8 Best Mascara for Older Women Lift and Volumize Lashes of Any Age
Aging eyelashes can be a concern, but the right mascara can help lift and volumize them. Here's a comprehensive guide to the best mascaras for older women, based on expert recommendations and personal tests.
Best Overall: Chanel Inimitable Mascara
- Why We Love It: Chanel's volumizing, lengthening, and curling formula is a favorite among celebrity makeup artists, including Nick Barose, who works with 87-year-old Jane Fonda. It has a perfect slim brush and a rich formula that adds drama to lashes without clumping.
- Key Ingredients: Polymers, rice bran wax, beeswax, carnauba wax
- Type: Lengthening, curling
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Ophthalmologist-tested, safe for contact lens wearers
- Shades: 2 (black and brown-black)
Best for a Curl: Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara
- Why We Love It: Aaron Paul, a celebrity makeup artist, praises this mascara for its curling formula, which lifts and opens the eyes while providing volume and length. It's also smudge-resistant.
- Key Ingredients: Cornflower water, jojoba esters, cotton nectar
- Type: Curling
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Smudge-proof
- Shades: 3 (black, brown, and blue)
Best Clean: Merit Beauty Clean Lash Lengthening Mascara
- Why We Love It: This lengthening mascara is a favorite of 83-year-old Martha Stewart and celebrity makeup artist Robert Bryan. It's infused with fatty acids and olive oil esters to nourish and hydrate brittle lashes. It can be removed with lukewarm water, preventing damage.
- Key Ingredients: Fatty acids, olive oil esters, vitamin B5
- Type: Lengthening, tubing
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Vegan, buildable, easy to remove
- Shades: 1
Best Tubing Mascara: Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Mascara
- Why We Love It: Hourglass's tubing mascara is a favorite of Pilar DeMann, who finds it volumizing and gentle. It's designed to deliver a false-lash look with lightweight fibers that refuse to smudge.
- Key Ingredients: Camellia japonica flower extract, shea butter, castor seed oil
- Type: Tubing
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Smudge-proof
- Shades: 1
Best Skinny Wand: Kevyn Aucoin The Volume Mascara
- Why We Love It: Kevyn Aucoin's volumizing mascara has a skinny brush that separates lashes and coats them with a hydrating formula infused with jojoba oil and volume-boosting fibers.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, squalane, carnauba wax
- Type: Volumizing, tubing
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Clump-proof, smudge-resistant, long-lasting
- Shades: 1
Best Volumizing: Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara
- Why We Love It: This volumizing mascara is a dream for achieving thick, Bambi-like lashes. It's infused with jojoba waxes and has a special technology called 'lash vinyl-black wrap tech' to plump individual hairs.
- Key Ingredients: Lash vinyl-black wrap tech, jojoba waxes
- Type: Volumizing
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Smudge-proof, flake-proof, clump-proof, humidity-proof, clinically tested
- Shades: 1
Best for Sensitive Eyes: Clinique High Impact Hi-Fi Full Volume Mascara
- Why We Love It: Clinique's volumizing formula is gentle on sensitive eyes, thanks to its lightweight gel infused with botanical oils. It comes in black and brown shades.
- Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax, coconut oil, castor seed oil, argan oil, moringa seed oil
- Type: Volumizing
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Ophthalmologist-tested, safe for sensitive eyes, safe for contact lens wearers, allergy-tested, fragrance-free
- Shades: 2
Best Chubby Wand: Westman Atelier Eye Want You Mascara
- Why We Love It: This plant-based mascara delivers maximum volume and is buildable. It's infused with nourishing shea butter and a botanical wax blend for a creamy texture.
- Key Ingredients: Carnauba and candelilla wax blend, organic shea butter, plant-derived ester
- Type: Buildable, safe for sensitive eyes, flake-free
- Waterproof: No
- Additional Features: Hourglass-shaped brush, available in a travel-friendly mini
- Shades: 2
Expert Tips for Older Women
- Volume and Length: Look for mascaras that offer both volume and length to combat lash density loss.
- Curling: Curling mascaras help lift and open the eyes.
- Wand Size: Smaller brushes are better for smaller, deep-set, or hooded eyes.
- Color: Brunettes pair well with black, blondes and redheads with brown, and navy with grey hair.
- Bottom Lashes: Apply brown or navy mascara on the lower lashes for subtle definition, then black on the upper lashes for a lifted look.
- Removal: Avoid tugging at the eyes when removing mascara. Use micellar water or cleansing oil, followed by face wash and warm water.
