Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about natural mascara. What drives you bananas? What makes them necessary?
my answer: Natural mascaras are great for barely-there looks when you don’t have a lot of time or don’t want to wear a lot of makeup. They also work well as a layering mascara–you can get some really nice length and separation without the clumping.
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Hmmm… when I read the title of this post, I thought you meant “natural” as opposed to “full of chemicals” and I hurried over to proclaim (for the thousandth time) my love for Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes, my holy grail mascara.
That being said, I don’t get the point of a “natural look” mascara. I want big lashes, the bigger and more dramatic the better, all the time. There hasn’t been a single circumstance when I wanted natural, average looking lashes. Even if I don’t put ANY other make-up on my face/eyes, I want my lashes to look full, long and black.
@ingerasata I *really* want to love Tarte LCL, but for some reason it makes my (non-sensitive) eyes itch and burn. I’ve tried it a few times (different tubes), but I kept getting the same result.
@xamyx Oh I’m sorry, you must be allergic to some of the ingredients… That’s a shame, because this mascara is simply fabulous for me. Have you given their new one, Gifted, a try? Maybe check the ingredients list to see of there’s any differences. I personally think it’s a bit less dramatic than LCL, but still better than most :).
@ingerasata Thank you! I’m a huge fan of Tarte, and I can use all the shadows, the primer, and even the lash primer. I don’t know what ingredient to look for, but I’ll do a comparison, to see if anything stands out. I’ve had only one other product give the same reaction, which were the Sephora baked eyeshadow palettes, which was also strange, because I can wear the regular shadows, and I wear baked/mineral shadows in several other brands. My eyes have never been sensitive to anything, even products that say not safe for eyes, LOL.
@xamyx @ingerasata
Korres has several natural mascaras.
For me natural mascara has no effect and is completely unnecessary, since I already have black lashes that look like they’re having mascara on them. When I wear mascara I want dramatic and full lashes, not natural. I don’t get why brands make “natural look” mascaras, but that’s just my opinion.
ITA! If I want natural looking lashes I just curl them and that’s it. Mascara is for long, thick and blacker than black lashes.
When I use mascara, I want my lashes to look significantly blacker, longer and fuller! So natural mascara? Not for me 🙂 I own one natural mascara, which is a transparent one, and I use it one male models. I would never use this on myself, though.
hahahah..yes! Exactly what everybody else said! Natural mascara is not for me. The closest I get to natural mascara would be wearing a dark brown instead of black!
I find natural mascara boring. Gimme fake lashes!
It is rather pointless to use natural masara on my short and thin lashes. If I want to make any impact with my lashes I have to use the real deal – hardcore curling and thickening mascara which is far from being natural. :$
I can’t really do natural mascaras because they don’t really make any difference to my lashes! They are not short short, but a part of them is tucked under my lids (monolids) so I really have to curl my lashes and pump them up with a good one!
Sometimes I take a clean mascara wand, some brown eyeshadow on it and spray the wand with MAC Fix+. It makes my lashes a bit more.. noticable? Clear mascara/eyebrow stuff can also work.
@paneradfisk great tip! Thanks!
I don’t own any “natural” mascara, but I will use a very small layer if I want definition to my lashes on a low-make up day. But I’m lucky enough to have enviable lashes without any additions.
I definitely say it’s “Go big or go home” when it comes to mascara for me. Although I do have double eyelids, I’ve still got the not-so-enviable asian lashes. If I’m going to put a masacara on, I’m definitely not shooting for anything barely there or natral LOL
I actually had a hard time getting used to the popular look of really huge, fake, clumpy lashes. I’d rather have more subtle mascara, especially for daytime. I particularly like MAC Opulash for a natural look without clumps.
Mascara is the one thing I would probably wear if I could only wear one item of makeup so it better be BLACK and lengthening like no other, and I have gorgeous lashes to begin with, so I guess I don’t understand the natural mascara at all??
I do like a natural mascara for everyday wear, when I don’t want to look like I’m wearing make up.
My mom had a natural mascara, and it smudged like crazy! I also tried it and hated. So natural mascaras are not for me.
I think it depends on your lashes’ condition 🙂
Mine are quite long and nice, so I feel that I actually have volume and length from Aveda Mosscara. It’s a very good natural mascara, but only this one. All other Dr.Hauschka, Living Nature and etc are pretty pretty bad.
Uh…can someone give an example of natural vs. not natural mascara? I’m not even totally sure if i’ve used one. I mean, I admit I don’t like the really spidery, clumpy look. I like mascara that darkens and lengthens.
@jeneyg Natural is something that has less chemicals in the formula. You can usually find them in your local Whole Foods, etc.
@CynthiaCaridad @jeneyg I don’t think that’s right, CynthiaCaridad. Natural mascara in this context would be one that gives you a more natural look to your lashes rather than a mascara that goes all out for lengthening, volumizing, and curling. Like I love DiorShow Black Out, which is a more dramatic mascara, but Maybelline Full ‘n Soft is a more natural mascara I also like.
@jeneyg it’s a mascara that just darkens your lashes – usually no lenghtening/thickening. My favourite is Clinique’s naturally glossy, I’ve never had clumpy spider lashes with this stuff
I do like a natural mascara it is very fresh 🙂
Because I have a lot of fine blonde lashes still, natural to me is getting them dark black sans clumps thickness. Makes a huge difference on me. If I want big lashes I pop on a pair of false one. I personally hate the look of thick caked on mascara.
@Ani_BEE I have to say, I really do not care for that look either! Blech!
To the people saying it’s useless- it’s wonderful it you’re a natural blonde (or, I’ve heard, redhead). I don’t always want to look like I’m wearing mascara, but it I wear none, my lashes disappear, my eyes look small, and I look sick.
@MultiOrpington Redhead and Auburn. Once upon a time I was strawberry/blonde as a child but my blonde turn to brown tones. 😉
@Ani_BEE It’s honestly sort of upsetting me that people are calling it useless. It’s not as though I’d call hair products geared for brunettes, or foundation for a deeper skin tone ‘useless.’ I’m such a pansy.
There isn’t really a place for natural mascara in my life, because if I’m doing a simple makeup look or I’m in a rush, I’m still going to make sure my lashes are big and bold. Plus, if I wanted a more natural look, I”d just do one light coat of my regular mascara.
I like them, but I’m more inclined to get a mascara with a little more “oomph” and just apply sparingly on days when I want to be more natural. That way I can do natural and dramatic and get more bang for my buck out of one mascara! If I had the money, I wouldn’t mind trying more natural mascaras, though.
I love natural mascaras best. My lashes are fairly long and all I want to do is darken them. For a dramatic evening look I wear falsies.
Imju Fiberwig is beautiful for the new make-up look. It separates and lengthens the lashes and does not clump or look too dramatic. It just looks like you were born with naturally long lashes.
I admit I generally prefer my lashes dramatic, but natural mascara does have it place when you want an overall gentler look.
as a redhead, my lashes are blonde on the tips, so it’s a must!
I know i could just get them tinted, but i’m too chicken – i’m scared i’ll go blind (i know i know the risk is low, but…..)
I too was confused about what natural meant. When I first read the question, I thought it meant natural ingredients, like Tarte. Now, I realize you mean natural effect, right?
Anyway, I’ll answer it both ways. First, I’ve never used natural ingredient mascara. So, I can’t comment on that.
As for natural look, I’ll usually reach for Almay One Coat Thickening. It makes my lashes look nice but not over the top.
Go drag or go home when it comes to mascara. Otherwise, what’s the point???
if i want to wear mascara, i’ll want long lashes, volume and thick fat lashes are nice to have but not a must.
if the mascara isn’t doing any of these, then what’s the point of wearing them?