This Is the Best-Selling Mascara on Amazon, and It's Only $5

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jealousy is a nasty business, and as much as we may covet Julianne Hough's bionic, damage-free strands or Jennifer Lopez's age-resistant complexion, sometimes, we just can't help feeling a touch of envy when a celebrity's beauty game is so on point. A perfect example? The stab of pain we feel every single time we see celebs and their ridiculously amazing eyelashes on the red carpet. (Don't bother asking how many times we've impulsively booked—and then promptly canceled—a lash-extension appointment in tortured indecision.)

With the right mascara formula, you can skip the falsies and extensions and head in the direction of long and fluttery lash ecstasy. Even better? You don't have to spend a fortune on said mascaras.

When some of the top makeup artists in the industry told us they recommend saving—not splurging—on your mascara formulas, we couldn't have been more thrilled. And while we've already come up with a pretty epic list of some of the best mascara formulas in the industry, we thought we'd take their advice one step further by creating a list of the best drugstore mascaras you, your lashes, and your bank account will truly appreciate.

From the $5 top-selling mascara on Amazon immediately below to the most noteworthy waterproof or cruelty-free formulas, here's to the top 20 drugstore mascaras you should most definitely peruse during your next toothpaste-and-deodorant run.

Length

1. Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara

2. L'Oréal Lash Paradise Mascara

3. Honest Beauty Extreme Length Mascara Plus Lash Primer

4. L'Oréal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Lengthening 2 Step Mascara

5. L'Oréal Telescopic Original Lengthening Mascara 

Volume

1. L'Oréal Voluminous Original Volume Building Mascara 

2. Covergirl LashBlast Volume Mascara

3. Maybelline Lash Sensational Washable Mascara

4. Maybelline Full 'n Soft Washable Mascara

5. L'Oréal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara

Separation & Curl

1. Maybelline The Falsies Washable Fiber Mascara

2. Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Mascara Extreme Black

3. Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara

4. Vivienne Sabó Cabaret Première Artistic Volume Mascara 

5. Pacifica Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Mascara Supernova

Waterproof

1. Covergirl Clump Crusher Waterproof Mascara

2. Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara

3. Pacifica Aquarian Gaze Water Resistant Mascara

4. Almay Multi-Benefit Waterproof Mascara

5. Neutrogena Healthy Volume Waterproof Mascara

Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.