My Top 3 Drug Store Mascaras

I've been thinking that I should start doing a series of blogs which talk about my top products by category and also my Go To products. So let's begin today with my Top 3 Drug Store Mascaras!

I always find it disturbingly hard to find a drug store mascara that works "okay", let alone works "well". These three are hands down my choices when at the drug store. For those of you on a budget, or if you just don't believe in spending lots of money on mascara (I hear you!) here are my 3 faves.

1. L'Oreal Voluminous Original Mascara

Yep, this is hands down the best mascara at the drug store. I, personally, have tried so many drug store mascaras over the years it is scary and yes this is the best I have found. I know a lot of beauty bloggers sing the praises of this mascara and they do with good reason. This baby is tried and true!

I have not tried this mascara in Carbon Black, nor have I tried this in the waterproof version. I am sure those are equally decent, but this is the cult favourite my friends. I have tried a mess of L'Oreal mascaras over the years and this is their top dog. Overall, I would say that L'Oreal makes some of the better drug store mascaras, but the rest of their line pales compared with Voluminous. One of my favourite mascaras of all time was made by L'Oreal - Le Grand Curl. I will at some point dedicate an entire blog to that product, an ode if you will. Sadly, Le Grand Curl was discontinued many, many years ago. L'Oreal, if you are reading this, bring it back, I beg of you!!!!!!

This mascara is nice and thick and black. It volumizes and lengthens like crazy. It even curls your lashes without the aid of a lash curler. The wand is a bit big, but is easy to use, even on my short lashes. I think this mascara will run you between $8-$12 Canadian at most drug stores. Well worth the money.

This mascara does not smudge or flake easily which is a plus. It does smudge a bit on me when I wear glasses, but I have that problem with all mascaras. This one is pretty low smudge though.

There is only one con to this product. The list of ingredients is mind boggling and it contains a whole whack of parabens. For this reason, I will not use this mascara daily. I save it for days when I go all out on my makeup.

2. Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara

I feel a bit weird listing this mascara under my Top 3 Drug Store mascaras. I say that because this is not a cheap product; it's pricey. However, guess where it is sold? At the drug store....you can't buy this in department stores or at Sephora. Depending on whether or not you can score this on sale, it ranges from $13.99-$19.99 Canadian/U.S. This mascara is crazy black in colour. The wand works really well. I would say this product does more lengthening than volumizing, but it looks great on. The ingredients are nice and tame. I feel a bit better when I use it over other mascaras. This product also gives you some curl to your lashes. My only criticism is the price and the fact that when I wear glasses, it smudges like mad! I have no smudging issues when I use this and don't wear my glasses.

I was so impressed with this product that I bought another one of the Physicians Formula mascaras to try. I haven't cracked it open yet, but I will keep you in the loop. I got it for 50% off so I thought I would try it, what the heck!

3. Cover Girl Lashblast Volume Blasting Mascara

Sorry the picture came out so small. I think you get the drift though. This is my third favourite drug store mascara. This mascara lengthens, defines and volumizes. I don't find that it does much in the area of curl and it does not volumize as well as my Top 2 that I have listed above. It does work though and if you are in a pinch, need mascara and only a drug store is available, this is a good option. The list of ingredients is quite scary and there are parabens in here. If you aren't bothered by such things, then enjoy away!

The wand works well on all lash types. I don't find this product to be super black in colour, but the black is decent. Cover Girl makes similar products in a yellow, pink, purple and black tube. The original in the orange tube is the one that works really well. Don't be fooled by the other Cover Girl mascara imitators. The price for this product is the same range as the L'Oreal Voluminous mascara. I would get that one though before this one any day......


I hope this blog post has been useful for some of you! If you would like me to do more top product blogs, please leave a comment below or drop me an email! Thanks for reading!