Winner: Cover Girl LashExact Mascara, $7

For price and performance, this mascara can’t be beat. The soft rubber applicator coats each lash evenly without smudging, and the formula contains provitamin B5 to condition. “It’s my ideal mascara,” said a tester, “efficient and affordable.”
To Buy: At drugstores.

Runner-Up: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara, $18

Separates and defines. However, the brush is unwieldy.
To Buy: www.tartecosmetics.com