Just ask seemingly lash-endowed celebrities like Adele and Kim K — thick, plentiful lashes require a little help. Hollywood makeup artists like Fiona Stiles offer sage advice: “Full, thick brushes with lots of bristles give the best volume,” she says of her favorite mascaras. But beyond expert know-how, we’re discovering a crop of new innovations aimed at giving us major eye flutter — yes, even for the falsie-averse. From eyeliners formulated to cling along the waterline to mascaras that stain lashes with a semipermanent tint, we mined the brave new world of lash-boosting and landed on options for purists and more-is-more fans alike.
Want to give your lashes the extension effect (without sitting in the salon chair for hours)? There are primers to do just that. (Shout-out, fiber technology!) Looking for an efficacious serum designed by a derm? We’ve got you covered. Because long, lush lashes never go out of style. Ahead, find out how to boost yours.
To make streets look bigger in car commercials, production crews wet down their surfaces. This mascara pulls the same trick with a high-shine formula that gives lashes depth by making them look drenched.
YSL Beauty Vinyl Couture Mascara, $29, available at YSL Beauty.
The foundation of thicker-looking lashes? Eyes tightlined at the waterline. This waterproof crayon ensures your precise line stays put, no matter how much you splish and splash.
Sephora Contour Inner Rim Gel Eyeliner, $8, available at Sephora.
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Any mascara worth its weight in gold will make eyelashes look thicker. But this new one from L'Oréal takes your lash game one step further. The asymmetrical, rubbery brush pushes the mascara right into your lashline, lending a tightlining effect (without the risk of poking a pencil in your eyeball). The end result? Nothing but thick, fluttery lashes that are defined from root to tip.
L'Oréal Voluminous Butterfly Sculpt Mascara, $8.99, available at L'Oréal.
This at-home lash tint stains lashes for up to three days, giving them a jet-black boost long after a traditional mascara would wear away.
Wunder 2 WunderExtensions Lash Extension Stain Mascara, $22, available at Wunder2.
Leave it to a dermatologist to pour a cocktail of growth-enhancing peptides into a lash serum (which is safe for brows, too!).
ZO Skin Health Ossential Lash Enhancing Serum, $95, available at ZO Skin Health.
Fibers are the name of the game when it comes to thickness-enhancing mascara formulas, according to Tasha Reiko Brown, a makeup artist who works with celebs like Yara Shahidi. This primer is loaded with tiny nylon fibers that plump lashes by adhering to each hair and padding it with volume.
Make Up For Ever Lash Fibers Lash Primer, $21, available at Make Up For Ever.
If you're supersizing your lashes with a fiber-flecked primer, why not double down with a mascara infused with micro-fibers?
Fusion Beauty LashFusion Xtension Dramatically Lengthening Fiber Mascara, $28, available at Fusion Beauty.
How is a mascara wand with zero bristles supposed to make lashes look thicker? By dusting gunmetal and gold glitter on every lash — an effect that can make your flutter more noticeable, particularly when used as a topcoat or finishing touch.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Lamé Noir Ultra-Glittering Mascara, $26, available at Sephora.
The key to making lashes look as though they’ve multiplied? Fill in the gaps between each lash with a budge-proof kohl liner. This gel formulation doesn't slide off, even in sweltering temps.
Lash Star Beauty Hyper Performance Gel Eye Liner, $23, available at Lash Star Beauty.
These clusters of individual lashes are handmade and designed to fill the lashline with believable volume.
Georgie Beauty Style No. 9 Belle Faux Lashes, $18, available at Neiman Marcus.
Don’t want to mess with falsies? Try this kit instead. Apply mascara, buffer it with a separate lash-fiber “extension” solution, and then top with mascara again for filled-out flutter — no lash glue required.
Physicians Formula Eye Booster Instant Doll Lash Extension Kit, $15, available at Ulta Beauty.
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