How to Choose the Right Mascara Brush For Your Lashes

The Look: Volumized

The Brush: Round and Oversized

A thick, fluffy brush pumps up lackluster lashes, giving them the appearance of being fuller. We like the NYX Professional On the Rise Volume Liftscara because the round brush is slightly thicker in the middle in order to coat each and every lash more effectively.

The Look: Fanned-Out

The Brush: Cone-Shaped

Fanned-out lashes give eyes a flirty, feminine look that’s best achieved with a cone-shaped mascara brush. The Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara, for example, allows you to really pump up the volume at the outer edges, while providing lift and separation all over.

The Look: Curled

The Brush: Curved

If you have straight lashes, using an eyelash curler alone might not be enough to give them lasting shape. A curved mascara wand, like the one in the Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume & Curl Mascara, hooks onto the root of lashes and then curls them upwards, adding length and volume along the way.

The Look: Curled and Long

The Brush: Hourglass

What if you want curl and dramatic length? You can have it all if you use an hourglass-shaped mascara brush. This type of design is able to lift, curve and amplify straight and short lashes. The Maybelline New York The Falsies Lash Lift Washable Mascara Eye Makeup has one such brush, plus the added benefit of a fiber-infused formula for lashes that look extra long.

The Look: Sky-High

The Brush: Straight

A straight brush, like that of the L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Original Waterproof Lengthening Mascara, combs lashes up to new heights. This L’Oréal mascara was designed to boost length by 50 percent.

The Look: Natural

The Brush: Micro Wand

When you don’t want to leave the house completely bare but your lashes need a little extra something, a micro wand is what you need. These brushes are great for achieving a subtle, your-lashes-but-better look. You can also use this type of brush to separate and lengthen your lower lashes without getting mascara all over your under-eye area. In addition to coating lashes without clumps, the IT Cosmetics Tightline Full Lash Length Black Mascara Primer deposits pigment along the lash line so eyes look more defined.

The Look: Dramatic

The Brush: S-Shaped

Similar to an hourglass shape, an S-shaped brush offers curling and lengthening results, but with even more oomph. With a product like the Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara, you can sculpt your lashes to perfection without clumps or flakes — it’ll look like you’re wearing falsies.