Best Mascara Splurge and Save: 21 Mascaras on the Market Now

If there's one day you'd love to rock the lushest lashes on the planet, it's probably your wedding day. After all, long, curled, fanned-out lashes not only look lovely in person but pop in photos, and you'll be looking at your wedding photos for the rest of your life!

That said, not every girl is a false lash girl. Which begs a question as old as time (or at least the last century and a half): What is the best mascara? The answer: Well, that depends on what you're looking for. Today, mascaras are designed to cater to a long list of desires: longer lashes, curly lashes and thicker lashes, to start. You may have sensitive eyes and need a hypoallergenic mascara, or you may want to try a fiber mascara, which can make it look like you're wearing falsies. Or you may be the kind of girl who likes to stick to organic makeup, and at long last, there are finally great natural mascaras for you, too!

Scroll to see The Knot's full list of best mascara reviews—both the splurges and the steals!—or jump to the best mascara for your specific needs below:

• Best Mascara – Lengthening
• Best Mascara – Volumizing
• Best Mascara – Curling
• Best Mascara – Waterproof
• Best Mascara – Smudge-Proof
• Best Mascara – Drugstore
• Best Mascara – Sensitive Eyes
• Best Mascara – Fiber
• Best Mascara – Natural
• Best Mascara – Clear
• Best Mascara – Primer

Best Lengthening Mascara

One thing almost all of us would love our lashes to be? Longer! And plenty of the best mascaras can help them be just that. The best of the best when it comes to lengthening mascaras: Dior's Diorshow Mascara and L'Oreal Paris' Telescopic Original Mascara. Both formulas boast major lengthening effects (Telescopic by as much as 60 percent!) while also separating the lashes for a clump-free finish.

Best Lengthening Mascara — Splurge

Dior Diorshow Mascara, $29, Sephora.com

Best Lengthening Mascara — Save

L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Original Mascara, $10, Ulta.com

Best Volumizing Mascara

Plump it up! While long lashes are lovely, long and full lashes are even lovelier. With its hourglass-shaped brush, Too Faced's Better Than Sex boosts the volume without flaking or smudging—the holy grail of mascaras. Meanwhile, Essence's thickening formula is an affordable favorite among beauty bloggers.

Best Volumizing Mascara — Splurge

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, $23, Ulta.com

Best Volumizing Mascara — Save

Essense Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara, $5, Ulta.com

Best Curling Mascara

Baby doll eyes? Coming right up! The best curling mascaras give you that ultra-feminine height without having to touch a lash curler. (Isn't that always the goal?) Our favorites at both ends of the mascara pricing scale: Charlotte Tilbury's Full Fat Lashes and Ulta Beauty Twisted Volume Mascara,. The former boasts a five-groove brush that perfectly distributes the mascara while pushing those lashes up. The latter's round brush bumps those babies up, too, but with a fixing polymer formula that can boost the angle up to 90 degrees.

Best Curling Mascara — Splurge

Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes 5-Star Mascara, $29, Sephora.com

Best Curling Mascara — Save

Ulta Beauty Twisted Volume Mascara, $11, Ulta.com

Best Waterproof Mascara

It's your wedding, and you'll cry if you want to—but no need for any black tears! The best waterproof mascaras on the market can make it through happy cries, not to mention workouts and dips in the ocean. (Yep, this is your honeymoon mascara, too.)

Of all the waterproof mascaras on the market, these two top our list: Lancôme Monsieur Big Waterproof Mascara and Maybelline Full 'N Soft Waterproof Mascara. Both will give you feather-soft lashes that will not budge during your vows. They're a bride's best friend.

Best Waterproof Mascara — Splurge

Lancôme Monsieur Big Waterproof Mascara, $30, Lancome.com

Best Waterproof Mascara — Save

Maybelline Full 'N Soft Waterproof Mascara, $8, Ulta.com

Best Smudge-Proof Mascara

Is there anything more aggravating than hitting the bathroom for the first time in a day, only to discover smudges beneath both eyes? Nope, which is why we hunted down the two best mascaras with smudge-proof capabilities: Estée Lauder's Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara and Neutrogena's Healthy Volume Waterproof Mascara. Lauder's Smudge-Shield is made to endure high temps, humidity and sweating, and it adds length to boot. Neutrogena's mix, meanwhile, is especially safe for contact wearers and those with sensitive eyes.

Best Smudge-Proof Mascara — Splurge

Estée Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara, $28, Sephora.com

Best Smudge-Proof Mascara — Save

Neutrogena Healthy Volume Waterproof Mascara, $8, Target.com

Best Drugstore Mascara

No high price tags in this category! When it comes to the best drugstore mascaras, every one is a steal. But for the lushest set of lashes on your wedding day, there's one we love above all the rest: CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara. Its sharp, patent-pending brush lifts and separates so you get the volume and definition without the clumping. It's a miracle in an orange tube!

CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara, $6, Target.com

Best Mascara for Sensitive Eyes

Some pairs of peepers are particularly sensitive. If yours are, too, then you need a mascara that's ophthalmologist approved. Pacifica's Vegan Collagen Fluffy Lash Thickening & Lengthening Mascara has been tested by both doctors and contact wearers. Plus, it conditions with natural ingredients: aloe and Vitamin B5. But ILIA's is a cult favorite for sensitive eyes. A bottle may cost you almost $30, but for those with consistently itchy eyes, it's worth every penny.

Best Mascara for Sensitive Eyes — Splurge

ILIA Limitless Lash Lengthening Clean Mascara, $28, Sephora.com

Best Mascara for Sensitive Eyes — Save

Pacifica Vegan Collagen Fluffy Lash Thickening & Lengthening Mascara, $16, Ulta.com

Best Fiber Mascara

So what is fiber mascara, exactly, and what does it do? Fiber mascara, which may just be the most popular mascara of the moment, boasts a formula that includes either silk or rayon filaments. They stick to your natural lashes, resulting in amazingly lush fringe.

On the luxe end, Stila Huge Extreme Lash Volumizing Mascara Mascara serves up some major drama, coating lashes so thickly you only need one swipe. On the more affordable end of the scale, Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara offers a full set through a three-part process: applying one coat of mascara, then layering on the fibers (the more, the lusher!), and finishing with a second coat of mascara so those fibers don't budge.

Best Fiber Mascara — Splurge

Stila Huge Extreme Lash Volumizing Mascara, $26, Ulta.com

Best Fiber Mascara — Save

Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara, $13, Ulta.com

Best Natural Mascara

Organic makeup is all the rage these days—just ask natural makeup lovers Emma Watson, Shailene Woodley and Lauren Conrad. Now, you can have your cake and eat it, too—the cake being lush lashes without the use of chemicals, of course!

So which are the best natural mascaras? Tarte's Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara, for one. Not only can it quadruple your lash volume, but the Amazonian clay works to hydrate dry lashes, making them longer and fuller over time. As for our drugstore pick, that would be Colourpop's Act Natural Lash Defining Mascara,, which is just as natural for only half the price. Colourpop's conditioning formula curls lashes while keeping them healthy.

Best Natural Mascara — Splurge

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara, $21, Sephora.com

Best Natural Mascara — Save

Colourpop Act Natural Lash Defining Mascara, $9, Ulta.com

Best Clear Mascara

If you like a look that's as natural as possible—or you were already blessed with a ridiculously full set of lashes (lucky you!)—then you need the best clear mascara on the market. Instead of doe eyes, clear mascara offers just a gentle glossing. An added bonus: You can use clear mascara as a brow setter, too.

On the drugstore front, Maybelline's Great Lash Clear offers all the benefits of the iconic classic without an extra dose of color. Petite N Pretty Featherlight Clear Mascara and Brow Gel, however, is special among clear mascaras: While it can certainly be worn alone, it's designed to reinvigorate the effects of mascara applied in the morning, giving you that start-of-the-day fabulousness any time.

Best Clear Mascara — Splurge

Petite n Pretty Featherlight Clear Mascara and Brow Gel, $16, Ulta.com

Best Clear Mascara — Save

Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara, $6, Ulta.com

Best Mascara Primer

Primed for successful lashes! If you're looking to get fuller lashes before—or on—your wedding day, get priming! Lancôme's Cils Booster XL Vitamin-Infused Lash Thickening Mascara Primer is the innovative choice, as it includes a vibrating brush that can wrap lashes up to 360 degrees, slowly lengthening them day by day. Likewise, L'Oreal Paris' Voluminous Lash Primer increases lash length over time, but in the moment, it also creates a strong, hydrated base, instantly amplifying any mascara applied over it.

Best Mascara Primer — Splurge

Lancôme Cils Booster XL Vitamin-Infused Lash Thickening Mascara Primer, $30, Lancome.com

Best Mascara Primer — Save

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Lash Primer, $9, Ulta.com