Best of the Best: Top 5 Mascaras

Happy Monday guys! I hope you had a lovely weekend, and I'm not going to say that I hope you had a lovely Monday because - let's face it - no one does, Mondays suck.

Being a newbie on youtube is really intimidating sometimes, especially seeing all these extravagant makeup looks with false lashes and super dark eyes, but that just isn't realistic to me, or my style. I tried false lashes twice because of some of my favorite youtubers, and I wanted to rip them off my eyes. And, at the end of the night, it felt like someone had run a glue stick along my eyelids no matter how many times I tried to wash my eyes of the goopiness. Lesson learned - for me, mascara is where the party is at. But, finding a mascara that works for you can be kind of difficult, because everyone has different types of lashes and different goals for the look they love. Over time I have found some of my favorites, and I thought this would be a great addition to the "best of the best" series where we talk about a makeup category and my top 5 products within that category. So today it's mascara edition!

All of these mascaras are holy grails of mine, but I am ranking them 1-5 with number 1 being the best. I still love number 5, but it's one I could likely live without, where number 1 is the one mascara I would choose over any other any day of the year. Let's jump in!

1. YSL Babydoll

The YSL Babydoll mascara is hands-down my number one favorite. The packaging is this gorgeous gold that feels so luxurious and pretty. One coat of this makes your lashes look natural and fluttery, but two makes them look like falsies, without the pain. The wand honestly doesn't look like anything special, but it somehow has magic in it I swear. I would like to point out that the smell is quite strong if you are someone who is sensitive to scents in makeup. It diminishes after application, but during it can be quite strong. This is the mascara I reach for every single day, and if I had to choose one for the rest of my life this would be the one, no questions asked!

2. Lancome Hypnose Star 

First thing's first, this packaging makes me feel like a movie star. The wand on this mascara is definitely the most unique of my top 5. It has a unique shape that makes application really different from other mascaras I have. One side of the wand has a cone like shape where the natural bristles fan out and get shorter as you reach the end of the brush, this makes for easy application to inner corner and bottom lashes. When you twist the wand, it has a completely straight shape. I like to rotate the wand because the coned side makes it great to comb through lashes to pull out any clumps or mistakes. This mascara gives me really fluttery lengthened and volumized lashes, and it honestly helped me find lashes on my inner and outer corners that I didn't even know I had!

3. Benefit Roller Lash

Obviously this is an extremely hyped-up mascara, and for a good reason! This mascara is unique in the sense that you don't even need a lash curler when you reach for it. Whether your lashes are straight and limp or curled, this will curl, lengthen, volumize, and hold curl throughout the day, kind of an all-in-one! I was most excited about this because of how it holds curl. If you don't want to curl your lashes you just hook your lashes at the base with the curved wand, twist the wand and wiggle upwards, and it really lifts and curls your lashes, making you look really awake and wide-eyed. I always curl my lashes pre-mascara-application, but they generally fall a little flat at the end of the day, but this mascara holds the curl all day long. I also love the packaging because the lid has a gripper type material that makes the package really easy to twist open.

4. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes

This is just a travel-sized version of this mascara, but the full-size has the exact same packaging and wand, so don't fear! The packaging is a purple scaley loook and feel. This mascara has a very thick and unique, almost moussey formula, but it makes for gorgeous lashes. I always go for two coats of this because one coat is almost like a base or primer for thick and beautiful lashes. One coat doesn't look like much, but it really separates and lengthens, while coat two does all the volume and drama. 

5. NARS Audacious

Another sample size - keep your eye out for this one before you buy a full-size because this is the second NARS Audacious sample size that I've gone through. These are almost always free with a certain amount of purchase on the NARS website, or Sephora sometimes offers them as a coupon code as well! The packaging is typical NARS matte black which does show a lot of fingerprints, but not anything that bothers me, and the very top of the lid is a pop of red. The wand on this mascara is so unique because it isn't natural hairs, but the bristles aren't stiff like the Benefit Roller Lash or YSL Babydoll. If you touch the bristles they are flexible and move with touch. It looks very spikey at first glance. I don't honestly reach for this mascara super often because it is very dramatic and intense, but in one coat. If I'm going for a bold look or a night out, this one's my gal. But definitely not my everyday mascara. One coat gives you insanely full and bold lashes like no other mascara I have.

I hope you guys enjoyed this part of the "best of the best" series and found it helpful. Make sure to comment down below with your holy grail mascara, along with what category of makeup you'd like to see next on "best of the best"!