All about Mineral Fusion's Volumizing Mascara

Many makeup brands have tried—and failed—to create a clean mascara that works. But this Mineral Fusion one is a gleaming success in a sea of disappointments. Its formulation is nontoxic, it works as it should without smudging or flaking, and it’s relatively inexpensive.

It’s good enough to make me forget the disappointments that came before it!

Mineral Fusion’s Volumizing Mascara makes lashes look lush—not spidery—with a velvety finish.

GET THE MASCARA HERE

What to Love about Mineral Fusion’s Volumizing Mascara

Here’s why I love and use this mascara:

It’s not expensive. Compared with other clean mascaras which cost $40, this $15 tube is a bargain.
It’s non-irritating. If you’re accustomed to eyes that are red by day’s end, try a clean mascara like this one. It made a difference for me, and it may make a difference for you too.
It doesn’t dry out easily. I hate it when mascaras dry out before I’m done with them!
This formula adds more volume than other natural “volumizing” mascaras.
There’s almost no clumping, making it very easy to apply.
There’s almost no flaking. That’s an unusual perk in the clean mascara world.
I’ve experienced very little smudging with this mascara. With normal daily wear, I can get through a whole day without cleaning up the under-eye region. The exceptions to this are 1.) when I’m exercising and sweating and 2.) if I accidentally rub my eyes.
A mascara is only as good as its wand. This wand is chubby and complementary to the thickness of the product. It applies beautifully, coating each lash smoothly.

Inside the Ingredients

This mascara—like any high-quality, functional one—is not made entirely of natural ingredients. But all of the ingredients, including the synthetic ones, have a well-established safety record.

Ingredients: water, stearic acid, beeswax, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, glyceryl stearate, sorbitan sesquioleate, shellac, glycerin, pomegranate extract, tocopheryl acetate, white tea leaf extract, aloe leaf juice, iron oxide, phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol, sorbic acid.

Ingredient Color Key
Extremely Safe	Reasonably Safe	Proceed with Caution	Insufficient Data

Three thickening waxes are present in this formulation: beeswax, carnauba wax and candelilla wax. We all know beeswax, but the other two may be less familiar. Carnauba wax, also known as palm wax, comes from the leaves of a plant native to Brazil. This drought-resistant palm can live up to 200 years and is sometimes called the tree of life. Candelilla wax comes from a small plant native to northern Mexico and the American Southwest.

Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative agent, somewhat controversial in the green beauty world. I generally avoid phenoxyethanol in most of my skincare and makeup. But in a difficult-to-formulate product like mascara, I don’t mind it at all. This mascara contains water, and great care must be taken in preserving it properly. Phenoxyethanol has a relatively strong safety record. And I want to feel confident that the product I apply to my eyes, day after day with the same wand, has a very low chance of cross-contamination. If you have a known reaction or allergy to phenoxyethanol, by all means, avoid this and any of cosmetic which contains it. Phenoxyethanol is not a perfect preservative, but for the purposes of this particular mascara, I’m comfortable using it.

There’s something else very important to note in this ingredient list: All ingredients have been disclosed. When you find a product that stands by all its ingredients—like this one—that’s a good thing.

Finding the word fragrance on the ingredient lists of other products means the company behind the product has chosen to not disclose all ingredients. Thanks to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966, fragrance is considered proprietary information and allowed to be hidden from consumers. So while you see that single word on the label, it may contain any number of secret ingredients.

But here’s the good news: more and more companies are choosing to disclose all ingredients in their cosmetics, thus empowering consumers like you to make a choice with your eyes wide open. Transparency matters. And that’s just another reason I love this product.