If your eyes react by turning red or becoming itchy when you wear mascara, you are not alone.  Some of us have sensitive eyes or wear contacts and certain ingredients in mascaras can burn our eyes leaving us with watery eyes leading to mascara-soaked tears. Not a cute look.  Others are so sensitive that the chemicals in the formulas harm their lashes, thin them out, and cause them to fall out.

Most drugstore and premium brands use synthetic wax, stearic acid or propylene glycol as the main base ingredients.  These are known skin and eye irritants that can cause reactions if they exceed certain levels.  For some of us, even a minuscule amount of these ingredients can cause irritation and frustration.

So what to do?  There is hope.  We found three inexpensive drugstore brands that use natural ingredients as the base for their hypoallergenic formulas and are perfect for those with sensitive eyes or for contact lens wearers.

Best Drugstore Hypoallergenic Mascaras

ALMAY One Coat Multi-Benefit Mascara

Our favorite mascara choice is by the dependable, hypoallergenic brand Almay.   It provides the four benefits of mascara: length, definition, separation, and volume, in an easy no fuss one-coat application.  The main ingredients are Myrica Pubescens fruit wax (otherwise known as bayberry wax) and beeswax.  It is hypoallergenic and made especially for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.

Pros:  Lengthens, defines and separates.  Adds fullness in one coat.  Looks very natural.  Doesn't clump.  Doesn't smudge.  Waterproof version available. 

Cons:  Slight flaking.  Dries very quickly upon applying to lashes making it difficult to build.

List Price $8.49;  Available at:  LoveBeautyOutlet $3.79 (50% off)

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PHYSICIAN'S FORMULA Organic 100% Natural Origin Mascara

Physician's Formula has outdone themselves with this all natural mascara which by far has the purest ingredients.  They use a formula based on citrus fruit water and not only are the ingredients all-natural, most (about 70% of the ingredients) are even organic.  This is the best choice for the most sensitive of mascara wearers.

Pros:  Most natural.  Defining and separating. Non-flaky.

Cons:  Difficult to build layers for lush, thick look. Doesn't come in waterproof. Can smear in very hot and humid weather.

List Price:  $9.99;  Available at:  Amazon.com $7.20

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SHEA MOISTURE Absolute Volumizing Mascara

The formula for this mascara isn't mostly organic but it is mostly natural and doesn't have parabens or other harsh chemicals.  The Shea Moisture brand is well known and trusted as using mostly natural ingredients. 

Pros:  Adds volume and length.  Good for layering.  Doesn't clump.  Doesn't smudge.  Slight cinnamony smell (can be bad for some).

Cons:  Slight flaking.  Doesn't come in waterproof.

List Price: $8.99;  Available at:  Target and Ulta (check their weekly ads for coupons)