So you’ve tried Thrive Causemetics’ Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara and, like many, are a huge fan. Or maybe you’ve heard the hype but Thrive isn’t accessible to you.

Finding a dupe for the Thrive mascara really boils down to knowing what type of mascara it is: a tubing mascara. That’s what gives it the properties you love.

In this post, we’ll cover the reasons the Thrive mascara does what it does, and then we’ll get into the list of other tubing mascaras you can try as you hunt for your perfect dupe.

What Is a Tubing Mascara?

As I covered in my post on how mascara works, some mascaras have polymer fibers. Tubing mascaras have a special kind of polymer that wraps around the lash in a tube shape and cling to the lash that way. That’s opposed to regular mascaras, which work more like painting the lashes with a paste.

What Makes Tubing Mascaras So Awesome?

Tubing mascaras are smudgeproof. (Side note: if you have trouble with smudging, I’ve got a post that can help!) That’s the main thing that makes Thrive’s Liquid Lash so great.

Also, the tubes are polymers, just like fiber mascaras. So you get the added length of fiber clinging onto your lash tips and building on itself. That’s why your lashes look so long with Thrive’s mascara.

What Are the Downsides of Tubing Mascaras?

Alas, there’s one big drawback to tubing mascaras, and it’s this: they look super weird coming off. The tubes slide off your lashes and sit in whole pieces wherever they land. And while polymers are moisture resistant, they’re not waterproof.

You see where this is going. A few tears or a rainy day can make you look like a maniac if you’re wearing tubing mascara like the one from Thrive.

The other downside is that mascaras very seldom self-identify as tubing, so it’s hard to know which are and which aren’t. I find that most lists aren’t very reliable, so I’m making my own.

A List of True Tubing Mascaras, Like Thrive’s Liquid Lash

And here’s what you came for: the list!

If I can just toot my own horn here for a second…many other lists you find don’t do their legwork to find out if a mascara is truly a tubing one—they just throw out some mascaras that might be tubing. They’d do well to tell you that just because a mascara has fibers doesn’t mean those fibers are tubing!

Unlike other lists, what I didn’t do was just put them on the list without confirming that they’re truly tubing. I did some serious research, and anything I wasn’t 100% sure on is on the questionable section of the list with an explanation.

You’ll also find a list of mascaras that are NOT tubing, despite what other lists will tell you.

Drugstore Tubing Mascaras

• No. 7 Stay Perfect Mascara. The Amazon description of the mascara says it has “unique tubular technology.” (Personal note: this mascara is more defining than it is volumizing, so if you want a mascara that packs a wallop, this isn’t it. But it’s totally clump-proof.)
• L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes. Tubes is right in the name! (Personal note: This is a great mascara to try. You can skip the primer side if that’s not your jam—a few coats, and you’ll still have pretty nice lashes.)

High-End Tubing Mascaras

• Blinc Ultravolume Tubing Mascara. This has “tubing” right in the title—no doubts here!
• EM Cosmetics Pick Me Up Volume + Length Mascara. This one has an “innovative tubing formula.”
• Kevyn Aucoin The Volume Mascara. This mascara also claims a “innovating tubing formula.”
• Clinique Lash Power Mascara. When someone on the Ulta website asked if this is a tubing mascara, a representative from Clinique confirmed it is.

Questionable

I’m pretty sure these are tubing mascaras because of their ingredients, but I’m not 100% sure.

• Heroine Make (Kissme) Long and Curl Mascara Advance Film. This is universally known as a tubing mascara, but the product only says it has “memory-shape polymer.” That could mean tubing…or it may not.
• Esteé Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara. Almost all tubing mascaras have acrylate copolymer as the second ingredient, and this one does as well. Plus, its claim of having a “Smudge-Shield™* formula with innovative polymers” sure sounds like a tubing mascara. But they never come right out and say it.
• MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara. This also has the acrylate copolymers second on its ingredient deck, and it has the tubing dog whistle of “smudge proof” and “washable with warm water.” But it never says tubing anywhere in the marketing.

No Evidence These Are Tubing Mascaras, Despite Rumors

Here are some mascaras I’ve found on other lists with no evidence that they’re tubing mascaras. Just over here myth busting.

• NYX Doll Eye Mascara. You’ll find this on plenty of lists, but again, just because a mascara has fibers doesn’t mean it’s tubing. All this mascara claims is to have “a unique blend of natural oil and nylon fibers to extend lashes.” That doesn’t necessarily mean tubing. In fact, this is almost certainly not a tubing mascara.
• L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess. This is on other people’s lists of tubing mascaras too, but there’s nothing in the advertising that gives any hint that it’s tubing. This, too, is almost certainly not a tubing mascara.
• Maybelline Snapscara. This makes it onto almost every tubing mascara list. I had touted this as my favorite tubing mascara before because it never smudged on me, and usually it’s only tubing mascaras that hold that claim. And as I said in this post, I found that polymers are high on the mascara’s ingredient list. However, as I look closely, there isn’t much proof that this truly is a tubing mascara. It may just be a fiber mascara.

So, Summing Up: Which Mascaras Are Like the Ones From Thrive Causemetics?

Let’s recap. You came here to find mascaras that are like the Liquid Lash from Thrive Causemetics.

Here are other mascaras that use the same tubing technology as Thrive’s Liquid Lash:

• No. 7 Stay Perfect Mascara
• L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes
• Blinc Ultravolume Tubing Mascara
• EM Cosmetics Pick Me Up Volume + Length Mascara
• Kevyn Aucoin The Volume Mascara
• Clinique Lash Power Mascara

There’s also probably another three to add to the list—

• Heroine Make (Kissme) Long and Curl Mascara Advance Film
• Esteé Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara
• MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara

—but it’s not 100% certain that these are tubing.

I hope that this, plus the information on tubing mascara technology and why it works the way it does, was helpful to you on your search to find what mascara is similar to Thrive’s. You’ll be on your way to finding a cheaper or otherwise more accessible option in no time.