Makeup Artists Say These Mascaras Instantly Fake Falsies Even if You Have Short Lashes—& They're on Sale
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Mascara, by literal definition courtesy of Merriam-Webster, is “a cosmetic especially for making the eyelashes darker and more prominent.” What you won’t see in that definition is any barrier to entry specified by lash length. Even so, not all mascaras are created equal, and some are especially adept at giving short lashes the va-va-voom treatment.
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Best Mascaras for Short Lashes at a Glance
Best Lengthening: Sweed Pro Lash Lift Mascara, $30
Best Volumizing: Benefit Cosmetics “Bad Gal” Bang!, $29
Best Drugstore: L’Oreal Paris Telescopic Lengthening Mascara, $10
Best Waterproof: YSL Lash Clash Extreme Volume Waterproof Mascara, $32
Best Tubing: Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara, $26
Best Curling: Too Faced Better Than Sex, $29
Best for Precision: Essence Princess Lash, $5
Best Bottom-Lash: Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara, $20
Best Clump-Free: Maybelline Falsies Surreal Mascara, $10
Best Lash-Lifting: Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Curling & Lifting Mascara, $29
Best Colored: L’Oréal Instant Lift Washable Mascara, $15
Best Primer: Dior Diorshow Maximizer 3D Triple Volume Plumping Lash Primer, $33
Best for Sensitive Eyes: Tower 28 Beauty MakeWaves Lengthening + Volumizing Mascara, $20
Does Mascara Work on Short Lashes?
It sure does! Celebrity makeup artist Priscilla DiStasio says her priorities when selecting a mascara for short lashes include ensuring the product in question is both lengthening and rich in pigment. “You want something that is going to help elongate and lift your lashes to give them the appearance that they are longer than what they actually are,” she says.
Basically, think of mascara as stilettos, but for your lashes.
How Do You Make Short Eyelashes Look Longer With Mascara?
While a mascara’s actual formulation is important to consider in picking the best option for you, when it comes to transforming your lashes into looking like falsies, there are a number of other factors at play.
Before your first swipe, you’ll want to pay attention to your mascara’s wand shape, as some are made specifically for lengthening, DiStasio says. A traditional, straight wand is a great option, but several options lend themselves well. (Find more on the specifics below in the selects for best mascaras for short lashes!) The brush on the wand matters, too. “You want to find a brush that will grip your lashes from the root and really extend them out,” says Watch What Happens Live makeup artist Caroline Blanchard.
For phase two of your pre-mascara preparation routine to lengthen your lashes, you’ll focus on curling. “Make sure to curl your lashes at the base of your lash, then at the tips of your lash,” says celebrity makeup artist Alex Natoli. “Pump the curler a few times.” Blanchard has a (literal) hot tip for curling your lashes effectively: “Warm your curler with your hair dryer for a few seconds, then tap it lightly on your hand to make sure it’s not too hot. Then, apply it to the base of your clean lash and curl for a few seconds.”
After using a primer next, Natoli says it’s time to swipe on the mascara—on both sides of your lashes. “Use the mascara at the base and comb upwards,” she says. “Afterward, brush your mascara on the inside of the lash…this will give you more length.”
That’s just your first coat. You can level-up the lengthening effect of your lashes by layering on. “Letting your mascara sit for a second before your second application will allow the mascara to dry and the formula to thicken, so it becomes buildable, allowing the product to do what It’s capable of,” says DiStasio. Blanchard adds: “You should see a result immediately from the first stroke up. By the second coverage you should really see the density and extension occur.
Ready to appear like you’re wearing false lashes without needing to mess around with tape, glue, and the whole nine yards? The best mascaras for short lashes have you covered.
BEST LENGTHENING
Sweed, Lash Lift Mascara
$30.00 $37.00 19% off
“I find this mascara to add amazing length,” says DiStasio of Sweed’s Lash Lift mascara that works by coating each lash individually. She cites its comb-style wand for separating each lash, allowing for an effect that’s also volumizing and high-definition.
Wand shape: Comb
Waterproof status: Water-resistant
Pros:
Vegan and cruelty-free
Buildable
Clump and flake-free
Infused with vitamin b5 to nourish lashes
Cons:
Not waterproof
BEST VOLUMIZING
Benefit, Bad Gal Bang Volumizing Mascara, Regular Size, 0.3 Fl Oz, Black
$25 $27.00 7% off
Want your eyelashes to look full, long, and lifted today and tomorrow? Benefit’s Bad Gal Bang! is a winner in that category with its staying power that promises up to 36 hours of high-volume lashes. Its formula allows for layering on, and according to DiStasio, it’s a volumizing and lengthening gold medalist.
Wand shape: Cone
Waterproof status: Water-resistant
Pros:
Long-wearing
Travel size available
Cons:
Only comes in black
BEST DRUGSTORE
L'Oreal Paris Makeup Telescopic Original Lengthening Mascara, Black, 0.27 Fl Oz (1 Count)
$10.00 $13 23% off
Look no further than your local drugstore for one of DiStasio’s favorite mascaras for short lashes. She specifically points to its dual-precision applicator for helping to separate each lash. The applicator is a key feature that helps this mascara layer and build, which can lengthen and volumize lashes of any natural length.
Wand shape: Dual precision; one side is a comb, one side is a brush
Waterproof status: Waterproof option available ($11)
Pros:
Ophthalmologist-tested
Allergy-tested
Price
Cons:
Traditional mascara, not waterproof or resistant
BEST WATERPROOF
Yves Saint Laurent, Lash Clash Extreme Volume Waterproof Mascara
If you have a wedding or a sad movie in your future, opting for a waterproof mascara formulation might save you from having a makeup-cleanup emergency in the bathroom. For the shorter-lashed crowd, Natoli recommend’s YSL’s Lash Clash waterproof mascara as a great option. It’s a volumizing, long-wearing option that’s infused with iris extract that’s meant to soften lashes.
Wand shape: Oversized cone
Waterproof status: waterproof
Pros:
Sulfate- and paraben-free
Vegan
Long-wearing (up to 48 hours!)
Cons:
Might be difficulf to remove
Pricey
BEST TUBING
Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Brynn Rich Black
$35 $40 13% off
DiStasio calls this tubing mascara her “holy grail.” Tubing mascara works differently than traditional mascara in that these formulations wrap around lashes individually, allowing for smudge-proof, flake-free buildability. “The reason I love this mascara so much is because it literally brings my lashes to life,” Distasio says. “It adds volume, makes them look like false lashes, and it leaves no residue when you remove it.” Plus, it’s dermatologist- and ophthalmologist-approved.
Wand shape: Cone
Waterproof: Water-resistant
Pros:
Available in six shades
Vegan and cruelty-free
Easy to remove
Cons:
Not waterproof
BEST CURLING
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara 0.27 Ounce Full Size
With a name like “Better Than Sex,” your product better be pretty great. According to DiStasio, this mascara from Too Faced lives up to its promise, offering full lashes and an amazing curl, she says. The hourglass-shaped wand helps create a lifted, curled, high-volume effect. Blanchard adds that this formula “really makes a difference for short lashes [and offers] great longevity throughout the day.”
Wand shape: Hourglass
Waterproof status: Waterproof option available for purchase
Pros:
Ophthalmologist-tested
Cruelty-free
Available in black and brown
Cons:
Traditional mascara, not waterproof or resistant
BEST PRECISION
Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara
This internet-beloved mascara from Essence Princess lash wears its claim of offering a “false lash effect” right on the bottle. And at $5 a tube, it’s worth trying for its promises of lengthening and volumizing your shorter lashes.
Wand shape: Cone brush
Waterproof status: Waterproof option available
Pros:
Price
Cruelty-free
Cons:
Not waterproof
BEST BOTTOM LASH
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara
Bottom-lash smudging is so not your problem anymore, thanks to mascaras created with the express purpose of helping out your south-of-the-eyeline hairs. Clinique’s bottom-lash mascara comes with a micro-precision brush specifically designed to add definition to those hard-to-reach (and hard-to-not-smudge) lashes.
Wand shape: Micro-precision brush
Waterproof status: Not available
Pros:
Dermatologist and ophthalmologist-tested
Fragrance- and paraben-free
Cons:
Not waterproof or water-resistant
Requires another product for top lashes
BEST CLUMP-FREE
Maybelline The Falsies Surreal Extensions Washable Mascara
Allegedly Martha Stewart–approved, Maybelline’s Falsies Surreal lengthens and volumizes lashes for an impact it describes as, well, surreal. The wand’s long, twisted bristles use hybrid-fiber technology to deliver a swiped-on finish that’s clump-free and very much real.
Wand shape: Extended helix brush
Waterproof status: Waterproof option available
Pros:
Price
Ophthalmologist tested
Cons:
Not waterproof
BEST LASH-LIFTING
Benefit Roller Lash Curling & Lifting Mascara
This mascara from Benefit would be a contender in the Super Bowl for best mascaras for short lashes; it’s what Brittany Mahomes reportedly wore to the 2023 Met Gala, after all. Its wand is designed to grab, lift, and curl lashes—and stay put for up to 12 hours.
Wand shape: “Hook ‘n’ Roll” curved wand
Waterproof status: Water-resistant
Pros:
Formulated with lash conditioning ingredients B5 and serine
Curling and lifting
Cons:
Other options are longer-wear
BEST COLORED OPTION
L'Oreal Telescopic Lift Washable Mascara
This affordable winner that Blanchard loves for short lashes comes in five colors—black, blackest black, black brown, galactic purple, and stellar blue—allowing you to personalize your lash aesthetic. Its double-hook brush bristles help to lift, separate, and lengthen each lash for up to 36 hours. So, get ready for your lashes to enjoy the spotlight.
Wand shape: Straight comb
Waterproof status: Waterproof option available
Pros:
Comes in five shades
Price
Long-wearing
Cons:
Not waterproof
BEST PRIMER
Dior Diorshow Maximizer 3D Triple Volume Plumping Lash Primer
While a mascara primer alone won’t give your lashes (of any length) of falsies effect, Natoli recommends using a primer before applying pigmented mascara—and this option from Dior is her favorite. The comb wand applies serum to each lash, offering a lengthening, volumizing, and defining effect. You can wear it on its own, but when worn underneath a mascara, the primer boosts the vibrance and definition of the color.
Wand shape: Cone comb
Waterproof status: N/A
Pros:
Paraben-free
Gentle for sensitive eyes
Can be worn with or without mascara
Cons:
Requires another product for lengthening and volumizing mascara effect
BEST FOR SENSITIVE EYES
Tower28, Make Waves Mascara
MakeWaves from Tower 28 is a vegan, sensitive eye-friendly mascara that lengthens and volumizes lashes of any length with the help of its curved, tripe-action wand. The wand features three separate bands aimed to catch each lash to lengthen, define, and build volume. The formumation’s castor oil blend helps keep your lashes conditioned and healthy, too.
Wand shape: Curved cone
Waterproof status: water-resistant
Pros:
Vegan
Conditioning formulation
Cons:
Not waterproof
Experts in This Article
Priscilla DiStasio: Celebrity makeup artist based in NYC
Caroline Blanchard: Watch What Happens Live makeup artist
Alex Natoli: Celebrity makeup artist
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