Meta description: Too Faced Better Than Sex is one of the best-selling mascaras ever made, at $27 a tube. Here’s whether the under-$12 drugstore competition actually holds up.
Mascara is one of the few categories where the prestige-vs-drugstore gap has genuinely narrowed over the last few years — brands like Maybelline and L’Oreal have been putting real R&D into their formulas instead of coasting on packaging. I tested three budget mascaras against the volumizing, dramatic-lash promise that made Too Faced Better Than Sex a bestseller.
The benchmark: Too Faced Better Than Sex, ~$27
Better Than Sex built its reputation on an hourglass-shaped brush that grabs every lash and a formula that builds serious volume without much clumping, even with multiple coats. It holds curl well through a full day.
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Maybelline Lash Sensational, ~$11
Lash Sensational uses a fanning brush designed to separate and coat every lash edge-to-edge, and it delivers noticeably fuller volume for a fraction of the price. It doesn’t hold curl quite as long through the day as Better Than Sex, so a lash curler before application helps close the gap.
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L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise, ~$10
Lash Paradise leans into softness and length more than dramatic volume, with a formula that’s genuinely comfortable to wear and easy to remove at the end of the day — a real plus if flaking or smudging is your main mascara complaint.
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e.l.f. Big Mood Mascara, ~$6
The actual budget floor on this list, and still a legitimate volumizing formula — the brush is slightly stiffer than the other two, which some people find gives more control for precise application at the lash line.
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My verdict
For volume that’s closest to a prestige feel, Lash Sensational is the strongest drugstore match — pair it with a lash curler to close the curl-hold gap with Better Than Sex. If your priority is all-day comfort and easy removal over maximum drama, Lash Paradise is the better daily pick. Either way, mascara is genuinely one of the categories where paying more buys you the least — formula quality has caught up at the drugstore.
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