In the past few years, innovation in the mascara space has come on leaps and bounds.
For long, fluttery lashes, there’s just one product type for the task and these hi-tech formulations are complete with nourishing ingredients, high pigments and fibres with real lasting power. The only trouble is, if you have sensitive eyes, they can be irritating and leave your peepers red and watering and your eyesight affected in the worst-case scenario.
A staple in our makeup bags, mascara has the miraculous ability to give up a wide-eyed, awake appearance but if your current option is causing more harm than good, there’s something you can do.
Claire Mulleady, National Make Up Artist at Givenchy Beauty, suggests that for sensitive eyes, “try to keep your mascara ingredients to natural origin and fragrance-free”.
These sensitivities could be caused by hay fever, allergies, dry eyes, due to contact lenses or on account of synthetic fragrances, parabens or nasties within the product, but don’t immediately fill your basket with waterproof mascara to combat it. “If you have particularly watery eyes it might be tempting to reach for a waterproof mascara”, says Mulleady. “However they are hard to take off which often leads to a more aggressive removal”.
The key, she reveals, is to “be kind and gentle with your eyes when removing makeup and opt for a remover with oil and water that work together for effortless removal like the Givenchy Skin Ressource Bi-Phase Eye and Lip Remover, which contains oils to help gently remove stubborn makeup without rubbing”.
“When taking off your mascara”, she adds. “Apply the remover to a cotton pad and gently press onto the lashes leaving the product to soak in and start breaking down the mascara, then gently sweep away”.
There has been an increase in interest in tubing mascaras. Tubing mascaras contain polymers which wrap around the individual lashes to create a lifted, lengthening effect. Mulleady reveals that they “can be good for sensitive eyes as they form a tube around the lashes making them resistant to smudging and flaking, but also means they can be gently removed with just warm water”.
For the sensitive eye area, it is important to pay close attention to the products that you use, so we have gathered the kind-to-lash formulas to prevent inflammation, irritation or interference that are fragrance-free, ophthalmologist-tested or hypoallergenic.
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Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara
Tower 28 is a clean makeup label that has landed on UK soil from LA. While the full collection is not yet available - and that includes this mascara - you can snap it up at Revolve and get in on the irritant and allergy-free action.
The brand was founded to bring playful, creative products to those who, like founder Amy Liu, suffer from sensitivities and eczema. As such, this mascara is a soothing, vegan, toxin and cruelty-free formula that is hypoallergenic and does not contain essential oils or synthetic fragrances.
It’s a volumising and lengthening eye product that gives smudge-free results, is water-resistant and is safe for contact lens wearers. Whether you’re looking for a natural beauty look and just apply a few coats or want bigger, bolder lashes, it’s buildable without clumping.
Buy now £20.00, Revolve
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Mascara Waterproof
If you’re prone to sensitivities, you are likely hugely familiar with La Roche-Posay. The French pharmacy label was created to soothe irritations for those who suffer from sensitive skin and this goes beyond the skincare that it is most famous for.
Within the calming collection is this mascara. Off the bat, it is clear that it is made for those prone to peeper pain as it is free from fragrance, parabens and preservatives. The jet-black product shouldn’t cause burning or itching, instead giving you long, thick lashes that are natural-appearing but can build without clumping.
Buy now £20.94, Amazon
Clinique High Impact Zero Gravity Mascara
The hunt for the perfect mascara with equal volumising and lengthening properties is enduring but Clinique is making a convincing claim for the title with its High Impact Zero Gravity Mascara. The brand explains, “We have lash lift-off” before going on to share its ability to lift and curl lashes by 50 per cent.
No additional tools are necessary, this is the be-all and end-all for lashes where the curved brush coats a lightweight gel with a strong hold polymer and clay particles. Clinique has forgone the use of heavy waxes to offer long-lasting results and leaves unsightly drooping out of your beauty routine. The formula doesn’t smudge or flake off throughout the day but is easily removed with just warm water.
It has a black/brown pigment for the best of both worlds.
Buy now £24.00, Clinique
Perricone MD No Makeup Mascara
Backstage at fashion week, the beauty agenda was clear: no makeup makeup shows no signs of wavering. And it was with this idea that Perricone MD’s mascara was created. The brand designed this makeup staple to enhance your lashes without looking as if you’re wearing false lashes or much product at all.
It’s a two-in-one product that enriches skincare with pigment so you are treating your lashes to the nourishing, conditioning and strengthening benefits of candelilla wax that is similar to beeswax but plant-based, carnauba and avocado to build density as well as length and volume. It has a dual-faced brush with a comb on one side to separate each lash with ease.
Buy now £24.00, Perricone MD
e.l.f. Big Mood Mega Volume & Lifting Mascara
e.l.f. is known and loved for its affordable makeup products, but don’t for one minute assume that’s because the brand fills its beauty heroes with cheap chemicals.
This mascara, like the rest of the range, has a clean and vegan formula that is free from toxins. Instead, it is created with jojoba wax that is kind and nourishing to the lashes, whilst also setting the product in place for long-lasting drama. The hourglass brush gives a false lash effect with a creamy texture that is smudge and flake-proof.
Buy now £7.00, Amazon
Green People Volumising Mascara
The Green People collection of makeup and skincare is designed specifically for those who suffer from sensitivities. The brand prides itself on efficacious formulas that do not include harsh chemicals like phthalates, petrochemicals or parabens. For this reason, those with any kind of sensitivity, be it light or the most, can apply its products without worry.
The mascara comes in black and brown and is made with natural beeswax and vitamin E that have a conditioning effect on lashes. The pigment is also natural and 98 per cent of the ingredients are of natural origin. The bristles are thin for precise application and you really do not need much for dramatic results.
Buy now £20.00, Green People
bareMinerals Lashtopia Volumizing Mascara
This is the bestselling mascara in the bareMinerals and one flick of the wand will prove why. The product has an immediate fluttery effect, upping the length and density of your lashes in the carbon black hue thanks to the 600 bristles on the brush. These are placed in a staggered way to ensure that no lash is left behind as you apply the mousse-like texture.
As is the case with the entire bareMinerals makeup collection, this product is mineral-based and packed with conditioning ingredients, which makes it great for sensitive eyes.
Buy now £21.00, lookfantastic
Glossier Lash Slick
Glossier’s Lash Slick garners consistently good reviews thanks to its natural effect but also staying power.
Its weightless and flexible mascara visibly lengthens and lifts lashes thanks to the tiny fibres that coat each hair, giving maximum definition. Not only this, but because of its water-resistant (not waterproof) formula, it will stay in place for the whole day without smudging or flaking but is easy to remove, without the need for rubbing which can often irritate the delicate eye area.
If you’re after that subtle looking-great-without-looking-like-you-made-an-effort look that is currently in vogue, this mascara definitely the one to go for.
It is available in black and more recently, brown. The product is allergy, dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested.
Buy now £14.00, Glossier
Maybelline New York Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara Brown
For those in the know, the Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High packs a real punch for its modest cost outlay. The mascara promises incredible volume to your lashes using bamboo extract and fibres to strengthen them as it leaves the pigmented shade.
The jet-black hue may already be a staple in your collection but keep this brown tone on hand for extensions with no professional treatment necessary. These are your lashes but longer, thicker and sky-high.
The formula has been ophthalmologist tested, so it is suitable for those with sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.
Buy now £8.23, Amazon
Lancôme Lash Idôle Waterproof Mascara
Best for: clump-free application
Whether it’s to withstand sauna-like commutes, date nights or an evening on the town, Lancôme is on hand with its mascara collection that has become cult to those in the know.
This is one of the brand’s waterproof formulations which makes it essential to slip into your holiday wash bag. It has a lifting effect on lashes, fanning as it goes due to the curved design of the wand. No matter the weather, be it humidity, rain or even in the shower, this stays firmly in place without smudging or clumping.
This has been proven to not trigger sensitivities.
Buy now £25.00, Sephora
