This Is the Best Mascara I’ve Ever Tried… and It’s Only £1.20.

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I tried a £1.20 mascara from Aliexpress, and it quickly became a staple in my makeup bag.

Mascara is one of the most important steps in my makeup routine. My eyelashes are short, sparse, and almost invisible in colour; so I need a mascara to work miracles. I look for a formula that’s fairly lengthening, and prefer curved brushes with plastic bristles to prevent clumps. So when I was ordering a full face of makeup from Aliexpress for a video on my channel, I picked up the Pudiaer Magnum Mascara Rocket* as – on paper at least – it had everything I was looking for. 

However, I didn’t have the highest expectations. It wasn’t just the tiny £1.20 price tag that made me sceptical… it was more that I’ve tried a lot of mascaras in my time, and the majority of them suck. I need them to transform my naturally-crap lashes, without smudging or flaking all day, and be affordable enough to repurchase every 2-3 months when they start to dry out – and most products I’ve tried failed on at least one of those requirements. But I was pleasantly surprised when I tried this! 

One coat gave me natural-looking and defined, but noticeably lengthened lashes. I loved the brush, which was small enough to wiggle at the roots of my lashes and separate them nicely. I noticed it had small fibres which added a lot of length. Then I went in with a second coat, which added more volume but not so much that things started to clump. I love that even when this is built up, I can still just about get away with calling it a “natural” mascara.

Before and after.

The only downside to this mascara is that it’s not as transfer-resistant as my previous favourite, the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara*. However, this one adds a lot more length than the Maybelline one because of the fibres, and isn’t as messy to apply because the brush is smaller. Out of the two, I’d pick the Pudaier mascara unless I was heading out and needed something a little more weather-proof, but for best results, I love to layer them together.

The rest of the makeup I tested in my Aliexpress video was a little hit and miss, but I’ve been using the Pudiaer Magnum Mascara Rocket* ever since and even repurchased it several times. I even put one in my mum’s Christmas stocking and now she’s hooked, too.

I’d really recommend this mascara if you want to add lots of length to your lashes, but still like a more natural look. It’s so cheap that it’s definitely worth a try.

What’s your favourite mascara? Do you think you’d ever try this one? Let me know in the comments.