Best Mascara for Women Over 50 UK: 5 Tested for Thin, Sparse Lashes

5 Best Mascaras For Women Over 50 That Make Sparse Lashes Finally Show Up Again

By Susan Harper i

Former make-up artist, Wine lover & Blogger

Updated 2 DAYS AGO | 4 min read

Title

If you're wondering where your lashes went, I asked the same question at 53

Thinning lashes? Five years ago I was sitting right where you are.

I'm Susan. Thirty-five years doing make-up on British telly, retired at 55, now writing online for women like me. It started around 53. Slowly. Thinner, shorter, paler. By 55, without mascara, I looked like an EGG.

Thirty-five years on other women's faces and NO CLUE what to do with my own. The Boots mascara I'd used for fifteen years was suddenly clumping on the four lashes I had left and sliding under my eyes by lunch. UGH.

Sound familiar? Spider legs by 3pm. Panda eyes by teatime. And three more lashes on the cotton pad every night. 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. Tested on myself. On a few brave friends.

I started with the two bestsellers from Boots. Then the two brands that say they're made for us.

Five mascaras made it through.

Long story short: GraceLash Lamination Mascara is my #1. I've worn it every day for over a year now.

But here's what you need to know before you read why. GraceLash isn't a normal mascara like the ones at Boots. It's not a tubing mascara either. It's a third thing, and until this test I didn't know it existed.

Last I checked they had an offer on. And you get 60 days to try it. Doesn't work? Send it back.

CHECK IF THE SECOND TUBE IS STILL £5

1. GraceLash Lamination Mascara

You've probably never heard of GraceLash Lamination. Neither had I.

Not in Boots. Not in Superdrug. Not on Amazon. One small brand, started by a woman whose lashes thinned the same way ours did. Normally that's my cue to scroll past. I've been caught out by pretty marketing before. Then an old colleague from my telly days turned up wearing it. Her lashes looked like HERS again. Not painted on. That's the only reason I tried it.

"So is it just a posh Boots mascara?"
I asked the same thing. It's not. And this is the bit that made me sit up.

Tubing was clever. A Japanese lab invented it in the 90s. Wrap each lash in a tiny tube, nothing smudges. But here's what I never knew in thirty-five years of make-up: those tubes are empty. On our thin lashes, an empty tube dries thin down the lash, like paint running down a wall. Longer, yes. Thinner too. And the normal mascaras on the high street? Even older. Wax and pigment, same as our mums wore.

Japan kept working on it. The next step is what GraceLash uses: lash lamination. The sleeve isn't empty. Inside sits Brazilian Ceará carnauba, the hardest natural wax on earth. A filled sleeve wraps thick AROUND the lash instead of stretching thin along it. So it goes on lighter but looks fuller. And the wand grabs the wispy lashes my old mascara always missed, so every lash finally counts.

Still using your Sky High? Wear it on one eye and GraceLash on the other for a day. By lunch, one eye simply looks fuller. That's the whole argument.

Does it stay put? Most mascara melts in the oil your lids give off. After the menopause, that oil runs thicker. GraceLash seals its wax inside the laminate, so the oil never reaches it. Nothing to melt. My daughter got married in the Lake District last August. Pouring rain. I cried through the whole service. The photos came back and my lashes were finally there.

The removal is the real reason it won. Normal mascara needs remover and rubbing. GraceLash coats each lash with castor oil first, so nothing grips. Warm flannel, hold, and the sleeves slide off whole. Not a single lash on the cotton pad. At our age, every lash you rub off takes months to come back. If it comes back at all.

One quiet bonus. Sealed in that same sleeve: the Japanese Peptide Complex. A growth peptide, biotin, castor oil, ginseng. The three things the menopause quietly takes: the signal to grow, the protein, the moisture. Not a serum forcing anything, just feeding your lashes from the one thing pressed against them all day. Could be in my head. I'm not pretending I ran a clinical trial on my own face. But after nine weeks, my lashes felt like more to work with.

PROs:

Lash lamination, not wax, not tubing. A filled sleeve instead of an empty tube

Volume, not just length. Made for thin, sparse lashes

Stays put all day. No smudging, no panda eyes

Precision wand catches even the finest lashes

Slides off with a warm flannel

Gentle on sensitive eyes and contact lenses

Supports your lash growth while you wear it

CONs:

A bit pricier (but maybe that's why it's so good)

Only sold on the Grace & Muse website
(not in Boots, not on Amazon)

Only in black and brown

This is the one I use. And exactly why it earned the #1 spot on this list.

One thing worth knowing: GraceLash Lamination Mascara
is made in small batches. It has to be. The growth peptide doesn't survive the heat of big factory lines. When it sells out, it's gone for 3 to 4 weeks. In stock now? Timing is on your side.

BUY IT HERE

2. L'Oréal Paris Telescopic

Telescopic came closer than I expected.

It was my mascara for years. That gold tube lived in my kit on set. Long lashes, no fuss, held up under the studio lights. If you'd asked me at 50, this list would have ended right here.

So I gave it a proper month. And on day one? Lovely. That comb wand separates every lash. On a good morning my lashes looked longer than they had in years. For about a tenner, I get why it's been a bestseller for so long.

For a while I thought this might be the one. Then my lashes got in the way.

It's made for length.

On the fuller lashes I had back then, that comb gave me lovely long lashes. On the thin lashes I have now, it gives me long lashes and gaps. You can count them. My friend Jean said it best: "It makes the lashes I've got longer. It doesn't bring back the ones I've lost."

And it goes on wet.

One coat is fine. Second coat to fill the gaps and it clumps. My lids get oily now, the way they didn't ten years ago. A wet formula on a hooded, oily lid ends the same way every afternoon. Grey smudges by teatime.

Removal is where it really lost me.

Telescopic stays put, I'll give it that. Which also means it won't come off. Micellar water, then again, then rubbing at the corners. More lashes on the cotton pad every night. At 40 you don't notice. At 60 you count them.

And nothing to help them grow back.

I turned the box over. Wax, pigment, a long list I couldn't pronounce. Not one thing in there for the lash itself. Telescopic makes the lashes you've got look longer for a day. That's all it was ever made to do.

Compare that with GraceLash. Peptide, biotin, castor oil, ginseng, sealed against the lash all day, every day. One mascara paints over what's left. The other feeds it. After a month of Telescopic, my lashes were exactly as thin as when I started. After nine weeks of GraceLash, there was more to work with. Could be in my head. But I know which one I'd rather have on my lashes 365 days a year.

So why is it still my #2?

Because everything else about it is right. If your lashes are still mostly there and your lids stay dry, Telescopic is a genuinely good mascara, and the best normal one I tested by a mile.

But for the lashes we actually have now, the thin ones, the ones we can't afford to scrub at every night, staying put, coming off with warm water and feeding the lash while you wear it isn't a nice extra. It's the whole point. GraceLash does all three. Telescopic does none. That's the entire gap between #1 and #2.

PROS:

Proper length, nicely separated

Stays put through the day (on dry lids)

In every Boots, Superdrug and on Amazon

CONS:

Length only. Thin lashes look long but sparse

Clumps on the second coat. Slow to dry

Smudges on hooded lids by the afternoon

Needs remover and rubbing. Lashes on the pad

Nothing in it to help your lashes grow back

A very good mascara. Just not built for the problem we're solving. That's why it sits at #2, and not at #1.

Below you'll find the link. Also in Boots, Superdrug and on Amazon.

BUY IT HERE

3. LAURA GELLER Longwear Mascara

I need to be upfront about this one.

I wanted Laura Geller to win.

She was on QVC before I had grey hair. While every other brand was chasing twenty year olds, she was talking to us. Grown women. Real faces. I've rooted for that brand for years, and when I started this test, part of me hoped the list would end right here.

So I gave it the fairest go of all five. Two full weeks, every day.

Day one impressed me.

The colour is serious. Properly black, deep, the kind of black that makes pale wispy lashes actually show up in a photo. My lashes were back without a flick of eyeliner. I texted a friend that I might have found it.

Day one also warned me.

The formula runs thick. My second coat clumped until I learned to wipe the wand first. And it dries slowly. Sneeze in the first ten minutes and you start again. I learned that at minute six.

But the real lesson came at night. At the sink.

Longwear is the right name for this mascara. It wears long. Through the evening, past the make-up remover, past the hot flannel, into the next morning as faint shadows under my eyes. And every round of scrubbing tugged at lashes I can't afford to lose.

That tugging is how I lost half of them in the first place. This took me right back.

Laura Geller gives you the strongest colour on this list, and makes your lashes pay for it at the sink.

At 40, that's a fair trade. You've got lashes to spare. At 60, you haven't.

PROS:

Properly black, lashes show up even when they've gone pale

A brand that actually speaks to grown women

CONS

Smudges by 5pm (worse with watery eyes or hay fever)

Normal formula, same old tugging to get it off

Nothing nourishing in it

Big brush hits hooded lids before it hits lashes

Small tube for the price. Can dry out (mine was fine, but other women have said so)

Marketed at women like us. Priced for women like us. But the mascara itself? It's not the one.

If you still want to try it for yourself, the link is below.

BUY IT HERE

4. PrimeLash Mascara by Prime Prometics

PrimeLash showed up in my Facebook ads. A LOT.

Their marketing is genuinely refreshing. Women aged 50 to 80 in the photos. Talking to women like us, not at us. Most beauty brands can't be bothered. Prime does. I respect that.

More colours than anyone else. Navy, plum, whatever you fancy. The brand gives a portion of sales to breast cancer research, which is real. Made for older women by people who actually seem to be paying attention.

But the mascara?

It's OK. But if you ask me, mostly marketing fluff.

Volume? Length? Never really happened.

The formula is sticky, like a tube that's been in the drawer too long. Second coat, I had clumps. The wand drags more than it coats.

Here's what surprised me.

PrimeLash gave me less lash than the £10 Telescopic from Boots. A mascara made for our age, beaten by the one in every teenager's make-up bag. That tells me the money went into the ads, not the formula.

The curl I started with in the morning? Gone by lunch.

It is kind to sensitive eyes. I'll give it that.

Then there's taking it off. They say it's easy. I was still tugging at the end of the day.

PROs:

Nice effect (for the first hour or two)

More colours than the others

Kind to sensitive eyes

Brand gives to breast cancer research

CONS:

Sticky formula. Clumps on the second coat

Less volume and length than the Boots ones

Doesn't hold the curl

Growth claims I never noticed in two months

Harder to get off than promised

The marketing is great. I wish the mascara matched it. PrimeLash gets points for at least talking to women like us. For me, that's not enough.

It's not the one.

If you still want to try it for yourself, the link is below.

BUY IT HERE

5. Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High

The bestselling mascara in Britain. Pink tube, end of every aisle in Boots. My granddaughter won't use anything else.

So it had to be on this list. I bought two and wore it for a month.

First coat? Fine.

The bendy brush gets into the corners. On my granddaughter's lashes it looks lovely. And for about £12, I get why half the country wears it.

But it's made for HER lashes. Not ours.

On thin lashes, it fell apart.

It's a length mascara. On my sparse lashes that meant long wispy lines with gaps in between. Longer, yes. Fuller, no. Second coat to fill the gaps? Clumps. Third? Spider legs.

And it sits wet on the lash all day. By 3pm, little black marks on my hooded lids. By teatime, flakes on my cheeks.

Then the sink.

Micellar water, cotton pad, rub. The old way. That tugging is exactly what pulled my lashes out at the bathroom sink for years.

There's a bit of bamboo extract on the label. That's it. Nothing in it for lashes like ours.

It's cheap, it's everywhere, and it's a perfectly good mascara at 25. At 60? It's the one that got us here.

PROS:

Cheap and everywhere. Boots, Superdrug, Amazon

Bendy brush reaches the corners

Fine on young, full lashes

Cons:

Length only. Thin lashes stay thin

Clumps on the second coat

Marks on hooded lids by 3pm, flakes by teatime

Needs remover and rubbing

Growth claims I never noticed in two months of wear

Nothing in it for your lashes (a bit of bamboo on the label)

Made for 25 year old lashes, not ours

The most popular mascara in the country. Just not for us. It's not the one.

If you still want to try it for yourself, the link is below.

BUY IT HERE

And The Winner Is…

Gracelash Lamination Mascara

Almost a year now. Still my daily. Not because it's perfect. Because every morning it does the one thing I stopped believing a mascara could do. It gives me my lashes back. And every night it lets them go without taking any with it.

The other four each got something right. One had the price. One had the length. One had the colour. One had the marketing. But getting one thing right isn't the job. Showing up at 8am and still being there at teatime, that's the job. Only one of them did it.

Here's what I didn't expect, though. It was never really about the mascara. It's that moment you catch yourself in the hallway mirror and you don't stop and look twice. You just think, THERE I AM. And you carry on. That's what I bought. The mascara was just how it arrived.

When I ordered, they had a deal on. You get 60 days either way.
Doesn't work on your lashes? Send it back.

So no, you're not daft for wanting your lashes back. You never were.
You just needed the one made for the lashes you have now. She's been waiting in the mirror this whole time.

summary

#1 Gracelash Lamination Mascara

Buy it here

#2 L'Oréal Paris Telescopic

Buy it here

#3 Laura Geller Longwear Mascara

Buy it here

#4 PrimeLash Mascara by Prime Prometics

#5 Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High

Buy it here

Join the discussion…

17COMMENTS

Linda Marsh

2 days ago

Bought GraceLash three weeks ago after my daughter came back from Japan. She told me about it, so I tried it. 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.

Patricia Walsh

3 days ago

I have very hooded eyes. Every mascara I've tried turns me into a panda by lunch. Ends up right on my lid. I've binned at least 7 mascaras in the last 3 years. Is GraceLash actually different for hooded eyes? Scared to waste another £30.

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Patricia Walsh · 3 days ago

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 GraceLash seals each lash in a laminated sleeve (instead of sitting wet on top), there's nothing to end up on your crease as the day goes 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.

Barbara Hughes

4 days ago

I was a Telescopic girl for TEN years. You nailed everything. Long but you could count every lash. Second coat always clumped. I kept thinking it was just me getting older. It wasn't.

Margaret Foster

5 days ago

I'm 71. Gave up mascara completely 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.

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Margaret Foster · 5 days ago

Hi Margaret. This is exactly why I came back too. I thought I was done. Here's how it works. Warm flannel. 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 flannel as tiny black bits. That's the sleeves coming off, not your lashes. No scrubbing. No tugging. A year in and that part still feels like magic to me.

Sandra Kelly

6 days ago

Honestly? I'm fed up of every brand swearing it's THE one. Heard it. Bought it. Binned it. What makes this any different from the last five? Not being funny. Just tired.

Carol Bennett

1 week ago

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 had me in stitches lol. Saved.

Sharon Whitfield

1 week ago

I was worried about microplastics in mascara. Read somewhere tubing ones are full of them. Have you looked into this Susan? Trying to be more careful what I put on my body at our age.

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Sharon Whitfield · 1 week ago

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. Wool is made of polymers. Your own hair is a polymer. Microplastics are one specific type that breaks apart into tiny floating bits. These come off as whole little sleeves in warm water. Lamination uses a polymer too, but mixed with castor oil and Japanese ginseng, which makes removal much gentler.

Nancy Reid

2 weeks ago

I've curled my dead straight lashes since I was 13. Every mascara I've tried, Sky High included, has my curl gone by lunch. Does GraceLash actually hold a curl?

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Nancy Reid · 2 weeks ago

Hi Nancy. This was my biggest fear too. My old mascara flattened my curl by lunch for years. The difference with GraceLash is that it's not a normal wet formula, it's lamination. The Brazilian carnauba is very strong but still light, so there's barely any wet weight pulling the curl down before it sets. I tested it at my daughter's wedding in the Lake District last August. Pouring rain. It still held. First one in years that didn't kill my curl.

Karen Donnelly

2 weeks ago

Susan, I've been reading you for three years. You're the only beauty person who doesn't treat us like we're 25. Everyone else keeps telling us to "glow." What does that even mean when your skin is what it is now? You actually get it.

Donna Pickering

3 weeks ago

[£PRICE] is a lot for me. I retired last year and I'm careful with money now. Is it really worth it over a £12 Sky High from Boots? I want to believe. But I've wasted enough on mascaras that didn't work.

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Donna Pickering · 3 weeks ago

Hi Donna. Completely understand. Quick thing first. With the [OFFER] on the site, it works out at about [PRICE PER TUBE] a tube. Still more than Boots, I won't pretend otherwise. But here's how I see it. Three tubes you binned at £12 is £36. One that actually works for around the same money is just better maths. And you have 60 days to try it. Doesn't work for you, send it back. The risk is on them, not you.

Cynthia Harlow

3 weeks ago

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 mascara was nothing. Glad I'm not the only one who fell for it.

Kathleen O'Brien

1 month ago

Just turned 65. Wear contacts every day. Most mascaras have my eyes watering by midday. Tempted to try GraceLash but a bit nervous after the Laura Geller disaster (bought that too, wish I'd read this first). Any other contact wearers here tried it?

Deborah Frankel

1 month ago

You said GraceLash has ingredients that "feed" your lashes. After everything I've read about lash serums (sunken eyes, eye colour changing, lashes falling out when you stop), I'm honestly terrified to put anything "growth" near my eyes. What's actually in this one?

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Deborah Frankel · 1 month ago

Hi Deborah. Your worry makes sense. The scary side effects you've read about come from prescription lash serums. GraceLash is NOT a lash serum. It's a mascara with a peptide, biotin, castor oil and ginseng sealed inside the laminate. Just things that feed your lashes a bit while you wear it. I've used it for almost a year now. About two months in, my lashes looked less starved. 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.

Diane Sutherland

1 month ago

Slight disagreement on Sky High. Mine's fine and I'm 67. Not arguing the smudging point, maybe it's my eyelids. But the rest was spot on, especially Laura Geller. Took me a week to get that off my lashes properly. UGH.

Joan Whitley

1 month ago

Susan, what do you use on your bottom lashes? Mine were always lighter than the top ones, but now they've basically vanished. Don't want to buy a second mascara if there's an easier answer. Help?

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Joan Whitley · 1 month ago

Hi Joan. I get this one a lot. I just use the GraceLash on my bottom lashes too. A tiny bit on the tip of the wand, that's it. It doesn't smudge down under your eyes, which is where every other mascara let me down. My bottom lashes show up without spider legs.

Bonnie Hartman

1 month ago

Loved this mascara breakdown. Any chance you'd do the same for foundation next? I'm 66 and every one I try either sits in every line on my face or goes orange by lunch. Sick of the trial and error. Would trust your picks over anyone's.

Susan HarperEditor

Reply to Bonnie Hartman · 1 month ago

Hi Bonnie. Foundation is the #1 topic in my inbox right now. I'm halfway through testing 8 of them on myself and a few brave friends. Hopefully ready to share in the next few weeks. Watch this space.

Janet Caldwell

2 months ago

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.