12 conditioning mascaras that strengthen and protect your lashes

Best for: Thin lashes that get weighed down easily

Lash care ingredient: Lashfood’s patented Phyto-Medic complex, rice bran

Our review: A comfortable and conditioning mascara, this mascara gives length and depth without weighing your lashes down. Some users even report that their lashes still feel moisturised after using it for an entire day.

Best for: Droopy lashes

Lash care ingredient: Pearl extract, rosemary extract, lavender oil and avocado oil

Our review: This mascara not only gives your lashes an instant lift, it is also formulated with pearl extract to repair your lashes and keep them healthy. Softening wax also helps to create an ultra-light texture that is gentle on the lashes, coating them smoothly and evenly.

Best for: Sparse, thin lashes

Lash care ingredient: Caviar Care Complex

Our review: For a dramatic look, use Laura Mercier’s Caviar Volume Panoramic Mascara to get lashes with intense volume. The thickening mascara is formulated with the brand’s signature nourishing Caviar Care Complex, which protects and hydrates lashes for long lasting wear.

Best for: Those who struggle with clumpy lashes

Lash care ingredient: Hydrating Polysaccharide

Our review: You’re probably wondering why this mascara wand looks different from the regular wands you use. Well, the brush is made specifically for those who struggle with lashes that clump together as it helps to catch the lashes from the root and separate them for a thicker and more voluminous look.

Bonus: this lengthening mascara is also smudge-proof and has a comfortable formula that lasts all day – no touch-ups required.

Best for: Getting a dramatic curve without having to use an eyelash curler.

Lash care ingredient: Palmitic acid

Our review: What we really love about this mascara is the lift that it gives.

You don’t need too much curling before because the brush really grips the lashes at the roots and lifts them.

With just one coat, the ultra-black formula is able to lengthen thin, light lashes.

Best for: Voluminous lashes fast

Lash care ingredient: Lauroyl lysine

Our review: Want beautifully voluminous lashes in a rush? The YSL Beaute Mascara Vinyl Couture does just that with its ultra-concentrated black pigment and tapered bristled brush that creates instant length and volume without transferring to the under eye area.

Best for: Short, stumpy lashes

Lash care ingredient: Rose-cell extract so that lashes remain soft and supple.

Our review: This has a liquidy formula that coats lashes easily and doesn’t feel clumpy. It has less wax so it doesn’t flake even with 3 coats.

Best for: Droopy, sparse lashes

Lash care ingredients: Neuropeptides and biotin

Our review: Gives lashes natural-looking definition with one coat and the advanced formula is clinically proven to make lashes look fuller and more lifted with a curl that holds all day.

Best for: Thin, stumpy lashes

Lash care ingredients: Pro-vitamin B5 and blackberry extract

Our review: The brush applicator coats lashes effortlessly and the formula even has tiny extensions made of plant fibres for instant lengthening. The lash care ingredients condition lashes to make them fuller in time. Available at Sephora.

Best for: Weak lashes that break easily

Lash care ingredients: Beeswax and jojoba oil

Our review: Coats lashes with intense colour pigments but also leaves them feeling nourished and conditioned. After two weeks of use, it lessened breakage when we rubbed our eyes.

Best for: Sparse, short lashes

Lash care ingredients: Amazonian clay and vitamin C

Our review: Give lashes instant fullness thanks to the slightly thicker consistency of the formula. However lashes remain soft and fluttery all day.

Best for: Scanty lashes

Lash care ingredient: Peptides

Our review: This smudge-free, flexible coat mascara is souped up with peptides, an ingredient mostly used in anti-ageing skincare to rebuild and regenerate skin. On lashes, it reportedly boosts growth so that it’s longer and more fluttery.

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