REVIEWcrew Member

Key features:

Dramatic volumising mascara with nylon fibres
Intensely rich and pigmented colour
Lengthens and separates lashes
Triple film complex promotes longevity
Enriched with conditioning pro-vitamin B5 and protecting aloe vera

Available at:

$68 from The Iconic
$68 from Adore Beauty
$70 from MYER

from $72 at Adore Beauty

A beauty essential for the office if ever we've seen one, this buildable mascara formula can be worn day-to-night. It comes with an oversized brush that features a patented bristle weave design, which enhances lashes with a single coat. And a wax-enriched formula that offers defined, clump-free lashes and a flexible feel, so you never have to worry about brittle feeling lashes.

Review: "Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Classico Mascara is fantastic. It usually takes me a couple of weeks to break a new mascara in, but with the perfect brush and product formula combination, I’ve loved this mascara from the first time that I used it. The lightweight formula works beautifully for a subtle daytime look, or with a few more coats, a dramatic, sultry evening [look]. Either way it is clump free and fabulous. The brush separates and defines my lashes leaving them soft and almost natural looking." — Indigo 77 M, REVIEWcrew Member

Key features:

Oversized brush and patented bristle weave design enhances lashes with a single coat
Hard and soft waxes offer flexible definition
Volumises, lengthens, and defines
Lashes never look clumpy or feel brittle
Long-lasting and doesn't flake or smudge

Available at:

$72 from Adore Beauty
$72 from MYER
$72 from David Jones

from $66 at Adore Beauty

Battling with panda eyes no matter what you do? Try this smudge-proof formula from Dior. It promises up to 24 hours of intense colour pay-off, as well as a dramatic curling and volumising effect.

Review: "This mascara is my holy grail. I haven't found any others which last as well. I can wear it all day and not have any transfer or panda eyes, despite my extremely oily lids and under eye area. Can't go without this!" — Stephanie B, REVIEWcrew Member

Key features:

Available in Black, Brown, and Waterproof Black
Delivers dramatic volume and curl
24 hour wear
Intense, long-wearing colour
Nourishes and fortifies lashes
Smudge-proof

Available at:

$66 from Adore Beauty
$69 from MYER
$69 from David Jones

from $100 at MYER

Love the dramatic, glossy effect of freshly-applied lash extensions? Then you'll love this high glamour mascara option from Tom Ford. It promises an intense dark black colour and a dramatic voluminous finish that lasts all day.

Review: "Want glossy, feathery, dramatic lashes? Want lift and lash separation? This amazing mascara is for you. No annoying scent, big lush brush, extreme black colour with shine, and in a classy tube. I'm in love — a splurge I know, but you really get what you pay for here, and Tom Ford is the man." — Dee D, REVIEWcrew Member

Key features:

Creamy formula is infused with lash-filling powders
Intense dark black colour and dramatic voluminous finish
Long-wearing
No caking, clumping or crumbling

Available at:

$100 from MYER
$100 from David Jones
$100 from MECCA