I think that if you are just starting out wearing them and are new to false eyelashes in general - you can try Ardell brand from target/CVS - a lot of people wear them and they are amazing!
I use MAC eyelashes only for special occasions because of the price - but if you take real good care of them, they should lengthen the time you can use them.
if you look at the Show Your Face forum, you can see a few people using the MAC lashes!
HTH