Want to achieve thicker and perfectly feathered lashes that mimic the effect of falsies? The best volumising mascaras will provide exactly that – without the need for lash glue (or nerves of steel).
Many of the best mascaras focus on volume and claim to deliver a similar level of drama to rival that of the best false eyelashes. However, as Dominic Skinner, Global Senior Artist for M·A·C Cosmetics, notes: "Volumising mascaras represent the holy trinity of mascara needs – thickening, lengthening, and curling lashes. It’s this combination that gives the general appearance of 'volume', whereas other mascaras may only focus on one or two of these attributes."
Thus, in the pursuit of finding the perfect mascara that meets all three of these criteria, we've tested dozens of products from the top brands, to bring you a comprehensive list of the best lash-boosting formulas. Whether you're already a fan of our team's overall favourite – Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – and want a sign to repurchase, or you're just searching for a new affordable drugstore mascara, here's all the intel you need to buy with confidence...
The 15 best volumising mascaras, tested by our beauty team
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RRP: £28 for 8ml
This mascara sells once every seven seconds and, having road-tested it on multiple occasions, we totally see why. The hourglass-shaped brush is bursting with bristles and grips onto every lash, pulling them upwards while adding volume and thickness at the base. While some volumising mascaras tend to weigh lashes down, this one feels lightweight despite its impressive plumping powers.
Reasons to buy: Buildable, lifting and long-lasting
Reasons to avoid: A tad pricey and can smudge
RRP: £36
If "French girl lashes" were a thing, then Chanel has bottled them to a T with this formula. Delivering plumped-up, voluminous lashes, this mascara creates a chic aesthetic that doesn’t look too "done" or polished. Instead, our lashes were left looking thick, fluttery and loaded with drama. It's one of our picks for the best brown mascaras. The only pitfall that we experienced was that it does tend to clump on the first application.
Reasons to buy: Has a great colour payoff, ophthalmologist-tested and buildable
Reasons to avoid: Can clump and cheaper options are available
RRP: £11.99 for 9.6ml
While lengthening your lashes is this TikTok-approved mascara's unique selling point, we found that it also gave our lashes a welcome volume boost when testing. More than that, it's also very long-wearing; we found that it lasted all day without smudging or flaking, which only adds to its affordable credentials. Read our Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara for the full rundown of this viral product.
Reasons to buy: Ophthalmologist tested, adds length and volume, affordable
Reasons to avoid: Can smudge
RRP: £21 for 13.5ml
We found that the formula is the perfect balance of not too wet, not too dry, plus it's very buildable, lending itself well to both everyday wear and elevated evening looks. We also loved the design of the wand and how the multi-length brush catches lashes of all lengths, ensuring that they are separated, lengthened and defined. We'd say it's a strong contender for one of the best lengthening mascaras, too.
Reasons to buy: Lengthening and volumising, features castor oil for nourished lashes
Reasons to avoid: Can get clumpy as formula nears its end and (if we're being very fussy) the packaging is easily marked
RRP: £27 for 8.5g
Just one look at this brush and you can tell the sort of results it gives. A long-time favourite of many, we love how the super-fine bristles of this best-selling mascara capture every single lash (yes, even those pesky corner ones!). The result is a longer, fuller flutter that’s extremely voluminous. The downsides to the Benefit They're Real! mascara? While it is long-wearing, we did find that this formula could be a little hard to remove. Our top tip is to use a heavy-duty eye makeup remover or one of the best cleansing oils.
Reasons to buy: Last for hours, adds length, separates the lashes for a feathered look
Reasons to avoid: Can be hard to remove
RRP: £31 for 6ml
The narrow, tapered brush of Bobbi Brown's Smokey Eye Mascara is the perfect size to wiggle into the root of your lashes to extend length, as well as separate and add volume – which is great if you don't have lots and lots of natural lashes. Meanwhile, the formula's Kohl pigments gave our lashes a pitch-black look that makes this mascara, as its name suggests, a perfect pairing for a classic smokey eye. One of our testers with an oily complexion did find it printed above the lids a little on occasion, but setting the area with translucent powder easily solved that problem.
Reasons to buy: Doesn't clump, long-wearing, adds just the right amount of drama
Reasons to avoid: May smudge on oily skin, quite pricey
RRP: £28 for 7ml (£10 for members)
We were so impressed by how buildable this formula is and how much product saturated the brush with just one dip into the tube. In fact, for some preferences, the amount that coats the brush is plenty for everyday wear. It was super easy to distribute it onto the lashes evenly and layer up without even a hint of clumping – the polar opposite of some of the volumising mascaras that didn't make the cut. We also love that it comes in both black AND brown options.
Reasons to buy: Nourishing formula, buildable, separates lashes well
Reasons to avoid: Quite pricey without the membership
RRP: £26 for 10ml
Touted as one of the best mascaras with fibres, this formula also darkens lashes and gives wow-worthy length. What we particularly loved about it while testing is that it didn't leave our lashes at all crispy and is very lightweight. This mascara also contains hemp-derived cannabis oil to nourish your lashes while you wear it, but don't worry, it contains no THC and isn't psychoactive.
Reasons to buy: Nourishes lashes, creates a fluttery effect without clumping
Reasons to avoid: Brush is quite thick, might be messy to use
RRP: £33 for 10g
We found that Diorshow's maxi-sized, chunky brush deposits just the right amount of pigment for a voluminous, fanned-out finish – without any clumps, naturally. As well as volumising, it lengthens and curls lashes, too. So much so, we’d highly recommend this mascara to anyone with short, straight lashes. If we had to knock a mark off, it would be because the formula dries quickly, which did lead to some flaking during the testing period.
Reasons to buy: Curls, lengthens, is buildable, offers great pigment and colour options
Reasons to avoid: Can dry out easily, pricey
RRP: £26 for 10ml
Featuring a chunky, hourglass-shaped brush, Lash Brag gave us full-bodied lashes that rivalled our favourite falsies. But instead of weighing them down (which false eyelashes tend to do), this formula felt ultra-light on our lashes while we wore it – almost as though we weren't wearing any mascara at all. We did, however, find that the formula started to flake and transfer by the end of the day.
Reasons to buy: Buildable, doesn't clump, both lightweight and ophthalmologist tested
Reasons to avoid: Can transfer with time
RRP: £12.99 for 6.4ml
This is the overall best L'Oréal mascara and, within a few strokes, made our short eyelashes much fuller, longer, curlier and more defined. It applies smoothly, thanks to its buttery, silky formula and infusion of floral oil. Plus, it's considered a close rival to Too Faced's Better Than Sex mascara but comes at a fraction of the price.
Reasons to buy: Adds mega volume and length, non-clumping, affordable
Reasons to avoid: Can be flaky by the end of the day
RRP: £34 for 6g
Prepare to fall head over heels for Guerlain’s super luxurious mascara offering: Noir G. A total game-changer – and we don't use that term lightly – this lash-lifting formula delivers a full fringe of inky black lashes, thanks to ebony and midnight blue pigments. Equally important to mention is that we found it does so without clumping or transferring, plus its curved brush is a dream.
Reasons to buy: Offers impressive staying power, curls and volumises
Reasons to avoid: Expensive
RRP: £18 for 12ml
When testing this Sculpted by Aimee number, we noted that its creamy texture glides on effortlessly and delivers ultra-black pigments that give lashes a really rich darkness. Laced with nourishing vitamin B5, it conditions and strengthens lashes, too. As for the brush, it has a curved shape that captures every hair and we loved the way it grabbed onto hard-to-reach corners with ease.
Reasons to buy: Features vitamin B5, lengthening, lightweight and buildable formula
Reasons to avoid: Can clump
RRP: £25 for 12g
We can confirm that this mascara definitely coats the lashes on the first swipe and that the brush reaches every hair, despite it being completely straight. We did notice, however, that it doesn’t curl lashes as well as the other mascaras we tried – we'd recommend an eyelash curler for that. But that being said, it really did turn up the volume on our lashes, delivering big on thickness and length.
Reasons to buy: Ophthalmologist-tested, glides on smoothly, does not budge
Reasons to avoid: Can be clumpy, isn't the best lash curler
RRP: £28 for 8ml
If you're a lover of natural, no-makeup-makeup, this ILIA mascara is perfect for elongated, fluttering lashes that are subtle but elevated. We love that this brush features two sides, one is a comb - to separate the lashes - and the other, is a short bristle brush to coat and lift. The formula just glides on and looks so flattering.
Reasons to buy: Infused with nourishing shea butter, suitable for sensitive eyes, ophthalmologist-tested.
Reasons to avoid: Doesn't offer high impact, a tad pricey
How we tested the best volumising mascaras
A selection of best volumising mascaras we tested
To deduce which formulas are the very best volumising mascaras, we trialled several dozen formulas and mascara brush types from various brands across all price points, drawing on our years of beauty testing experience. To put them through their paces, our testers wore these formulas on numerous occasions. To get top marks, the mascara had to tick several of our beauty boxes. The following factors were all taken into consideration by woman&home's beauty testers.
- Packaging
- Consistency and wet/dryness of formula
- Inclusion of lash-loving ingredients (like fatty acids and vitamin E)
- Brush shape, size and material
- Ease of application
- Whether it clumped, flaked or smudged
- How the results looked immediately after applying
- How well it lasted
- Colours available
- Price
How to choose the best volumising mascara for you
To help you make the right decision, there are a couple of factors to take into account when choosing the best volumising mascara for you. Some of the industry's leading makeup experts have broken these down below.
- Your natural lashes: “Think about your natural lashes and what you would like to add to them,” says Aimee Connolly, makeup artist and founder of Sculpted by Aimee. “If you have naturally straight lashes, look for a mascara that adds volume and curl. If you have a hooded eye shape, consider a waterproof formula so that it won't easily transfer onto your eyelids. And if you have thin lashes, opt for a lightweight formula that isn't too wet to avoid weighing them down.”
- The wand itself: “What you want to look [at] is the wand,” says Skinner. “A comb is going to create a fine, separated lash. A densely compact brush will help add length. However, for volume, a rubber style brush will drop a generous amount of mascara to the lash base as it spreads it through the length of your lash while keeping everything separated.” This results in a dramatic, chunky look that perfectly complements full glam faces and moodier spring makeup looks alike.
How to apply the best volumising mascaras
“When applying mascara, think about how you add volume to your hair – it’s all about the root,” says Skinner. “So, start by building up the product in the root of your lashes before drawing the mascara through to the tips, in an upward motion. A little side-to-side, zig-zag wiggle will give a "back comb" effect to help support the fuller lash look you want."
“Don’t forget your bottom lashes,” Connolly adds. “if you add a lot of volume to your top lashes, it's a good idea to balance the eyes by applying a light layer to the bottom lashes, too.”
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