Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Courtesy of Kelli Anne Sewell, Retailers
To many of us, swiping on a few layers of mascara in the morning feels as natural as brushing our teeth. But lately, there have been rumblings that mascara is out of style — even a little cheugy (gasp). Kate Berlant said on her podcast that she feels like she looks better without it; Gigi Hadid, Gwendoline Christie, and Audrey Nuna walked the 2026 Met Gala red carpet with bare lashes; and there are countless videos on TikTok of people swearing up and down that skipping mascara will make you look hotter or like an off-duty model.
Not convinced? Kelli Anne Sewell, a New York–based celebrity makeup artist who has created no-mascara looks for the likes of Kelsea Ballerini and Alix Earle, is here to explain why you should try ditching mascara this summer (and beyond).
What prompted you to stop wearing mascara?
I stopped wearing mascara last year, and now I don’t even think to put it on, even when I’m going out. I’m so used to myself without mascara that when I put it on, I’m like, Oh, I’m done up. There’s something super-edgy about no-mascara looks, and I think it’s a really cool thing to do. It shows a lot of confidence, because it’s paring it back and being really comfortable in your skin, which also comes with the privilege of aging and seeing that you’re beautiful the way you are.
We’re seeing a lot of people dissolving filler and scaling back these overly done, overly enhanced looks. That’s just the way trends work — we snap back from certain extremes. I honestly think no-mascara looks are even more feasible for working women, moms, and people who are like, I want to feel fabulous in five seconds. So while it has a cool-girl vibe to it, I also think it’s a very functional look.
Is it just too hot?
I think it pops off in the summer. I’m friends with the amazing makeup artist Taylor Fitzgerald, and she and I were on the same vibe last summer, where we weren’t really wearing a ton of mascara. She kept posting, “I want this to be a no-mascara summer.” And I’ve been hearing that this is the summer of being outside. You want to get out, you want to have fun with your friends, and you don’t want to spend time putting on too much makeup, especially in humid climates. When you’re outside, you’re sweating a ton, you’re getting in the pool, you’re going to the beach, and you don’t want running mascara. Removing mascara just makes your life so much easier.
I was traveling abroad recently with my family, and I really wanted to soak up every second with them. I wasn’t going to spend an hour in my room glamming to go exploring for the day, so I found myself doing no-mascara looks every day, because I was like, I just want to spend five minutes on my makeup and feel confident. Skipping that step saves me three to five minutes. I just do a little tinted moisturizer, a little blush, I curl my lashes, brush my brows up, put on a lip, and I’m done.
Are you doing anything else instead?
I usually tell people that if they’re nervous about completely ditching their mascara, start by switching to a brown mascara. It softens the look, and it might help you get ready to take the plunge. Also, I would never do a no-mascara look without curling my lashes. I swear by the Tweezerman Pro Master lash curler. If I really pump it, I can go six, seven hours and still have a curl. When you curl your lashes, you get that immediate lash lift, which lifts your face, lifts your eyes, and makes everything look more sculpted. Sometimes, when I don’t have mascara on, I miss the lift that mascara gives, especially on the outer edges. So I pull out my brow product, which is an ash-brown pencil from NYX that I use to fill in my brows; draw on little faux freckles; and even line my lips sometimes. At the end of my makeup routine, I use the pencil to draw a subtle wing — it mimics a shadow and it looks like you have little lash extensions right there, so it creates that lift.
I also tell people that you can create a focal point somewhere else on your face. For example, if you have really fresh skin and a gorgeous, bold lip, it’s not as noticeable that you’re not wearing mascara. For the skin, I love the Chanel Water-Fresh tint, because it goes on really watery but then it actually dries down, so it’s not going to slip off your face. Refy also just launched water-based bronzers and blushes, and they look so nice and natural. And when I say bold lip, I’m not talking about a red lip; it’s more of a rich and pigmented lip. Two products I always use for that is the Summer Fridays Cinnamon lip liner (which I always buff out with a lip brush) and the KJH.Brand lip crayons in the shades Mirage and Enigma.
Going without mascara can feel strange at first, but stick with it — it’s like exposure therapy. The more people actually practice the look, the more they’re going to get addicted to it, because that’s what happened to me. You might get to a place where you’re like, Whoa, I feel so confident without mascara. Why would I add it?
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