For a long time mascara meant volume, and length was a word printed in small type on the tube. That has flipped. The mascaras people talk about now wrap each lash in a thin coat and pull it longer instead of piling pigment at the base. Tubing formulas like Tarte's Tartelette XL, MERIT's Clean Lash and Sephora Collection's It's a Stretch lead that shift, with Too Faced's Better Than Sex as the bridge for anyone who still wants some thickness. Start with a little wiggle at the root, then pull up and out.

Lengthening mascara is really solving one of two problems. Some lashes are short and straight and need stretching. Others already have length but point down, and those need lift. Pradascope does a bit of both, YSL's Lash Latex sculpts and stretches, Clinique's High Impact adds body while it lengthens, and Benefit's Roller Lash is the one for straight lashes, with a curved brush that holds them up as you pull through. For lift, press the wand into the root for a second before you sweep upward.

A flexible brush works almost like a tool, dragging each lash longer as it moves through. IT Cosmetics' Superhero and ILIA's Limitless Lash reward slow, deliberate strokes. Urban Decay's Tube Job and Lancôme's Flutter Extension chase a fuller, fanned-out look instead, which hides sparse lashes faster. If your lashes are fine and few, go for the fuller look. If they are simply short, go slow with a flexible brush.

Tubing mascaras wrap lashes in tiny polymer sleeves that slide off with warm water, no scrubbing. That matters more than it sounds, because a formula that clings under a wet cloth tends to take lashes with it. Tarte's original Tartelette, Glossier's Lash Slick and Kulfi's Badi Lash are all tubing formulas. Dolce&Gabbana's My Lash Seduction is built for curl and all-day wear instead, so give that one a proper eye makeup remover. Press a warm, damp cloth over your lashes for a few seconds and let the tubes slip off on their own.

Lengthening mascara is genuinely good at making short or straight lashes look longer without clumps, because most formulas rely on fine fibers or a polymer wrap rather than heavy pigment. What gets oversold is volume, since a formula built to stretch a lash thin rarely thickens it at the same time. If you take one thing away, wiggle the brush at the base before you pull through. That small motion catches the short inner-corner lashes a straight stroke misses.