We love mascara for giving our lashes a little lift, but not when the ingredients include toxic chemicals that can lead to serious health issues and even harm our planet.
While choosing healthy, safe, and clean cosmetics and makeup can seem like a daunting task (how do you read all those labels?), it isn’t as difficult as it may seem. These natural and organic mascaras lengthen our lashes and leave them feeling soft, healthy, and oh so beautiful. Best of all, they protect our health and planet, and many of them can be found at your local drugstore.
Add some organic eyeshadow and natural foundation for a flawless natural makeup routine! For the best in beauty, you can find more of our favorite nontoxic makeup brands here.
Best Overall | Most Affordable | Best Volumizing | Best Lengthening
1. ILIA
Natural & Organic | Natural and safe synthetic ingredients, 100% natural dyes
Price Range | $28
Look out, world: The Limitless Lash from ILIA is a serious game-changer for clean mascaras. This nourishing formula—made with organic bee and carnauba waxes, shea butter, and keratin—will fortify and enhance your lashes for any look. And we’re huge fans of the dual-sided brush for volume in easy, simple strokes. When it’s time for bed? Remove the mascara with warm water—no scrubbing needed. A healthy mascara that’s 99% natural, 100% cruelty-free, 110% effective.
Editor’s Review | “ILIA’s mascaras made me look like I was wearing falsies, which is difficult to do with my blonde eyelashes. I enjoy the Limitless Lash Mascara for daily wear, although the wand bristles are a little bit pointy so I feel like I have to be careful with application sometimes. The Fullest Volumizing Mascara is extra thick with a gentle, high coverage brush—it’s what I’m wearing in the picture.” – Emily, Editorial Director
Also Available At:
Credo
FOLLAIN
The Detox Market
2. Erin’s Faces
Natural & Organic | Certified organic ingredients
Price Range | $27.50
Erin’s Faces’ Matcha Mascara was formulated for nine years, so it’s safe to say it’s been thoughtfully created. Made with organic matcha which helps strengthen hair, this mascara includes beta carotene and plant-based fibers so you’ll never need falsies again (unless you want!). Made without added gluten, soy, parabens, dyes, or fragrances, this cruelty- and additive-free mascara is made for all-day wear and beyond. If you’re a fan, subscribe and save five percent. Old packaging can go in the recycling bin!
Editor’s Review | “Erin’s Faces has been one of my longtime favorites for simple, natural makeup and I was so excited to try the Matcha Mascara! I’m typically a mascara minimalist, and this formula delivers. I got coverage without clumps, and the mascara dried quickly so I didn’t have a lot of cleanup to do after applying. This mascara is made using organic matcha and contains other lash-bolstering ingredients—plus it’s packaged in a glass container for recycling.” – Emily, Editorial Director
3. Well People
Natural & Organic | EWG verified, vegan, organic ingredients
Price Range | $20
The Well People cosmetics line was co-founded by a makeup artist, a cosmetic dermatologist, and a conscious entrepreneur. The three have crafted a beautiful brand that recognizes that our skin is our largest organ and absorbs the majority of what we put on it. These cosmetics are created without the harmful artificial chemicals found in most conventional makeup, and the products are never tested on animals. The Expressionist Mascara is 100% cruelty- and clump-free, and it doesn’t make use of petroleum, parabens, gluten, coal tar, aluminum, or fibers either. Just vegan, plant-based ingredients that work.
Editor’s Review | “I tested the Pro and the Volumizing mascaras from Well People and was impressed with both. The Pro (pictured) needed a few layers to show up well, but I loved how orderly my lashes looked after they were combed out with this one. The volumizing mascara comes in brown and it gives you volume and definition without being too clumpy. Just like with most mascaras, though, hope that the volumizing mascara dries before you have to sneeze or you’ll have a mess on your hands.” – Emily, Editorial Director
Also Available At:
CREDO
The Detox Market
Thrive Market
4. Cheekbone Beauty
Natural & Organic | Clean, vegan, and cruelty-free ingredients
Price Range | $27
Cheekbone Beauty is more than makeup—it’s an Indigenous-owned and founded beauty company that’s reimagining who is portrayed in the mainstream beauty industry. From raw ingredients to final packaging, Cheekbone searches for the very best (and least environmentally damaging) way to source and create its product line. We especially love all the bold colors and packaging—another nod to Cheekbone’s Indigenous roots and commitment to vibrant self-expression. We’re excited to keep an eye on the refillables as we continue to minimize our makeup waste.
Editor’s Review | “My first impression of this brand was one of pure joy—from the colorful packaging to the founding principles of sustainability and self-expression, Cheekbone Beauty just feels like a celebration. The mascara is lightweight (on eyes and in its packaging!) yet still beautifully buildable if you prefer a bolder, more impactful look. I found this one to be the best for length without being too bulky, and I love to toss it my bag for on-the-go touchups.” – Emily, Editorial Director
Also Available At:
Sephora
5. Juice Beauty
Natural & Organic | Plant-derived phyto-pigments, vegan, & organic ingredients
Price Range | $24–$25
If you’re looking for a feathery-soft mascara, Juice Beauty’s Phyto-Pigments Ultra Natural Mascara might be your new go-to. The non-drying nutrient-rich formula emphasizes natural lash definition while also adding dramatic length. It’s made from organic aloe leaf juice, plant wax, rose powder, and purple carrot phyto-pigments. Cruelty-free, packaged in eco-friendly materials, and a slender brush for perfect application…what hasn’t the team thought of?
Editor’s Review | “As someone who grew up wearing Maybelline Great Lash, I found Juice Beauty’s natural mascaras had the same ease of application (except with way better ingredients). The Lash Defining mascara is easy to apply and gives me lots of lashes, and the Ultra-Natural mascara gave me a softer, pretty look. These mascaras are a bit wetter than others so make sure you give yourself a little extra drying time. But, out of all the mascaras I tested, I grab these most frequently because of how soft they are to apply.” – Emily, Editorial Director
Also Available At:
Credo
ULTA
6. 100% PURE
Natural & Organic | Certified organic ingredients
Price Range | $28
We’ve been longtime admirers of 100% PURE’s dedication to health and beauty, and the brand’s mascara is a must-have makeup product. The Ultra Lengthening Mascara coats lashes with healthy conditioners, never stripping them of their natural protective agents. A mixture of black tea, berries, and cocoa pigments creates the perfect shade for darkening lashes, while also lengthening and separating them. Plus, it’s cruelty-free, vegetarian, and made in the USA.
Editor’s Review | “100% PURE mascara is another perfect fit if you’re looking for swipe-and-go application. (Just don’t get too flippant with it, as it is a wetter formulation and can run if you don’t give it a moment to dry. I really liked the brown shade, which had the bonus of actually smelling like cocoa . Plus, with four colors to choose from, there are great options for tweaking your look ever so slightly to suit your skintone or your makeup.” – Emily, Editorial Director
Also Available At:
The Detox Market
7. Jones Road
Natural & Organic | Clean ingredients, cruelty-free
Price Range | $26
Jones Road, founded by none other than Bobbi Brown, aims to create makeup-artist-worthy cosmetics at affordable prices—using only clean ingredients. The brand follows stricter guidelines than the E.U. rigorous standards to eliminate the use of over 2,700 potentially harmful ingredients. You won’t find parabens, phthalates, sulfates, petrolatum, PEGs, cyclic silicones, EDTA, or BPA in these cosmetics (and so many more). You can read our firsthand review of Jones Road here.
Editor’s Review | “My first impression of this mascara is that it is THICK. The curved wand isn’t something I’m used to using, but I do like how it helps me layer and rotate around for extra lift and coverage. And as someone who cannot figure out eyeliner, I liked the thick almost-liner effect of this mascara at the base of my lashes. You can even gently press up on your lashes while this is drying and achieve a little extra lift without an eyelash curler.” – Emily, Editorial Director
