Finding the Best Brown Mascaras
If you love a soft and natural look, brown mascara is a great product to have in your makeup bag. You can wear it every day to help enhance and draw attention to your eyes without making them look too dramatic. In addition, you may find that a rich brown complements your skin and your overall appearance better than black.
Unfortunately, many brown mascaras miss the mark. They’re either too close to black or too light to make a noticeable difference. Finding that sweet spot can be tricky, but we found excellent products by paying attention to staying power, application, ingredients, availability and price.
What to Consider When Choosing the Best Brown Mascaras
Staying Power
A good mascara should last about eight hours without flaking or smudging. As such, we made sure to examine each product’s staying power. We assessed longevity via some product testing and reviews, and comparing those results to the brand’s claims.
Application
Technique is very important when applying mascara, but so is the formulation and the wand. For a lengthened look, a liquid-y formula and a thin wand, preferably made of silicone, are ideal for lifting and separating the lashes. In contrast, a voluminous look is best achieved with a slightly thicker formula and a thicker brush made of soft fibers. We made sure to include both lengthening and volumizing formulas in our product roundup.
Ingredients
When selecting brown mascaras to include in our recommendations, we looked carefully at product ingredient lists. A typical ingredient list for mascara includes one or more colorants, conditioners, binding agents, bulking agents, antimicrobial agents and preservatives. Many products also have masking fragrance, which helps conceal unpleasant smells. While certain preservatives, masking fragrances and other ingredients are not likely to cause irritation, others are. We therefore included the toxicity and irritation rating for each product according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Bear in mind that the EWG’s toxicity rating is not the end all, be all in terms of how safe a product is to use, but it does provide useful information.
Availability
If you love walking into any drugstore, makeup outlet or supermarket and finding your favorite tube of mascara, availability is important. Certain big-name brands are always present on store shelves, while lesser-known brands may only be available online and at boutique retailers. We chose to include both well-known and lesser-known brands, as some lesser-known brands create excellent mascaras.
Price
Makeup specialists recommend that you replace your mascara every three months, which means you may end up buying four tubes a year. Keep that in mind when you purchase one tube, because the cost adds up. Most brown mascaras cost between $5 and $50, and the majority of our recommendations have a price point below $30.
What Are the Different Types of Brown Mascaras?
Waterproof
A waterproof brown mascara is one that contains water-repelling ingredients, such as silicones, waxes or certain oils. Once it dries on your lashes, it shouldn’t come off again until you use a makeup remover.
While waterproof mascaras have excellent staying power (some can even be worn during water sports), they aren’t the best for everyday use because they can damage your lashes over time. We therefore recommend a tubing or smudge-resistant brown mascara for everyday wear.
Tubing
Tubing mascara is mascara that forms a “tube” of product around every lash when you apply it. The key ingredients are polymers, which are plastic-like, synthetic molecules that latch onto lashes and resist water. Tubing mascara therefore not only makes your lashes appear thicker, but also creates a smudge-resistant barrier that can last for all-day wear. In addition, tubing mascara tends not to make a mess when you wash them off because the tubes slide off your lashes.
Smudge Resistant
Smudge-resistant mascara is mascara that isn’t easy to rub off if you accidentally touch your eye. Like tubing mascara, this product is relatively easy to remove, though it does make more of a mess. Smudge-resistant mascara also creates a full, lengthened look because the formula often contains more hydrating ingredients than tubing or waterproof mascaras.
