This drugstore beauty buy made my lashes look longer and more defined with just one swipe. (Jeanine Edwards/Yahoo)(Jeanine Edwards/CVS)
If you can believe it, I get paid to sleuth celeb social media accounts and track down the products they use. It's a rough job, but someone's gotta do it. Many of the A-lister items I write about are well beyond my means, but every once in a while, I come across a budget-friendly find that I'm tempted to try. A few weeks back, it was seeing Pamela Anderson look smoking hot in Levi's 501 jeans that convinced me to shimmy into a pair. (Spoiler alert: They did not look as good on me as they looked on Pam.) This weekend, I was in my local CVS and came across the L'Oreal gem that Eva Longoria called her "everyday mascara." I had a coupon, and it was only $12, so I went for it.
"Love this mascara," one CVS customer wrote. "I have average length lashes, but when I wear this, they look long and beautiful. I often get compliments!"
Another fan echoed those sentiments: "I’ve used this mascara for at least 10 years, and I can't imagine even trying another one. I have average-length lashes, and this makes them look so naturally long with a nice curl. I get compliments all the time."
Yahoo Senior Beauty Editor Jennifer Romolini named this affordable fan fave the best mascara of 2025. She writes, "Ultimately, what you're here for is long, thick lashes, and this product delivers. It lengthens and thickens without being a globby hassle to apply (I did not have to remove globs from the applicator brush once in the last month — a first!)."
Before I tested the L'Oreal mascara above, I'd been loyal to this top-rated buy from Selena Gomez's makeup line, Rare Beauty. The brush and the not-too-gooey formula give me the lashes of my dreams, whether I'm working from home or on a date with my partner.
And I'm not alone. More than 1,000 Sephora shoppers give this five stars, with one calling it "the best mascara I have used in many years."
Stewart loves this award-winning, highly-pigmented mascara (one of our best mascaras of the year) for lengthening and defining her lashes: "I have nice long eyelashes," she says, "and I like to show them off."
Merit's formula is especially good for women over 40, whose skin and hair tend to be drier, as it contains nourishing ingredients like olive oil and vitamin B5. As the name suggests, it goes on "clean" and it stays put — truly no flaking, no smudging or clumping.
When it comes to makeup, I'm a minimalist. I only use eyebrow gel, blush, lipstick and, of course, mascara. Because my natural lashes aren't anything special — they're not thick or long, womp womp — even just a few swipes helps make my entire face look better. In her video, Longoria raved about the "fluffy," curved brush that fits her eye so well, and that was my experience too. The brush easily gripped my lashes and evenly coated each one. The wand also did a great job of defining my lashes, making them look longer, even with my imprecise, non-professional application.
When it comes to fullness, however, this mascara left a little to be desired. Granted, I only applied one coat, but I don't think my lashes look especially thick or lush after using it. That said, I'm 100% OK with this mascara for my day-to-day life. I don't need to look like I'm wearing falsies on video calls in my living room with my boss. It takes my regular lashes and gives them some oomph.
If you're on the hunt for a new mascara to add to your makeup bag, Longoria's L'Oreal pick is a worthy contender that won't break the bank. But because options are always nice, here are a few more to consider.
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
