Waterproof mascara that doesn't run

Blinc Original Tubing Mascara has the best record: 17 of 21 reviewers who brought it up said it held up to water, tears or sweat. Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara comes next at 15 of 23, and the rest are much closer to an even split. People often write about waterproofing when it fails on them, so read these shares as a way to compare mascaras, not as a promise.

  • 384 store reviews counted
  • Ulta and Sephora shoppers
  • Sep 2017 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Does it hold up to water? What buyers said
  1. Blinc Original Tubing Mascara 21 said either way
  2. Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara 23 said either way
  3. Benefit Roller Lash Mascara 24 said either way
  4. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara 46 said either way
  5. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara 28 said either way
  6. Lancôme Lash Idôle Mascara 13 said either way
  7. Buxom Lash Volumizing Mascara 11 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for running. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Blinc Original Tubing Mascara Best record Blinc Original Tubing Mascara 17 of 21 say it holds up to water and tears See price & reviews on Amazon

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Blinc Original Tubing Mascara

Blinc

Original Tubing Mascara

Best for easy removal

17/21 say it holds up to water and tears

60% of reviews say it comes off easily, and 33% say it lasts all day. Counted at Sephora, where 17 of 21 said it held up. Clumping is the small complaint at 13%.

What buyers praise

  • Easy to remove 60%
  • Lasts all day 33%
  • Separated, no clumps 13%
  • Natural look 13%
  • Gentle on sensitive eyes or contacts 10%

What buyers complain about

  • Clumpy 13%
  • Hard to remove 10%
  • Flakes under the eyes 10%
  • Drops the curl or weighs lashes down 10%
  • Formula changed for the worse 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 17 of 21
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination11 of 14
  • Dry5 of 5
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light14 of 17
  • Light-medium to medium3 of 3

How often it comes up: about 1 in 8 of this product's 4,111 store reviews mention running.

2 Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara

Lancôme

Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara

Best for length and curl hold

15/23 say it holds up to water and tears

62% of reviews praise the length and 33% say it holds a curl. Ulta reviewers said it held up at 14 of 21. Complaints are small, with 10% saying the curl drops and 8% saying it's too expensive.

What buyers praise

  • Lengthens lashes 62%
  • Separated, no clumps 41%
  • Adds volume 38%
  • Holds a curl 33%
  • Lasts all day 18%

What buyers complain about

  • Drops the curl or weighs lashes down 10%
  • Too expensive 8%
  • Hard to remove 5%
  • Irritates eyes 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 14 of 21
  • Sephora 1 of 2

How often it comes up: about 1 in 9 of this product's 3,752 store reviews mention running.

3

Benefit

Roller Lash Mascara

Best for length and curl

14/24 say it holds up to water and tears

Sold at Sephora and Ulta, where reviewers like the length (37%) and the curl (33%). The catch is that 20% say the curl drops or the lashes feel weighed down.

What buyers praise

  • Lengthens lashes 37%
  • Holds a curl 33%
  • Separated, no clumps 25%
  • Easy to remove 17%
  • Adds volume 17%

What buyers complain about

  • Drops the curl or weighs lashes down 20%
  • Hard to remove 5%
  • Clumpy 3%
  • Too expensive 3%
  • Dries out fast in the tube 3%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 9 of 13
  • Sephora 5 of 11

How often it comes up: about 1 in 31 of this product's 14,979 store reviews mention running.

Share of 60 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

4

Too Faced

Better Than Sex Mascara

20/46 say it holds up to water and tears

More reviewers weighed in on this mascara than on any other here (46), and they split: 20 of 46 said it held up. Praise is modest, with 14% saying it lasts all day. Complaints include clumping (11%) and a changed formula (9%).

What buyers praise

  • Lasts all day 14%
  • Holds a curl 13%
  • Separated, no clumps 7%
  • Adds volume 5%
  • Lengthens lashes 4%

What buyers complain about

  • Clumpy 11%
  • Formula changed for the worse 9%
  • Dries out fast in the tube 9%
  • Hard to remove 7%
  • Too expensive 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 12 of 22
  • Sephora 8 of 24
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination2 of 5
  • Normal1 of 4
  • Dry1 of 4
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light2 of 4
  • Light-medium to medium2 of 5
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked2 of 5

How often it comes up: about 1 in 38 of this product's 44,213 store reviews mention running.

Share of 56 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

5

Tarte

Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara

12/28 say it holds up to water and tears

It has the weakest record here at 12 of 28. The better notes are comfort (13% call it gentle on sensitive eyes or contacts) and removal (15% say it comes off easily). 13% mention clumping.

What buyers praise

  • Lengthens lashes 20%
  • Adds volume 18%
  • Easy to remove 15%
  • Gentle on sensitive eyes or contacts 13%
  • Separated, no clumps 13%

What buyers complain about

  • Clumpy 13%
  • Flakes under the eyes 7%
  • Too expensive 4%
  • Dries out fast in the tube 4%
  • Drops the curl or weighs lashes down 4%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 5 of 10
  • Sephora 7 of 18
  • Brand site 1 of 1 shown, not counted
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination4 of 9
  • Normal2 of 6
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light5 of 11
  • Light-medium to medium1 of 4

How often it comes up: about 1 in 43 of this product's 20,371 store reviews mention running.

Share of 55 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

6

Lancôme

Lash Idôle Mascara

6/13 say it holds up to water and tears

A smaller group weighed in, all at Sephora, and 6 of 13 said it held up. Fans mention length (27%) and separated lashes (27%). The Flutter Extension version ranks higher.

What buyers praise

  • Lengthens lashes 27%
  • Separated, no clumps 27%
  • Adds volume 23%
  • Natural look 20%
  • Doesn't flake 20%

What buyers complain about

  • Clumpy 7%
  • Hard to remove 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 6 of 13
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Dry2 of 4
  • Combination2 of 4

How often it comes up: about 1 in 25 of this product's 10,771 store reviews mention running.

Share of 30 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

7

Buxom

Lash Volumizing Mascara

5/11 say it holds up to water and tears

A small group weighed in at Sephora, and 5 of 11 said it held up. Reviewers praise length (30%) and separated lashes (27%), and 7% mention flakes.

What buyers praise

  • Lengthens lashes 30%
  • Separated, no clumps 27%
  • Adds volume 23%
  • Easy to remove 17%
  • Holds a curl 13%

What buyers complain about

  • Flakes under the eyes 7%
  • Messy or awkward wand 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 5 of 11

How often it comes up: about 1 in 19 of this product's 9,281 store reviews mention running.

Share of 30 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 7 products ranked here carry 107,478 reviews at Ulta and Sephora. We searched them for running and read the newest matching reviews, up to 30 per product and store, posted between Sep 2017 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Blinc Original Tubing Mascara Sephora (30 reviews counted)
  2. Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara Ulta and Sephora (39 reviews counted)
  3. Benefit Roller Lash Mascara Ulta and Sephora (60 reviews counted)
  4. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Ulta and Sephora (56 reviews counted)
  5. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara Ulta and Sephora (55 reviews counted)
  6. Lancôme Lash Idôle Mascara Sephora (30 reviews counted)
  7. Buxom Lash Volumizing Mascara Sephora (30 reviews counted)

People asking about it on Reddit

  1. when your mascara says waterproof but doesn't survive your daily breakdown. 🤌 any mascara recommandations? r/MakeupAddiction, Mar 2023, 327 comments
  2. Any recommendations for Waterproof Mascara that does NOT bleed even in THE WORST CONDITIONS? r/drugstoreMUA, Sep 2023, 203 comments
  3. After 8 hours in the office. Too Faced waterproof mascara & setting spray used. What am I doing wrong ☹️ r/MakeupAddictionCanada, May 2024, 122 comments

Questions buyers ask

Which mascara is actually waterproof?

Blinc Original Tubing Mascara has the best record, with 17 of 21 reviewers saying it held up to water, tears or sweat. Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara follows at 15 of 23.

Does Too Faced Better Than Sex hold up in water?

It's mixed. 20 of 46 reviewers who brought it up said it holds up, and more said it ran or smudged. More reviewers weighed in on this mascara than on any other here (46), so the record is well supported.

Does Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes stay on in water?

It has the weakest record here at 12 of 28, so more than half of the reviewers who brought it up had it run or smudge. It does get credit for comfort, with 13% calling it gentle on sensitive eyes or contacts.

Is waterproof mascara hard to remove?

It depends on the formula, and complaints are small. 60% of Blinc Original Tubing Mascara reviews say it comes off easily, while 7% of Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara reviews and 5% of Benefit Roller Lash Mascara reviews call it hard to remove.

Related problems

Mascara Mascara that doesn't smudge Top pick: L'Oréal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes 751 buyer reports Makeup remover Makeup remover that removes waterproof mascara Top pick: Lancôme Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover 187 buyer reports Mascara Mascara that's easy to remove Top pick: Urban Decay Tube Job Mascara 386 buyer reports Eyeliner Eyeliner that doesn't smudge Top pick: Physicians Formula Eye Booster 390 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.