I remember seeing an episode of 90210 at a sleep over party (I wasn’t allowed to watch it at home). Kelly was crying about something and there were black streaks streaming down her face.

“Ew! What’s on her face?” one of the girls yelled.

“Her mascara,” another girl, replied, shaking her head gravely.

Well, right then and there, my little pre-teen self silently swore it would never happen to her, and wore waterproof mascara for the next seventeen years.

Since mascara gets so close to your eyeballs, you’d think it would be one of the first green makeup changes I’d have made, but honestly, I just didn’t think eco-friendly mascara could be all that good.

Luckily, I was wrong.

Honeybee Gardens: Truly Natural Mascara won’t curl your lashes for you, or take them to lengths previously unseen on human beings, but it’s a solid mascara that doesn’t smudge or flake.

The first time I used it, I felt like it was a little thin, but after a few uses, I was totally happy with it. I think exposing it to the air a little has bulked it up a little bit, without making it clumpy, (if that makes any sense). I chose Espresso, which is black/brown and the color is perfect for a natural look.

The ingredients are as follows:

Product Ingredients: purified water, vegetable glycerin, beeswax, copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax, vegetable glyceryl stearate, lecithin, vegetable stearic acid, safflower oil, glycine soja (soybean) oil (and) aloe barbadensis leaf extract, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, silica, cellulose gum, tocopherol, xanthan gum, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, phenoxyethanol. May contain: mica, titanium dioxide (CI 77891), iron oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77480).

I finally had the guts to look at the ingredients on the mascara I was previously using and in addition to lots of things I couldn’t pronounce, I saw the word “polyvinyl” on the tube. I am disgusted and embarrassed that I used such an unfriendly and unhealthy product for so long.

I know I’d be better off not wearing mascara at all, but until I’m at that point, I’ll give myself makeup breaks and break up with my waterproof stuff for good.

I haven’t had a good crying jag since I’ve started wearing Truly Natural Mascara, but I was out in the rain the other day. My lashes didn’t get wet directly, but I didn’t get raccoon eyes from the general humidity. And I love how easily it washes off.
To add a little oomph to your lashes, invest in a good old fashioned eyelash curler and curl them manually before applying mascara.