11 Best Mascaras for Sensitive Eyes
Erin Mayer
Erin Mayer
Erin is a writer and editor specializing in personal essays and musings about face creams that probably won't cure her anxiety (but hey, it's worth a shot). You can find her drafting tweets she never finishes and trying to get Glossier to sponsor her lifestyle via Instagram. Email her at ekellymayer@gmail.com with job opportunities, kind words, and gifs of Winona Ryder.
We don't feel like our makeup is done without mascara. It adds the finishing touch to every look, whether volumizing, lengthening, or natural and feathery. But if your eyes are sensitive, mascara can be a recipe for disaster. Everything from the ingredients to the flaky fallout to the removal process can leave your peepers itchy and dry. Ditch the issue with these 11 non-irritating formulas packed with soothing, conditioning ingredients instead.
Glossier Lash Slick ($16): Leave it to Instagram's favorite beauty brand to come out with a photogenic mascara that happens to be hypoallergenic. Lash Slick is ophthalmologist-tested and approved for use with contact lenses, so you know it's gentle. The long-lasting fiber formula is easy to wash off too.
Almay One Coat Thickening Mascara ($8): Aloe and vitamin B5 combine to make this one of the gentlest mascara formulas on the market.
Milk Makeup Kush High Volume Mascara ($24): It was only a matter of time before cannabis oil migrated from our skincare shelves to our makeup bags. Milk Makeup's newest mascara uses a hemp-derived version of the ingredient to hydrate and condition lashes long after you've washed your face.
Juice Beauty Phyto-Pigments Ultra Natural Mascara ($36): Going natural might be smart if your eyes are easily irritated. This green beauty pick uses rose petal powder, argan shell powder, and purple carrot extract (the "Phyto-Pigments" in the name) to blacken lashes, sans chemicals. It's perfect for getting that low-key feathery look without the side of red-eye.
Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara ($29): Warning — Hourglass' mascara will give you lash length rivaled only by extensions. What it won't do? Smudge or flake off and make you cry involuntarily. Formulated without sulfates, parabens, and phthalates, it's also much gentler than the name suggests.
BareMinerals Lashtopia Volumizing Mascara ($19): Fortify your delicate lashes with this mineral-infused mascara that's gentle enough to wear with contacts.
Honest Beauty Extreme Length Lash Primer and Mascara ($15): Don't forgo serious volume just because you're prone to itchy, weepy eyes. Pick up this dual-ended primer and mascara, made without parabens and phalates, from Jessica Alba's clean beauty brand.
Wander Beauty Unlashed Volume & Curl Mascara ($24): Some beauty products are memorable for what they don't contain — in this case, fragrance, gluten, and mineral oil. A minimally irritating formula combined with a unique curvy brush design that gives you serious length and volume? Sign us up.
Blinc Mascara ($26) This tube mascara is long-lasting without being difficult to remove the way many waterproof formulas are.
Tarte Maneater Voluptuous Mascara ($23): Lashes feel dry and brittle after a full day of wearing mascara? This one contains jojoba oil and carnauba wax to strengthen the hair and ensure clump-free application. And, let's be honest, you can't beat the cute packaging.
La Roche Posay Respectissime Extension Lengthening Mascara ($24): Flaunt a head-turning flutter with this allergy-tested, fragrance-free mascara.
Do you have sensitive eyes? Tell us @BritandCo!
Do you have sensitive eyes? Tell us @BritandCo!
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Erin Mayer
Erin is a writer and editor specializing in personal essays and musings about face creams that probably won't cure her anxiety (but hey, it's worth a shot). You can find her drafting tweets she never finishes and trying to get Glossier to sponsor her lifestyle via Instagram. Email her at ekellymayer@gmail.com with job opportunities, kind words, and gifs of Winona Ryder.