I decided to make a comparison of mascaras in different price ranges - from cheap drugstore (Essence), to a bit more expensive drugstore (L'Oreal), to ''omg it's expensive'' HE mascara (Helena Rubinstein).

And here are all of my mascaras: Essence Multi Action, L'Oreal Million Lashes Extra-Black and my recent addition Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Feline Black Waterproof mascara.

First of a pic of my lashes with no mascara:

Starting with the cheapest in the bunch - Essence Multi Action mascara. For only about 3€ you actually get a very decent volumizing mascara. Sure it needs a few coats, but it doesn't clump. That's because the formula is not thick (and it doesn't thicken over the months of use). It does give some decent volume, but it's the definition where it fails. As you can see from the picture it's definition properties are very poor. It also doesn't hold the curl well. The brush is classic, very slim with thick bristles, the handle is very long. A great mascara if you're on a budget.

Next up is L'Oreal Million Lashes, which is one of my favourite mascaras ever. This one is around 12€ and it comes in normal, extra-black and waterproof version. It has a big, plastic brush which needs some getting used to. When I first used it, I poked myself in the eye quite bad (then again I am ridiculously clumsy). Its strong point is definition and length rather than volume, but a couple of coats takes care of volume too. It doesn't clump even though the formula is thicker than the Essence one's, but it's the brush that prevents it from getting clumpy. As you can see on the picture, two coats give you volume, length and definition:

And finally HR Lash Queen Feline Black wp mascara. This one has a very heavy price tag, it costs an obscene 30 €. Out of the three it gives the most length, definition and volume, even though it might not seem that different from Million Lashes on the pictures, but in person there is a difference. HR gives me almost fake lashes look. With two coats they look insanely long and thick. The brush is classic and slim, very easy to use. No matter how many coats you put on your lashes it never clumps, lashes always look defined. I tested it's waterproof ability under a shower and it doesn't run but it does flake. Maybe it was the running water that caused it to flake, I don't know, but it wasn't that bad anyway. It holds the curl very well (obviously since it's a waterproof mascara) and it's a pain to remove (Bioderma Sensibio works very well actually). I guess a lot of women love the packaging, to me it looks a bit tacky - it's a gold metal tube with a leopard print. One brilliant trait of this mascara is that it looks exactly the same as when applied 12+ hours later. You really get your money's worth with this mascara, but if you aren't ready to spurge on HR try Million Lashes instead, it works just fine for half the price.