Editor Tip: Hold the wand vertically when tackling your lower lashes for extra precise application.
Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax, beeswax, jojoba seed oil | Number of Shades: 2
Best for Bottom Lashes: MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash
Why It’s Worth It: Makeup artist Lavonne points to MAC’s Extended Play Gigablack Lash as an industry-pro standard. “I specifically use it on bottom lashes for its tubing effect,” she says. “It never runs, and it paints on each lash strand with precision.” It also resists water and sweat for up to 16 hours of wear time and the deep carbon color is an excellent choice for people who want drama, drama, and more drama.
Editor Tip: Lavonne recommends lightly dusting your lashes with a little loose powder before applying the mascara for added longevity, as well as a touch of powder underneath the eyes to prevent any transfer.
Key Ingredients: Kaolin, carnauba wax, synthetic beeswax | Number of Shades: 1
Best Smudge-Resistant: Estée Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara
Why It’s Worth It: Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Zero-Smudge is a glossy, intensely pigmented mascara with superfans who vouch for its volumizing and lengthening formula, which keeps under eyes smudge-free. The brush features long and short bristles to ensure every lash gets loved, allowing for raccoon-eye-proof wear for up to 15 hours, which is an obvious win.
Editor Tip: When we tried this stuff, it lived up to its smudge-proof claims, even through a sweaty workout (although it’s not tear-proof or waterproof).
Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax, kaolin, green tea extract | Number of Shades: 1
Best Brush: KVD Beauty Full Sleeve Long + Defined Tubing Mascara
Why It’s Worth It: The lightweight formula behind the KVD Beauty Full Sleeve Long + Defined Tubing Mascara gives intense tint, fanned-out lashes, and all-day wear. If you look closely — and we mean closely — you’ll find tiny hook-shaped branches coming off of the contoured applicator. They’re designed to grip from the root to the tip of the lash, coating all the while.
Editor Tip: If you want to see what this mascara is all about without dropping $25, start with the mini version, which is around half the price.
Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax, acacia Senegal gum, sunflower seed oil, bamboo extract | Number of Shades: 1
Frequently Asked Questions
How is tubing mascara different from regular mascara?
Cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos explains to Allure that while there is plenty of overlap between the ingredients in tubing mascara and regular mascara, there are also crucial differences. “The overall ingredient list for a tubing mascara might resemble a traditional mascara emulsion with traditional waxes and emulsifiers, but polymeric ingredients like polyurethane-35 and acrylates/ethylhexyl acrylate copolymer are necessary to form a ‘tube’ around each lash,” says Dobos. “The polymers have just enough adhesion to the lashes to hold them in place until you wiggle the tubes free with gentle pressure for removal.”
