When asked what make-up item they couldn’t live without, most women agree on mascara. Nothing wakes up a sleepy face like a quick swipe of mascara.

Some items require a little bit of a splurge, great shampoo, eye creams… but luckily, the best drugstore mascara can rival any high priced competitor.

So whether it’s Cover Girl mascara, Loreal, Maybelline, Lancome or Max Factor, you can make your lashes pop for under $15. Here’s what you need to think about when looking for the best drugstore brands.

Mascara Colors - Are you looking for daytime definition, dusky drama or daring delight? For daytime, a dark brown or brown tone will define your eyes, without too much of a raccoon look. If you don’t want to look too vampish at work, you can even use a clear mascara coat to add pop without any color at all.

For evening, a soft black or deep black mascara is a must - you want drama that carries in a darkened room, something that feels sexy, womanly and fierce. Don’t worry, this look can be carried of with the palest pink eyeshadow as easily as thick black eyeliner - it’s the lashes that define, not the complimenting shades.

Punky and fun shades like navy, grey, red or gold come out each season, some with a vinyl sheen, others mixed with glitter or shimmer - though these are not daytime options, you should feel free to experiment every once in a while with your night-time colors. Who said safe is the way to go?

Waterproof? - This depends. Are you the type that is always rubbing your eyes? Do you need to put your make-up on at 7 am and last until 8 pm?

Most brands have both a waterproof and a regular option for their most popular mascaras. Regular mascara washes of with plain water, sometimes you need a touch of soap to fully remove the color, but this means wiping your eyes, or long hours staring at a computer will wreck your eyes for the afternoon, or until you notice you’ve created a huge smudge under your eye.

If you have the discipline to remove waterproof mascara every night - with baby oil or make-up remover, waterproof mascara simply can’t be beat. Too much rubbing may cause waterproof mascara to flake off into powder, but will never leave you raccoon eyed and drippy. Some women don’t like the feel of waterproof mascara, so it’s a brand-by-brand personal choice.

Best way to find out? When trying a new mascara, but both the waterproof and non-waterproof versions and see which works best for you.

Brush Design - It seems every new mascara has a new patented brush design - this is a good thing - our mothers used to separate clumped up eyelashes with a pin, then curl, then hope against hope they didn’t get stuck in the rain, or become upset.

The Priscilla Presley streak was the 60’s norm - not the exception. Now, you can swipe your lashes to perfection in seconds. Look for a brush that is full, and doesn’t seem to pick up insane amounts of product.

Try a few of the newer brands, but be careful, some of these extreme brush designs are only for the steady handed and infinitely patient.

The best drugstore mascara? - In my opinion Cover girl is definitely the best mascara bang for your buck. The specific Cover Girl mascara I choose is Lash Blast. This one has an easy to use brush, that doesn’t clump up your lashes, great, dramatic colors, pretty packaging and a painless price tag.

Revlon has a few brushes that come close, but Cover Girl has really taken over the mascara crusade with new technology that actually works. Love it.