Meet The Internet’s Favourite Mascara — & It’s Only $8 At Priceline

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Here's the thing about mascara: there are heaps of totally fine tubes out there but only a very select few that literally hundreds of thousands of discerning beauty stans would agree upon as simply amazing. And, by a very select few, we are referring to one lash-plumping and lengthening unicorn in particular: Essence's Lash Princess Mascara.

This viral product also happens to be Amazon's #1 bestselling mascara, toting a total of 314,000 reviews and counting — over 213,979 of which carry the full 5-out-of-5-star rating. Its impressive internet fanbase can be attributed to an affordable price point, formula versatility (offered in both original, waterproof, and volumising formulas), and workhorse results (lengthening, defining, thickening, AND curling).

I first tried a tube of Lash Princess IRL for a test run of the internet's most viral beauty products. The original and waterproof formulas both have thin comb-like and tapered wands that grip every lash, fanning them out to Bambi-like lengths; the volumising formula has a curved wand that acts like a push-up bra, lifting lashes at the root. The pigments are jet-black (I personally found the waterproof one to be a more muted black), and you can go from subtle to dramatic in a matter of coats.

I can say without any hyperbole that I was completely blown away by the results — when they say "false lash effect," they mean it. But, you don't need to just take my word for it when there's a chorus of Lash Princess stans armed and ready with devoted recs.

"I’ve used designer, super-hyped, popular mascaras, and NOTHING compares to this stuff," one reviewer wrote. "I don’t even bother using a lash curler anymore! I buy two at a time so I always have a spare — it’s that good!" another chimed in. It's been touted as everything from exceeding the quality of $30 tubes to being the one beauty product a reviewer would bring to a desert island. Some went so far as to divulge it as a beauty secret they would have preferred to keep; "I hate to tell you how good this mascara is!" While the vastly outnumbered negative feedback mentions mostly issues with clumping, many reviewers refute such claims — suggesting that as long as care is taken during the application (e.g. dipping the wand back into the tube between coats), Essence's Lash Princess goes on smooth for an all-day and flake-free wear.