Back in 2020 when I did my Sephora Mascara Review, I had always planned on doing some sort of drugstore mascara review as well. I just didn’t anticipate it being two full years later but here we are. I tried 17 different drug store mascaras so you don’t have to! Some of these were requested by you guys and some were just ones that I had read good things about or heard about on TikTok or saw in an end cap at the store. So for each mascara, I wanted to share the price, how many colors it came in, what it claims to do to your lashes and what my thoughts were on it. SO, without further ado, here is a very lengthy drug store mascara review!
PRICE: $7.99
PURPOSE: Lengthening, Volumizing
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: This was literally the messiest mascara I have ever put onto my eyes in my life. The box was also ridiculous to open. Initialy I wasn’t dissapointed with the application but then throughout the day it was down my face and around my eyes looked so smudgy. THEN, on top of that it took THREE days for it to fully come off of my eyelashes. I tried so many things to get it off and then when I thought I had it all off, I would wake up the next day and it was still showing up under my eyes. This mascara is truly the worst.
PRICE: $11.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Curling, Lengthening
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: I honestly hated this mascara, halfway through I was in actual pain because the bristles are so tough. They were hurting my lash line, they aren’t bendable at all and it made it very painful. Besides that, it was a fine mascara but the pain to me was not worth the price or mascara at all, I know there are better ones out there!
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: I had really high hopes for this mascara but it took a lot of effort to put it on and there was really nothing to show for it afterwards. It took a lot of time to even get a little bit of product onto my lashes and it was really messy. I also had a hard time cleaning up the mess around my eyes after putting it on. It did lengthen them but it didn’t make them any longer or fuller. Then throughout the day, I felt like it was irritating my eyes. The longer that I had the mascara on the more I just wanted to take it off.
PRICE: $3.19
PURPOSE: Lengthening
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: I thought that I was going to like this when I first put it on, but I think I was trying to force myself to like it because of the price point. It honestly flaked off my lashes within a few hours of wearing it which is so frustrating. I reapplied mascara before the afternoon was over! Such a bummer because I wanted it to be a good mascara for just over $3, but if you go up $2, you get my favorite one out of the whole experiment.
PRICE: $10.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing Waterproof, Lengthening, Curling
COLORS: Black, Blackest Black, Black Brown
REVIEW: I had never heard of this before purchasing it but wanted to give it a try because it was on an end cap! It is waterproof and honestly pretty awful. After putting it on I felt like I knew why I had never heard of it before. It took a TON of effort to put on and it felt like after all of that effort I had no mascara on my eyes. Another thing that was a fail for me was that it was so hard to get a grip on my lashes to even put the product on. As a result of it being so hard to put on, it was just completely messy from how many swipes it took to get the product onto my lashes. I was excited because. the brown shade this one came in wasn’t great at all. Even after JUST putting it on, it looked smudgy under my eyes
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Lengthening, Thickening, Volumizing, Waterproof
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: I was not impressed with this mascara really at all. I felt like there was no product on the wand and I couldn’t get my lashes to do what I want. I did mention in the video of my initial thoughts that I thought it would be a good layer over your regular mascara because it separated my lashes nicely and it is waterproof so that could be nice. But I wouldn’t repurchase this mascara by any means, it really just wasn’t that great. Even though it had a good wand shape, It was also messy to put on. It didn’t lift or lengthen or anything it just colored my lashes.
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Curling, Volumizing
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: This is a very light and natural mascara that went on very easily. It’s not what I am looking for in an everyday mascara because it is much too light on my lashes because I tried really hard and it wasn’t buildable. But towards the end of the day, my thoughts were that the serum that was in the formula made the mascara come off of my lashes all day long and gave me that super awesome raccoon look. I wouldn’t recommend this.
PRICE: $7.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Thickening
COLORS: Glam Black, Classic Black, Glam Brown
REVIEW: I have used this before! It is waterproof so I wouldn’t use it every day. One downside is that it transferred a lot to my lid which with it being waterproof, I struggled to get it off and then had to redo parts of my makeup. This honestly could have been a “me” thing though. I had this mascara on for a whole park day it did last the whole time, it’s just not my favorite overall.
PRICE: $10.99
PURPOSE: Lengthening, Curling, Thickening
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: I don’t know if I just picked to do all the worst ones first or what but I feel like I have really only liked one I have tried so far. This mascara wasn’t horrible but I wouldn’t spend my money on it again. I did mention that I am trying another version of this mascara this month so maybe it is like the new and improved version? This one just took so much time to get a normal amount of product on my lashes and it really felt like there was zero product on the wand the whole time. It is $10 and not worth it, IMO.
PRICE: $6.00
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: Its not bad, and I was surprised to see both of the Elf mascaras that I tried right next to each other in the line up. This mascara definitely lengthened them but it didn’t really lift them. It took a lot to put the mascara on but I didn’t mind it on once it was on there!
PRICE: $8.00
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLOR: Black, Pitch Black, Deep Brown
REVIEW: My first reaction I was excited about the wand but when I was using it, it took a TON of swipes to even get anywhere near having enough on my lashes. Originally I thought that it was $3, but it is $8 and not worth that money. I was impressed with how well it lengthened my lashes but there was definitely no lift to them. It also seemed like there was a ton of product n the wand but there really wasn’t! It wore fine throughout the day, it didn’t have much fall off but I wasn’t THAT impressed. I would say it’s a nice everyday mascara.
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLOR: Black
REVIEW: I think this is the new and improved version of the Milani Highly Rated mascara. Initially I was worried about the bristles being painful, but they weren't! I did feel like I had to put the wand in the tube over and over to get more product out of it. That could potentially cost you more money in the long run. But I really like how it lengthened my lashes and it did lift them as well!
PRICE: $17.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Thickening
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: My first thoughts were really impressed by this mascara and pleasantly surprised! I didn’t have to stick the wand back into the tube to get more product, there was enough just on the wand. I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t fair because this mascara has a primer and mascara in one. It made me think I should use a primer with all of them but ultimately decided it didn’t matter because of the price point difference between this and the others. This one is $18 but I do think that it is a very nice everyday mascara. The primer lengthened my lashes, and then the mascara went on so well over top. It didn’t lift my lashes but if you were to use a lash curler, I think it would be nice. Apparently, I don’t have an eyelash curler anymore! It also looked nice throughout the entire day!
PRICE: $8.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Curling
COLORS: Blackest Black, Brownish Black, Very Black
REVIEW: I was initially excited about this mascara because of the shape of the wand and let me tell you it did not disappoint me. Even days after testing this mascara I found myself grabbing for this one! I love that it lifts and lengthens, I am a big fan! It lasted all day long and I am more than happy with the results of it!
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening
COLORS: Blackest Black, True Brown, Cosmic Black, Very Black
REVIEW: I feel like this one was popular with a lot of people so I had high hopes and it did not disappoint! I was so impressed and it felt like I had tried so many duds in the process so I knew when I really liked this one because I didn’t have any complaints. It went on really easily, it lengthens my lashes really well. It didn’t transfer all over my lashes so that was good. The wand was pretty bendable but I felt like I got used to it by the end of the application process.
PRICE: $9.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing, Lengthening, Thickening
COLORS: Black, Blackest Black, Black Brown, Mistique Black
REVIEW: I mentioned this in my review video but I have tried this in the past and it used to be one of my go-to’s until I found It Cosmetics Superhero! It lengthens, lifts, and is definitely buildable. You can make your eyes as dramatic as you want. I love this mascara and how easy it is applied and stays completely put throughout the day while not being hard to get off at the end of the night! I think this mascara will always be one I keep on hand as a backup or something I use when I run out of my others! It does a great job of lengthening while making my lashes look fuller and it’s perfect.
PRICE: $4.99
PURPOSE: Volumizing
COLORS: Black
REVIEW: WOWOWOWOW. I am impressed with this mascara. My first reaction within the first couple of swipes onto my lashes I knew it was going to be good. It lasted all day long without falloff and I can’t even believe that this mascara is less than $5! Like seriously that is insane. I like it just as much as my It Cosmetics mascara from Sephora. One thing that someone did mention to me was that when the tube is half gone it doesn’t apply as well. But I will defiantly make an update to this review when I finish half of it and let you guys know. But WOW. So so good!
I always give myself only one month to do these reviews, and having such a tight schedule makes it more complicated for me to finish them. Going forward, I will just start a review and finish it in a more reasonable timeframe. I set this one for one month and it ended up taking almost four months instead. I would love to hear your thoughts or if your favorite mascara is on this page, I want to know about it! If there is anything else you think I should add to any or all of them, let me know that, too! If you have any questions, drop them below or you can email me at tarynintotravel@gmail.com!
