Little, red, puffy dots under my eyes. Mascara and I were no longer getting along. Not cool. I tried a couple of different brands and nothing really changed. I started to assume (hope) it was just because I was pregnant. I relegated myself to wearing mascara 1-2x a week until the end of the pregnancy.

Nope.

Fast-forward another 4 years and I was still struggling to find mascara I could wear. I essentially categorized all mascara into one of two groups:

• Rash-inducing

• What mascara?

It was beyond frustrating. Call me vain, whatever, but I kinda like wearing mascara.

Turns out, there are a few not-so-kind common ingredients:

• Aluminum Powder is used as a colorant but is considered a neurotoxin by the EWG and rated as a high concern. Aluminum interferes with a variety of cellular and metabolic processes in the nervous system. It can also interfere with one’s ability to excrete mercury.

• Parabens are known endocrine disruptors and can even mimic estrogen in the body. Studies have shown parabens in 99% of breast tumor tissue samples. 99%.

• Propylene Glycol although deemed safe by the FDA, is known to cause severe skin reactions that can look like a red, inflamed rash and can be accompanied by itching and minor pain. (Hmm….this sounds awfully familiar…)

• Triethanolamine (TEA) is a pH adjuster and it has a host of concerns. It is linked to allergies, skin toxicity, hormone disruption and even fetal brain development. Yikes!

I was at my wits end and ready to just give up on mascara all together. But, I really wanted to be able to wear mascara. Even if I’m barely wearing make-up, I just feel slightly more put together with some mascara on. I could use all the help I can in this #momlife.

This is when I started paying attention to Beautycounter. It was April of 2016 and they had just launched their new mascara. (Which, I learned later, they spent 3 years working on. Making clean mascara is no joke.)

IT WORKED.

It was the first mascara you could actually see on my lashes and didn’t give me a rash. WHAT?!?

I was doing the happy dance. I get to wear mascara again! 

Since then, they have added the Volumizing Mascara while they also reformulated the Lengthening Mascara to make it even better. The Volumizing mascara has become my new favorite make-up product and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many compliments I’ve received on it. No harmful ingredients, no rash AND it actually looks like I’m wearing mascara. Win-win.

Have you struggled with finding a particular make-up product? Have you found any new favorites in the process? Share below! 

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