No matter how late we’re running in the morning, we’ll always make time to pop open our makeup bags and twist open a tube of our go-to mascaras. But even though we’ve wished and prayed it to be true, noticeably longer lashes don’t just happen at the snap of your fingers—and usually, our time spent applying coat after coat feels like a full-blown waste of time. So, one too many stubby lashes and coated eyelids later, we decided to finally sift through the massive market of mascaras to find the absolute best, no-bull-shit lengthening formulas.

MORE: 15 Makeup Artist Pro Tricks to Take Your Game to the Next Level

And since we’ve all spent more money than we’d like to admit on mascaras by now, we made sure each tube was under $9 and available at your local drugstore. After coating our lashes in upwards of a hundred different formulas, we found the eight best mascaras that truly lead to long-ass eyelashes. Shop our picks, below.