For years it has been one of those products that seemed impossible to remove from the makeup bag. Even when makeup was pared down to a light base, a touch of blush, and lip balm, mascara still appeared as that final gesture capable of opening the gaze and finishing the makeup.
However, something is changing. We are seeing more and more faces that are perfectly made up in which the lashes remain practically without any product. A trend that many makeup artists have dubbed ghost lashes and that consists precisely in dispensing with mascara or reducing its presence to a minimum. It’s not simply another version of the well-known no-makeup makeup. This time, removing mascara deliberately alters the proportions of the face and shifts attention toward the skin, the eyebrows, the blush, or the lips.
One of the most recent examples featured Zendaya during the New York premiere of The Odyssey. Her makeup artist, Ernesto Casillas, left the eyes almost bare and focused the makeup entirely on achieving dewy, sun-kissed, and rosy skin.
Zendaya on a red carpet without mascara.
Casillas explained that they were aiming for beautiful sun-kissed skin, with makeup that was ‘very, very minimalist’. The result demonstrated something that until recently seemed hard to imagine on a red carpet: a sophisticated look doesn’t necessarily need black, heavily defined lashes.
Runways Are Also Leaving Lashes Natural
In the spring 2026 collections of brands such as Burberry, Chloé, Lacoste, or Dior, there were looks in which models barely wore eyelash mascara but other elements of makeup took center stage.
A model with a natural lashes look.
Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director of Dior Makeup, explained in an interview one of the aesthetic reasons behind this decision. According to the makeup artist, mascara immediately adds a more sensual component to makeup, something that is not always desirable when building a runway look.
That is precisely one of the keys to this trend. By removing mascara, the eye loses part of the definition we traditionally associate with finished makeup, but the face can gain a more contemporary, unexpected, and lighter look in exchange.
Makeup No Longer Aims to Make the Eyes Look Bigger
For a long time, much of the eye makeup was built around the same idea: to make the eyes look larger and the lashes longer, blacker, and more voluminous. Now the goal is not always that.
The skin has gained a lot of prominence and many current trends prefer to leave visible freckles, texture, and natural luminosity. In that context, very dark lashes can appear too obvious next to the rest of the makeup.
The makeup artist Daniel Martin, known for working with names such as Meghan Markle or Gemma Chan, recently recalled that for decades mascara had worked precisely as the product that “opened” the eyes and provided that final finish to the makeup. That it is now being questioned after so many years is especially significant.
Model Helena Christensen, for example, admitted a few days ago that she herself avoids using mascara, among other things because of the discomfort of having to remove it afterward. Her routine focuses more on versatile products, blush, eyeliner or lip gloss, and achieving a natural result.
Leaving Mascara Behind Doesn’t Mean Skipping Eye Makeup
Lashes can be curled to lift them without adding pigment or can be treated with a clear gel. You can also substitute black with a brown mascara applied only to some lashes if you’re looking for a bit of definition.
The rest of the makeup is what completes the effect. Well-groomed, luminous skin, well-integrated blush, brushed brows, and lips that are slightly defined help make bare lashes look like a deliberate aesthetic choice rather than simply unfinished makeup. Makeup artists consulted by Elle to analyze this trend highlight precisely that freedom to shift the focus from the eyes to the skin, the cheeks, or the lips.
And perhaps that is the real reason why more and more women are leaving mascara behind. Not because it has stopped being flattering or because it will disappear from the makeup bag, but because after years of trying to make lashes longer, thicker, and darker, wearing them as they are starts to look surprisingly modern.
