100% Natural Nourishing Mascara, Black Brown vs Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero Smudge Lengthening Mascara: which is safer?

Burt's Bees 100% Natural Nourishing Mascara, Black Brown is the clear pick. Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero Smudge Lengthening Mascara carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.

Our pick

Burt's Bees 100% Natural Nourishing Mascara, Black Brown

Burt's Bees

100% Natural Nourishing Mascara, Black Brown

PFAS grade

Excellent 75/100

Overall grade

Good 67/100

Verdict

Buy

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

Wax, pigments, natural oils (typical mascara base)

Confidence

78%

PossibleFragrance allergens and undisclosed sensitizers

PossibleBacterial growth and contamination in wax formula

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero Smudge Lengthening Mascara

Estée Lauder

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero Smudge Lengthening Mascara

PFAS grade

Poor 30/100

Overall grade

Bad 8/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

Waterproof mascara formulation, coating unspecified

Confidence

35%

PossibleFragrance allergens and undisclosed components

LikelyPFAS in waterproof coating (polymer system unspecified)

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Fragrance allergens and undisclosed sensitizers and Bacterial growth and contamination in wax formula on the Burt's Bees and not on the Estée Lauder.
  • We flag Fragrance allergens and undisclosed components and PFAS in waterproof coating (polymer system unspecified) on the Estée Lauder and not on the Burt's Bees.
  • The Burt's Bees is Wax, pigments, natural oils (typical mascara base) where the Estée Lauder is Waterproof mascara formulation, coating unspecified, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Burt's Bees is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the Estée Lauder grade, at 35% confidence against 78%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric, which covers materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More waterproof mascara, see the full ranking