Women like their lashes big, and cosmetic companies promise to give women what they're looking for.

"Some women want longer, some women want thicker more voluminous, some want curved lashes," says London Drugs beauty advisor Silvia Pensato.

That's why there is so much selection.

In Vancouver, waterproof is the big seller.

"A lot of women get the little flaking underneath the eyelash and they are going 'why do I have raccoon eyes?'" says Pensato. "And it's because in our type of climate the non-waterproof mascara actually breaks down and starts to fall, so waterproof in Vancouver is very important."

The book 'Don't go to the cosmetics counter without me' recommends several waterproof mascaras from the $27 Lancome to a real bargain -- the CoverGirl Professional which costs less than $6.

Some women can't use the stronger formula of waterproof mascara so Consumer Reports had staffers try 16 regular mascara's ranging from the more expensive to cheaper to see if price matters.

"We had staffers use each of the mascaras two days in a row," says Sue Perry. "They rated how each one looked at the beginning and the end of the day, as well as how easy it was to put on and remove and how well the brush worked."

Labels were covered so no one knew which mascara they were using.

"A lot of these mascaras did the job very well, but some of the wands were too long and they were hard to control," says Melissa Valentino.

Lancome 'Definicils' got top marks for being easy to apply and testers thought it looked better than most.

Maybelline's top-selling 'Great Lash Washable' rated very good as well.

But overall -- does price really matter?

"We found you don't have to spend a lot to get a great mascara," says Sue.

So paying more won't necessarily leave you more satisfied.

Even if you've got some left you'll want to get rid of your mascara every three months because the moist environment inside the tube is an ideal place to grow bacteria. That's another reason why you don't want to share your mascara with anybody else.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen