Then, starting at the base of your lash, lightly swipe up, coating each lash. To separate your lashes while you apply, wiggle the wand as you sweep the formula toward the tips of your lashes. Repeat as needed for your desired results, and keep in mind that some mascaras dry faster than others.
If you really want to make your eye colour and shape stand out, Gradin recommends pairing your brown mascara with a dark brown, charcoal, or black eyeliner pencil.
1. Best Brown Mascara Overall: Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara in Brown
Why it’s worth it: Similar to the rest of the brand’s offerings, Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara is nonirritating and made with sensitive eyes in mind. This Best of Beauty Award winner features a curved “Triple-Wave Wand” comprised of three flexible suspended bands to lift and coat every single lash. The formula employs Aquaflex Technology (typically used in hair-care products) to hold the curl of the eyelash without sacrificing softness. It also helps boost humidity and water resistance. Our best tip? Use the shorter bristles on the inner side of the curve to amp up the volume, and then go in with the longer bristles to lengthen and define. Multiple coats look great with this mascara, too.
Tester feedback: “I absolutely prefer brown mascaras over black, which I find often makes my eyes—which are very dark to begin with—look heavy. I feel the same way about black eyeliner, for the record,” says commerce editor Sarah Han. When Tower 28 launched MakeWaves in Drift, an espresso brown, she instantly knew it’d become a regular in her rotation. “The formula is super buildable without reaching clumpy territory—that’s key because my lashes need multiple layers to even appear visible on-camera,” says Han, who adds that the innovative, curved brush maximises length and curl—rather than one over the other.
Benefits: lengthening, curling, conditioning | Waterproof: no | Who it’s for: all lash types
2. Best Volumising Brown Mascara: YSL Lash Clash Extreme Volume Mascara in Brown
Why it’s worth it: Boasting a non-irritating formula and serious staying power, it’s no wonder that the YSL Lash Clash Extreme Volume Mascara earned a 2023 Best of Beauty Award. The oversized, conical brush evenly coats each lash, lifting and thickening them for a bold, volumised look. (After all, it’s in the name.) For those who like to layer and build up their mascara for maximum effect, Lash Clash is a keeper.
Tester feedback: “No matter what it comes down to, I will forever splurge on the YSL Lash Clash mascara since it gives me that voluminous, wispy finish for my almond-shaped eyes,” social media manager Bianca Richards says. “Not only does the brown shade add that playful and effortless look for no makeup makeup days, but the rich chocolate hue helps to accentuate my dark brown eyes.”
Benefits: volumising, thickening | Waterproof: no | Who it’s for: sensitive eyes, thin lashes
3. Best Brown Mascara for Sensitive Eyes: Glossier Lash Slick in Brown
Why it’s worth it: Glossier’s Lash Slick is one of its first—and best-selling—products, intended to give a natural, no-makeup-makeup look that enhances what you’ve already got going on. Its nourishing formula (hello, vegan biotin and vitamin B5) wraps around, lengthens, and lifts each lash, for an extension-like effect. Ophthalmologists tested this formula to ensure it won’t irritate sensitive eyes or anyone who wears contact lenses.
Tester feedback: “I feel totally naked without mascara, but I don’t always want the full-throttle look of your standard black shade,” senior news editor Nicola Dall’Asen says. “Glossier’s Lash Slick in Brown provides lengthening yet whisper-light coats in a warm brown tone—probably similar to your natural lashes if you’re brunette—for that ‘wait, are those real?’ kind of look.”