If I only have a few moments (or even a few seconds) to get ready before running out the door, a quick swipe of mascara is usually on the “must-do” list. Since finding less-toxic skin products has been on my radar lately, I wanted to make sure I had a few good mascara options for the ol’ daily routine as well. I had to go through a few different products, but after some trial and error, I found a few options that are keepers for sure!
Rejuva Minerals Mega Lash: This water-resistant formula is great because it lengthens and thickens my lashes without making them feel hard and brittle. It also comes in a larger tube, so it will last longer between purchases and has a large wand that coats the lashes nicely. It is also organic and mica-free.
Physicians Formula Organic Wear: This is a great option because this brand is sold in lots of drugstores and makeup sections nationwide. So chances are you can buy it locally or pick it up on a trip as needed. For those of you who like the plastic spiky wand head (as opposed to the bristle type brush heads), this might be your best choice.
Endlessly Beautiful Organic Mascara: Probably my favorite of the natural mascara options due to how soft my lashes feel after application and the fact that I love how this mascara smells (the ingredients contain coffee and vanilla, so the fragrance is kind of awesome). It comes in a much smaller tube than I’m used to, so I do have to replace it more frequently. But I also kind of like that it takes up less room in my makeup bag.
As far as defining what “natural” means, the Rejuva and Physician’s Formula are both rated a 1 out of 10 on the EWG toxicity scale and while they don’t have the Endlessly Beautiful option in their database yet, most of the ingredients are rated a 1 with a few that are a 2-3. While I know that using a site like the EWG isn’t a totally perfect system, it has been well recommended by people I trust and I do find it really helpful when looking up ingredients since I’m obviously not a biochemist myself!
With any of these products, I like to do one coat of mascara, wait about 20 seconds, and then do a second coat for added volume and length. While I’m still on the hunt to replace other beauty items with new products I like just as well, it’s great to have several options I love for my mascara routine. Do you have a natural mascara that you love to use? xo. Laura
Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman.
I love the Arbonne mascara. It’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t make my eyes itch.
Pure Ananda is my absolute fave organic formula. Their mascara is perfect and the mineral powder foundation covers like a dream!
I totally agree that LUSH mascara is the best! I have never been able to wear mascara before because my eyes would almost immediately puff up, maybe an allergic reaction?? But I gave LUSH a shot and it’s great!
I love the mascara (and everything else!) by Root. Awesome little natural makeup small business! www.rootpretty.com
Not affiliated with them, just a happy customer 🙂
As a natural beauty blogger I can add two more to that list, Ere Perez Almond Oil Mascara and Nu Evolution mascara. Both absolutely outstanding!
Organic Beauty Crave
I am definitely going to be trying these out!
http://flareaforte.com
I have not ever really found a good ‘natural’ mascara before, these sound good! Thank you
xx Jenelle
http://www.inspiringwit.com/
My favorite mascara is the Rejuva Minerals Mega Lash. Thanks for sharing!
I’ll have to try these!
www.petiteandhungry.com
I love this post! The Shea Moisture brand mascara at Target is my favorite natural mascara. Everyone asks me if I have eyelash extensions when I wear it! And it smells like cinnamon. Only downside is that it’s not waterproof; I would describe it as kind of charcoal-y. But I don’t need a waterproof brand most days, and the plus is how easy it is to remove. I am a fan of all of their hair + body products too, and I love that they’re in such an accessible place.
Thank you for sharing!
x, Paige
I am so excited that you guys are doing this series on using more natural products. I tried the fingernail polish after that post- I bought the Pacifica 7 Free that I found at a local grocery store, “Fresh Thyme.” My pedicure has lasted 3 weeks and I am in my hot tub a lot! I also bought a diffuser and some essential oils after reading that post, and the family likes the lavender smell when I turn it on in the evening while we are reading or watching tv together. That has been great because I had to give up candles several years ago due to developing asthma, so it’s nice to freshen up the air in a way that doesn’t cause me to wheeze. I bought the ingredients to make the pillow mist too, so will try that next weekend when I have some time. After I read the post about the pillow mist I looked at mine from B&B Works and sure enough I can’t pronounce half of the ingredients so that can’t be good. Bottom line, this has been an awesome series of posts, and trying them one at a time, these items are affordable, and, I feel like I am taking better care of myself and my family which feels good. Thank you for trying these all out so I don’t have to, I totally appreciate the posts and please keep them coming!
Would you find this article more helpful to you if you saw each mascara type on someone’s eyelashes? We’re always curious what readers would find helpful so let us know your thoughts. 🙂
-Emma
A post on different types of mascara, but no photos of someone’s eyelashes with them on?
I think that both EWG and Think Dirty can be a little misleading– they give ingredients “bad” scores for things like “it MIGHT be an irritant to certain people’s skin” (just one example haha). It’s definitely not gospel. I take what they show me with a grain of salt and I do use it for reference, but I recommend doing your own extended research on product ingredients to see how harmful they could potentially be to your body. Not all chemicals are harmful, after all! Not hating because I use those resources as well, so I hope you don’t take it that way! 🙂 Just saying it’s not a perfect system and I wouldn’t go in there, see something rated a 6, and immediately trust that rating without looking into the actual ingredients involved. That being said, love that more natural products are being featured on here! xo
Nice, I’ll check it out!
Laura 🙂
I’ll check that one out!
Laura 🙂
Nice!
Laura 🙂
Good question! I use the EWG site to help determine the toxicity of a products. The Rejuva and Physician’s Formula are both rated a 1 out of 10 on the EWG toxicity scale and while they don’t have the Endlessly Beautiful option in their database yet, most of the ingredients are rated a 1 with a few that are a 2-3. Not sure how that compares to your European standards though!
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
Laura 🙂
Great post, big issue for me too. I have the same question as Calla. Here in Europe there protected eco seals that allow customers to (more or less) easily determine how organic / natural a beauty product really is. Products without any of the common eco seals are only close-to-nature which basically doesn’t count a dime. Where in the wide range of natural products do these mascaras fit?
Great post! I recently made the switch to all cruelty free makeup and I found that the mascara was the hardest part to replace. But I fell in love hard with Pacifica’s Dream Big Mascara! It caught my eye because it has unicorns on the packaging (lol) but I was sold when I read it has an EXTENDABLE WAND! It is a wetter formula than I was used to, so I was a little messy the first week, but I stuck with it and I LOVE it. I put my 1st coat on with the wand fully extended, wait a little bit, twist the wand smaller so the bristles are closer together and then run it back over my lashes a 2nd time and it is so good! I totally recommend it if you haven’t tried it already 🙂
http://www.pacificabeauty.com/dream-big-lash-extending-7-1-mascara?id=642