My predilection for drugstore mascaras was firmly established in my modeling days. It never failed: makeup artists had cases and cases of expensive, colorful makeup, yet almost all of them carried the same little pink-and-green tube of inexpensive mascara. I’m sure that was partly because mascara has a relatively short shelf life, and it didn’t make fiscal sense to invest in a product that would be thrown out in a month. But they used Maybelline mascara because it worked. No fancy bells and whistles here–just a simple makeup product that gets the job done.
Inside the Ingredients
Ingredients: water, paraffin, potassium cetyl phosphate, beeswax, carnauba wax, acacia senegal gum, glycerin, cetyl alcohol, hydroxyethylcellulose, phenoxyethanol, PEG/PPG-17/18 dimethicone, steareth-20, phenethyl alcohol, sodium polymethacrylate, hydrogenated jojoba oil, hydrogenated palm oil, simethicone, disodium EDTA, polyquaternium-10, sugar cane extract, ascorbyl palmitate, panthenol, acrylates copolymer, silica, lemon peel extract, apple fruit extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract. May contain: CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/iron oxides, CI 77007/ultramarines, CI 77891/titanium dioxide, mica, CI 75470/carmine, CI 77288/chromium oxide greens, CI 77289/chromium hydroxide green, CI 77742/manganese violet, CI 77510/ferric ferrocyanide.
| Extremely Safe | Reasonably Safe | Proceed with Caution | Insufficient Data |
It’s a long ingredient list, with some natural surprises like jojoba and sugar cane extract. I have some concern about the PEG/PPG-17/18 dimethicone and steareth-20, synthetic chemicals which carry the risk of being contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, which the US government considers to be a probable carcinogen. And the petroleum-derived paraffin base is something that I could do without.
Mainstream… but Inoffensive
But for a product that can be found around every corner, it’s a decent mascara: inexpensive and reasonably safe.
Where to Purchase
The One By One Volum’Express Washable Mascara by Maybelline is $8.49.
Truly Natural Alternatives
For some awesome clean, green mascara recommendations, check out The 75 Best Natural & Nontoxic Makeup Products.
*This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own. **Products get makeovers too. Be sure to check if this product has been recently re-formulated before using it yourself.