If you wonder where your lashes went, you're in the right place.
Sparse lashes after 60? You're not alone. Five years ago I was sitting where you are.
I'm Susan. 63. I spent 35 years as a makeup artist in television, retired at 55, and now write online for women like me.
It started around 58. Slowly at first. Thinner. Shorter. Lighter. By 60, without mascara, I looked like an egg lol.
35 years working on other women's faces and NO idea what to do with my own.
The mascara I'd worn for fifteen years was suddenly clumping on the four lashes I had left and ending up under my eyes by lunch. UGH.
Sound familiar?
Spider legs by 3pm. Raccoon eyes by dinner. Three more lashes left on the cotton pad every night when you scrub it off.
It isn't you doing anything wrong. Wasn't me either.
Here's what nobody tells you. Your lashes thin AND the eyelid underneath changes. Gets oilier. The mascara you've been buying since the 80s was never designed for any of this.
That's not your fault. That's chemistry.
Then one morning you look in the mirror and you don't recognise the woman looking back.
It's not really about mascara. It's about wanting to catch your reflection and think THERE I AM. Instead of "where did I go?"
Now I get three emails a week. "Susan. Which mascara should I actually buy?"
That's why this list exists. Testing on myself. On a few brave friends. Five mascaras made it through. These are the only ones I'd put in your hand:
Bottom line: GraceLash Tubing Mascara is the one I went back to. My thin lashes actually show up. No raccoon eyes by 3pm. Slides off in warm water with no lashes on the cotton pad. And it's been quietly feeding what's left of my lashes the whole time. I've worn it every day for over a year. My reflection looks like me again.
S≡ •≡ " </> 🔗 { } [+]Bought GraceLash three weeks ago after reading this. I'm 64. Used it every day since. My husband actually said my eyes look "brighter." He never notices ANYTHING lol. And the warm water removal. Not a single lash on the cotton pad. I nearly cried. Game changer.
I have very hooded eyes. Every mascara I've tried turns me into a raccoon by lunch. Migrates right onto the lid. I've thrown out at least 7 mascaras in the past 3 years. Is GraceLash actually different for hooded eyes? Scared to throw another $40 away.
Hi Patricia. I have hooded eyes too. Two things help here. The wand is smaller than the big fluffy brushes most brands use, so it doesn't dump product on your lid before reaching the lash. And because tubing wraps each lash in a sleeve (instead of sitting wet on top), there's nothing to migrate onto your crease as the day wears on. The 60 day guarantee is what got me to try it. If it doesn't work for your eyes, you send it back. Nothing lost.
I was a Thrive girl for SIX years. You nailed everything. The wand picks up too much product. The curl collapsed by lunch. I kept thinking it was just me getting older. It wasn't. The formula just couldn't keep up.
I'm 71. Gave up mascara entirely two years ago. Every night I was losing more lashes scrubbing it off. The cotton pad full of lashes broke something in me. Reading this gave me a tiny bit of hope. If I try GraceLash, how do I take it off without doing more damage? I can't lose any more.
Hi Margaret. This is exactly why I came back too. I thought I was done. Here's how it works. Warm water on a soft washcloth. Press it on your closed eyes for about 30 seconds. The little sleeves soften and slide off in one piece. You'll see them on the cloth as tiny black flecks. That's the tubes coming off, not your lashes. No scrubbing. No tugging. Your lashes stay where they belong. A year in and that part still feels like magic to me.
Honestly? I'm exhausted by every brand swearing it's THE one. I've heard it. Bought it. Thrown it away. What makes this any different from the last five that promised the same thing? Not trying to be rude. Just tired.
Most useful mascara article I've read in years. Thank you for not pretending to love everything. The "It's not the one" at the end of each review killed me lol. Bookmarked.
I was worried about microplastics in tubing mascara. Read somewhere they're microplastics. Have you looked into this Susan? Trying to be more careful what I put on my body at our age. Otherwise the GraceLash review made it sound exactly like what I've been searching for.
Hi Sharon. Good question, this comes up a lot. Yes, tubing mascaras use polymers. That's how the formula wraps each lash in a sleeve. But polymer doesn't automatically mean microplastic. Polymers are just molecules that link together in chains. Honey contains polymers. Wool is made of polymers. Your own hair is a polymer. Microplastics are one specific synthetic type that breaks apart into tiny floating particles. The polymers in tubing mascara are not that. They come off as whole little sleeves in warm water. You can actually see them on the cloth. Not the same thing. I asked this same question before I tried it. Once I understood the difference, I stopped worrying.
I've curled my straight lashes since I was 13. Tried two tubing mascaras over the years and both straightened my curl by lunch. Does GraceLash actually hold a curl? Because every tubing mascara I've ever tried hasn't.
Hi Nancy. This was my biggest fear too. Thrive flattened my curl by lunch for years. The difference with GraceLash is the formula sets faster, so there's less wet weight pulling the curl down before it dries. Curl your lashes first, then two coats. Holds all day. I tested it through my daughter's wedding in Florida last June. June. Florida. Ceremony. It still held. The first tubing mascara that didn't kill my curl.
Susan, I've been reading you for three years. You're the only beauty person who doesn't treat us like we're 25. The other channels keep telling us to "glow." What does that even mean when your skin is what it is now? You actually get it.
$40 is a lot for me. I retired last year and I'm careful with money now. Is it really worth it over the drugstore options? I want to believe. But I've burned through enough $15 mascaras to be cautious about anything that costs nearly triple.
Hi Donna. Totally hear you. Quick clarification first. With the buy-one-get-one offer running on the site, it's actually two tubes for $40, not one. So if you grab it during the promo you're paying about $20 per tube. Still more than drugstore, I won't pretend otherwise. But here's how I think about it. You said you've burned through enough $15 mascaras to be cautious. Most of us in this thread have done the same. Three tubes you threw away at $15 is $45. One that actually works for around the same money is just better math. And you have 60 days to try it. Doesn't work for you, send it back. The risk is on them, not you. That's what got me to try it in the end.
Bought PrimeLash because of their Facebook ads. EXACTLY what you described. Sticky on the second coat. Spider legs by 2pm. Curl gone by lunch. The marketing IS great. The product was nothing. Glad I'm not the only one who fell for it.
Just turned 65. Wear contacts every day. Most mascaras have my eyes watering by noon. Tempted to try GraceLash but a little nervous after the Laura Geller mess (which I also bought, wish I'd read this first). Any other contact wearers here who've tried it?
You mentioned GraceLash has ingredients that "feed" your lashes. After everything I've read online about lash serums (sunken eyes, eye color changes, lashes falling out when you stop), I'm honestly terrified to put anything "growth" near my eyes. Can you tell me more about what's actually in this one?
Hi Deborah. Your fear makes sense. The scary side effects you're reading about come from prescription lash serums. GraceLash is NOT a lash serum. It's a tubing mascara that happens to have some conditioners and vitamins built into the formula. The kind of things that just feed your lashes a bit while you wear it. Not the heavy ingredients you're worried about. I've used it for almost a year now. After about two months in, my lashes looked less starved than they had been. That's the only way I know how to describe it. A bit more body. A bit darker at the root. I'm not going to pretend I ran a clinical study on my own face. But I noticed it. And I'm still using it.
Slight disagreement on ILIA. I get on with mine fine and I'm 67. Not arguing the smudging point, maybe it's my eyelid chemistry. But the rest of the article was spot on, especially Laura Geller. Tried that one. Took me a week to fully get it off my lashes. UGH.
Susan, what do you use on your lower lash line? Mine were always lighter than my uppers, but now they're basically invisible. I don't want to buy a second tubing mascara if there's a simpler answer. Help?
Hi Joan. Great question, I get this one a lot. For my lower lash line I actually use the Laura Geller Longwear from the review. The problems I had with it on uppers (clumping, hard to remove) don't really show up when you're only using a tiny amount on the lowers. A whisper of it on the wand tip, that's it. The pigment is what makes it work here. My lower lashes show up without spider legs. Here's the one I use: https://www.amazon.com/LAURA-GELLER-NEW-YORK-Longwear
Loved this mascara breakdown. Any chance you'd do the same for foundation next? I'm 66 and every one I try either settles into every line on my face or turns orange by lunch. I'm so sick of the trial and error. Would trust your picks over anyone's.
Hi Bonnie. Foundation is the #1 topic in my inbox right now. I'm halfway through testing 8 of them on myself, and on a few brave friends. Hopefully ready to share in the next few weeks. Hang tight.
Sending this to my sister. She's 68. We both used to love getting ready. We both gave up. Maybe this is the way back in for both of us. Thanks Susan.