The 15 Best Clean Mascaras That Won't Irritate Sensitive Eyes

For only $10, snag the Revolution Beauty Makeup Revolution 5D Lash Pow Mascara. With just a few coats, this 2022 Best of Beauty winner gives the look of false lashes and brings volume, thickness, and length to each itty-bitty lash.

Maybelline New York's Green Edition Mega Mousse Mascara may be lightweight but it lends lashes major volume and length. Formulated with shea butter, which keeps lashes moisturized and helps the formula go on smooth as butter, this vegan mascara checks off all of our boxes. 

There are two really cool standout components you'll find in the Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara. One is the formula, which contains Aquaflex Technology that defines curled hair (in this case, lashes) and uses memory hold, so the curl and definition last all day long. Next is the triple-wave wand, as the brand calls it, meaning there are three suspended bands that converge into one, making it easier for the bristles to grip and coat every single lash (even the baby corner hairs). So, needless to say, this mascara is pretty great. 

It's hard to find a single fault with Ilia's Readers' Choice Award-winning Limitless Lash Mascara. Take it from Allure contributor Kat Suico who says that "the opaque, black formula holds a curl through a full day's wear and layers beautifully so you can create either soft definition or full-on, in-your-face lashes." This is possible because one side of the brush is designed with shorter, more dense bristles to add volume, while the other, comb-like side is responsible for lengthening and separating. 

P.S. The Fullest Lash Volumizing Mascara is Ilia's second mascara and every bit as good as its predecessor — especially if you're going for a bolder, even fuller look.

It's no surprise Honest Beauty's Extreme Length Mascara + Lash Primer picked up a Readers' Choice Award when you factor in the built-in, glycerin-infused primer that ensures your mascara stays on throughout a workday that rolls into a margarita-fueled dinner. "[You know] you're disrupting when you're not just winning [over] the clean and natural [customer]... but bringing people over from the conventional and switching," founder Jessica Alba told us of the multitasking, jojoba ester-spiked formula.

Out of Merit's debut lineup, Clean Lash was the hardest to formulate. But it was worth every trial and piece of feedback because the resulting lengthening mascara is packed with nourishing vitamins E (rice bran) and B5 to seriously condition lashes without causing smudges or clumps. And because it's made with tubing technology or polymers that hug each individual lash and boost volume, the Best of Beauty-winning Clean Lash satisfyingly slides off into your sink with a bit of warm water.

Just when you thought Kosas' The Big Clean Mascara couldn't get any better, the fan-favorite brand went back to the lab and added long-wearing properties to the formula so you can have naturally fanned-out lashes for up to 12 hours with no smudging, period. How so? Plant-based sugars operate as natural binders and are, according to Kosas, safer and less harsh on sensitive eyes than microplastic "film formers" other formulas use. 

"Smearing is always an issue I have with mascara, and it was a particularly hot day when I decided to give this mascara a try, so I was surprised when there wasn't a single streak of black makeup under my eyes after six hours of wearing The Big Clean," Allure commerce writer Jennifer Hussein raved. "Just like it promised, it held up for as long as I wore it (eight hours, to be exact), and I'm convinced I could've worn it for longer if I really wanted to." There you have it, folks — a mascara that truly lives up to its claims. Plus, the curved, oversized wand (same as before) coats every single lash from corner to corner.

For how little it costs ($7) to buy yourself a gorgeous violet tube of E.L.F. Cosmetics' Big Mood Mascara, this Best of Beauty Award winner really puts all 200 jojoba wax-infused bristles found in its hourglass-shaped wand to work. As a result, your lashes stay lifted and curled all day long. What more could you want in a mascara?

For soft, clump-free lashes that look like they've experienced a major second wind, swipe on Kjaer Weis's Im-Possible Mascara. The conditioning formula is made up of a blend of beeswax, carnauba wax, and acacia gum for lift and volume, while lashes also benefit from repairing raspberry fruit water, nourishing sunflower seed oil, and antioxidant-rich marula oil. Use the curved side to boost volume and the flat side to add length and separation, as well as extending your stubborn bottom lashes. The bold red case can be reused and refill wands cost $26 a pop, saving you a solid $6 in the process.

Lawless's The One & Done Volumizing Mascara keeps lashes looking soft, lifted, and healthy with a blend of lacquer tree and rice bran waxes (as an alternative to beeswax), castor oil, and argan oil. If you look closely, the elastomer wand has a special feature you normally don't see. There's a tiny spherical tip that helps separate your tiniest and most stubborn lashes.

W3LL People's Expressionist Volumizing Mascara encases lashes with sunflower seed oil to nourish and lengthen simultaneously — because who are you if not a busy person with things to do and places to do? The EWG-certified brand developed a dense, hourglass-shaped brush that coats each lash with little to no effort. No wonder the non-clumping formula has a Best of Beauty Clean Award under its belt already.

Beautycounter's Think Big All-in-One Mascara has thought of just about everything when it comes to "clean" formulas that won't bother sensitive eyes. The creamy, lightweight formula is free of carbon black (which is called out as a potential carcinogen) and outfitted with a soft, molded brush that lifts and augments lashes from root to tip. Furthermore, a trio of peptides and panthenol condition lashes and support stronger, fuller-looking lashes.

The glossy, pitch-black pigments found in Eye Love You Mascara is just one of many outstanding creations by legendary makeup artist Gucci Westman from her eponymous cosmetics brand, Westman Atelier — so you know it's worth the splurge. But if you need further proof, just take a glance at the ingredients list. Galactoarabinan (a natural polysaccharide) keeps lashes soft and moisturized while chicory root ensures all-day wearability.