The Vine: October 15, 2014
Can anyone give me some recommendations for a good waterproof brown mascara?
My coloring makes black mascara look clownish on me, and many makeup companies seem to think only brunettes want mascara that isn’t going to run.
Yours etc.,
That’s Not What They Mean By “Smoky Eyes”
Tags: Ask The Readers health and beauty
I don’t remember that the tube says waterproof, but as a pasty redhead who cries a lot, I really like Bare Minerals in espresso. I’ve never had problems with it running, it’s not clumpy, and it lasts all day.
Before I developed a paraben allergy I always used Maybelline Waterproof in brown. Works well and inexpensive and Walmart usually carries the brown.
Now I use Honeybee Gardens Truly Natural Mascara in Chocolate Truffle. Expensive but good. Not waterproof but once it dries (this is key–it takes a few minutes!) it stays on pretty well without smudging. A local fancy spa orders it for me–they don’t carry the Chocolate Truffle color in stock but they’ll place my order so I don’t pay the shipping. And yes, it’s expensive, but it doesn’t give me a rash on my eyelids!
Good luck–brown mascara users of the world unite!
Maybelline Great Lash used to (I have no reason to believe they still don’t) make a brown waterproof. I use their black waterproof and it really stays.
Covergirl LashBlast Volume Waterproof comes in a “brown/black” shade which as a pale, blue-eyed and freckled girl looks much less harsh on me than black.
Fair skinned brunette here, I use Cover Girl Volume in brownish-black. While I don’t use the waterproof, I know it’s available.
No idea, but wanted to let you know there are many choices at Just For Redheads makeup line: http://www.justforredheads.com/mase.html
I think a lot of drugstore brands are discontinuing brown because it doesn’t sell well. Le Metier de Beaute (expensive) makes a really great mascara that comes in brownish black and aubergine. A redhead friend of mine swears by aubergine mascara. Their “anamorphic mascara” is smudge-proof rather than waterproof, but it’s hella windy where I live and the teary eyes that causes has never made my mascara run when I wore LMdB.
The ONLY mascara that never runs on me is Blinc Kiss Me, which is one of those newfangled tubing mascaras. Everything else, no matter how allegedly waterproof, gives me raccoon eyes by lunch. It comes in brown, although I use the black. http://www.sephora.com/blinc-mascara-P46017
And it comes off in cute little spiderlegs when you wash your face, and does not require makeup remover.
I use Cover Girl LashBlast Volume in brown-black (I think they also have plain brown) — I’m blonde, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned, and I feel like black mascaras look too harsh on me, too. *Every* expensive mascara I’ve used has ended up giving me raccoon eyes by mid-afternoon, but the regular (non-waterproof) LashBlast doesn’t flake or slide off, and on the rare occasions I’ve used the waterproof it has not budged even a little until I hit it with the makeup remover.
I really don’t have the energy to be bothered with make up, so I recommend dye instead :-) I do it myself at home, choose a light brown version and it looks quite nice. But of course, it doesn’t make your lashes longer or thicker, just darker, but for me, it’s enough. I hope you find something. From what I remember, back in the days when I wore make up, the non permanent ones always ran, and the permanent made my eyes irritated and swollen…
Boots No. 7 waterproof (if you can get it).
I love the YSL Babydoll mascara – its pricey, but keeps me from getting raccoon eyes: http://www.sephora.com/mascara-volume-effet-faux-cils-babydoll-P378656?skuId=1513449
I use the black, but they make a brown (it looks sold out online, but maybe your local Sephora store will have it? Or try a department store?)
Could this also be a eyeliner issue? I’ve been getting raccoon eyes for YEARS, and a combo or a waterproof eyeliner (I love Marc Jacobs), and applying a quick dusting of mineral powder to set it has made ALL the difference. If I ever am forced to use one of my old eyeliners, it’s back to dark circles by lunch.
I second/third/whatever CoverGirl LashBlast Waterproof in brown/black. I am fair-skinned with auburn-brown hair and blue eyes. Black is too harsh; the brown/black works perfectly with my coloring.
I don’t think Dior Show is quite as waterproof as it could be, but it comes in a brown that I think really works for those of us who don’t have the coloring for black mascara.
My local Sephora had only Clinique and Dior in brown, waterproof or not, the last time I was there. It’s not just the drug stores that aren’t stocking it.
http://www.sephora.com/diorshow-mascara-P40404?skuId=710442
I second the recommendation for Blinc – I’m excited to hear that it comes in brown actually. I was never able to find mascara that wouldn’t make me look like a raccoon at the end of a day (best guess is something about the oil in my skin that makes even waterproof stuff smudge). So I invested in a tube of the Blinc from Sephora for my wedding – it’s not cheap (something like $28 a tube), but it’s totally worth it for me.
(Also, I’m super-lazy about removing makeup at the end of a day, and it’s nice for me that I can just pull the tubes off my lashes in the shower the next morning. Is that TMI?)
Don’t know if you can get Boots No. 7 where you are, but their brown-black waterproof does the trick for me (pale and living in very soggy England).
Target in the states carries Boots No. 7. The brown-black lengthening is really good.
I’ve tried other brands, but always go back to the classic Maybelline Great Lash. Regular or waterproof are great. Their brown is great for my coloring. Also, it seems to be the ‘expert’s pick’ on mamy lists of basic, can’t-do-without cosmetics, year after year.
I reeeeeally wish Benefit would roll out a dark brown — or better yet, a navy blue. I love their black to death and my facial “color story” can take it, but sometimes a subtler colorway is what you want.