Mascara is often a desert island beauty favourite. If you’ve only got 2 minutes in the morning, mascara is one thing that will define and open eyes in an instant.
In the past ‘natural’ mascaras have always trailed behind the more conventional ones. Unfortunately it is the silicones and other plasticisers that give a lot of mascara’s their punch… (I remember – going out in the rain one time with a natural on – it did not go well!!)
Luckily though natural mascaras have come a long long way with formulations building lovely luscious lashes that last the day.
Mascara – ‘conventional’ or natural is very subjective – what one person loves, another will hate. I’ve done a little round up of some of the ones I’ve tried lately in the hope it will help you choose a good one for you.
Natural mascara reviews..
Lavera Lash To Impress Mascara £18.40
Looking back on an Instagram post, I describe a love hate relationship with this mascara. It gives a really full lash finish – probably one of the best I’ve had with a natural mascara and the durability is brilliant, it lasts all day without a doubt. My problem came with the brush getting cloggy and product oozing out the top which then transferred into my makeup bag. My friend found it flaked a bit on her, although I never experienced that.
It has quite a big brush which I’m not normally a fan of, but this one was fine; it is an hour glass shape which seems to fit nicely around the contours of the eye.
Vegan. Certified organic by Natrue.
Green People Volumizing Mascara £20
I remember being impressed with this mascara a good few years back. I’ve been trying it again recently and have been reminded that it is still a great mascara option. It is made of natural and organic ingredients and kind on lashes. It goes on really well with a nice neat brush that enables you to get all the lashes; it’s not cloggy at all – it feels quite a lightweight formula. It doesn’t smudge either.
I feel it gives a natural full lash – it has natural cellulose micro spheres to help with the volume. Perhaps not as full as some of the others but you can build the intensity for a well defined look.
It comes in a black and a brown but the brown is a good dark neutral brown – as opposed to a redder brown which can make some eyes look tired. I actually didn’t realise I was using a brown for a while!
I really like this mascara, it comes in a solid block as opposed to a tube – this is how mascara used to come back before Helena Rubenstein put it in a tube in the late 1950s. As you add water to ‘activate’ it, you can play about with the consistency – so make it thinner or thicker which can determine the effect you get. It also comes with 3 different brushes which can also change the look. You can layer it to build intensity, just be mindful of drying time as I found it takes a little longer to dry than other mascaras. I found it did smudge a little, but this didn’t seem to effect the look – it still felt like I had as much on at the end of the day. I’ve got a video showing it in action here.
I love that the packaging is minimal, however the application process does make it hard to ‘do on the go’ so to speak; you couldn’t do it on the train for example.
It comes in 4 colours – black, brown, blue and pink. The colours are really fun, I’ve used them on shoots and they were great.
The ingredients are a mix of natural and ‘safe synthetics’ – it does contain a PEG which has mixed views.
Vegan.
Kiko Green Me Volume Mascara £13.99
I can’t remember how I found out about Kiko’s ‘Green Me’ range but was quite surprised and pleased to try it. In store I tried the shadows and other powder products but didn’t find them to be that pigmented unfortunately, definitely not enough to buy them. I did however buy the liquid liner and this mascara, and have been impressed with both. The mascara gives a good full lash – the more you use, the fuller it gets so stick with it. It is a good dense black and I like the brush. Lasts all day too. I’d definitely buy again and recommend it. It contains beeswax so is not vegan. There is also a lengthening one which I haven’t tried yet – I do tend to prefer volumising ones.
Inika Long Lash £27
This was my favourite natural mascara for a long time – I discovered it a few years while judging for the Beauty Shortlist Awards, and I recommended it a lot. It went off my radar as things do but when visiting the Natural and Organic Product Show back in the spring, I rediscovered it as I saw that Inika had had a big rebrand. I’ve since been using it again and love it again. The formulation is the same as before but the brush has changed slightly. I really like the new brush – it’s quite small and enables you to get all the lashes. It is designed to lengthen as opposed to thicken but I find you can build it to a nice ‘fullish’ lash. It stays on all day too with no smudging.
I’ve been wearing the black which is great and intense but it also comes in brown too.
Vegan.
RMS Beauty Straight Up Volumizing Peptide Mascara £29/£15
I’ve recommended this one a lot. I really enjoyed using it when I had it. I found it went on well and lasted all day without smudging too. Maybe not as volumising as some of the others but it gave a good lash effect.
I really like the brush; I often find mascara brushes can be too big (and fancy), making it harder to get all of the lashes and also can make the product clumpy. This RMS one is a great shape and size. I love that you can buy a smaller size of this to try.
Vegan.
Jane Iredale Beyond Lash Volumizing Mascara £29.50
I haven’t had this one in a while but remember being very impressed and recommending it to friends. It applied well, gave a great full lash and lasted well. (short and sweet I know, but remember it being good!)
Vegan.
Ilia Fullest Volumizing Mascara £28/£14
I found a review on the blog of Ilia’s original mascara from 12 years ago, it was one of the first natural mascaras to actually perform well. I think there have been a few reformulations since then and this Fullest Volumizing is one of two current offerings. I found it gave me a really lovely full lash – again one of the fullest I’ve had with a natural mascara. Unfortunately it did smudge on me. My friend however absolutely loves it.
The brush is quite big as volumising ones tend to be, I found it a bit too big – but I do always prefer a smaller brush. I will often use a different brush to the one a mascara comes with.
I love that you can buy a mini of this mascara too.
Have you tried any of these natural mascaras – let us know in the comments! Or do you have a recommendation that I should try next?
