And it’s less than $11.

There are four makeup items you’ll always find in my small touch-up pouch: a concealer, a hydrating rosy lip tint, a tube of mascara, and an eyelash curler. The latter two products I need to have on me always as I was blessed with 8mm long lashes that are not only fine, but point downwards, making them appear nonexistent. (The Asian community will understand my struggle with short lashes.) Over the years, after much trial and error, I’ve learned which drugstore mascaras lift my short Asian lashes and even, in the process, lengthen them. (My budget-conscious soul refuses to spend more than $20 on a tube of product, so Duane Reade it is!)

One of the first affordable mascaras I tried, and absolutely loved, was CoverGirl’s Lashblast Length— it came in a skinny yellow tube, if you can recall — that was unfortunately discontinued a few years ago. From that experience, however, I’ve learned that the brush design plays an important factor in how the product spreads on my lashes. I prefer brushes that have many tight, bunched up bristles so that the formula can catch and coat my fine lashes evenly in a single swipe. Additionally, sometimes when the mascara delivers more of a lengthening look than volume, I will first use a “voluminous” mascara then follow up with the lengthening option. (Layering your mascaras is a brilliant hack celebrity makeup artists swear by too!)

Currently, I’m using Maybelline’s Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara — the same one that went viral on TikTok — and love how the first coat delivers a light, non-clumping consistency on my lashes. I wait a few minutes for it to dry before topping with a second coat to make my lashes look full, lengthy, and jet black. Once the second coat is completely dry, I’ll curl my lashes again to make them stand up. (I use a Revlon eyelash curler, if you’re wondering.) Throughout the day, if I find that they’ve resettled into their point-straight-down position, I’ll take out my curler to perk them right back up.

Although I’ll be repurchasing the pink Maybelline tube once I’m done with my current one — when I become obsessed with a beauty product, I buy it until I get sick of it — there are several other drugstore mascaras that I’ve tried and loved in the past. Ahead, see the ones I count on to lift, lengthen, and add volume to my fine, short Asian lashes.

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