I Wore Only Clean Mascara for a Month, and These Are the Best

[ad_1]

These days it’s easy to find clean makeup that’s as sophisticated as other products. But finding the best clean mascara that holds its own when compared with standard formulas is trickier. While what makes a product clean isn’t cut-and-dried—the term isn’t regulated by the FDA so most brands and retailers use their own guidelines—most mascaras use ingredients that fall under the “no” lists. Things like parabens, phthalates, silicones, and synthetic dyes and fragrances are all common in your drugstore tubes of mascara. While clean beauty enthusiasts are wary of some of these ingredients, they’ve been crucial for giving your lashes the length, volume, and pigment you crave.

Until now. Over the past few years, clean-beauty mascara has evolved from granola attempts to fluttery results rivaling our old standbys. And while I am personally not a clean beauty enthusiast (in fact, one could call me a skeptic), I’m always on the hunt for the next best mascara—plus, I’ve probably swiped more mascara wands across my lashes than the rest of the Glamour team combined. So keeping the spirit of discovery in mind, I used exclusively clean formulas for a month. Here are the best clean mascara options I found.

Best Overall Clean Mascara: Roen Cake Mascara

Bella Cacciatore

Okay, confession, this one isn’t exactly a new discovery. I’ve been obsessed with Roen’s Cake Mascara since it launched last year, and I consider it the standard for any clean or traditional mascara I try. One coat is pretty, but once I layer up to two or three, my lashes get to insane levels of thickness and length. I like that it’s almost chunky in an intentional way, the more you apply (check out the campaign imagery to see how far you can take it) and that it never fully dries down, so you can add more throughout the day without clumps. Despite that, it doesn’t flake, smear, or smudge but easily rinses off when you want it too. I also love that the fluffy brush really fans out my lashes and makes them look so full and pretty.