The No Mascara Trend Is Everywhere—Here’s Why

Forgetting to put on mascara used to feel like an unfinished step in your makeup routine. Now, celebrities and beauty lovers alike are skipping it on purpose. The look has even earned itself a name: “ghost lashes.”

Recently, Zendaya showcased an angelic, mascara-free makeup look at the New York premiere of The Odyssey, pairing bare lashes with luminous skin and plenty of blush. Her makeup artist, Ernesto Casillas, explained the thinking behind the pared-back look in an Instagram post: “For the premiere, we wanted the skin to look fresh, luminous, and naturally skin-kissed,” he wrote. “The makeup was intentionally minimal, with glowing skin at the heart of the look and soft warmth placed where the sun would naturally hit.”

And Zendaya is hardly the only celebrity embracing bare lashes. At the 2025 Met Gala, Sofia Richie, FKA twigs, and Lorde were among those who appeared to leave their mascara at home, proving that an eye look doesn’t necessarily need dark, defined lashes to feel finished.

Hailey Bieber has also frequently embraced little to no mascara on Instagram, which isn’t surprising given that she’s become one of the faces of the clean-girl makeup look. Her signature beauty aesthetic often pairs barely-there eye makeup with glazed skin and, of course, blush, making bare lashes feel less like a missing step and more like an intentional part of the look.

Celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic has also experimented with mascara-free makeup throughout his career. During an appearance on the Gloss Angeles podcast, he shared his take on why the look works. “I think in order to pull that off, you have to have a bit of a natural lash. You have to be able to curl them and then have some sort of definition there,” he said.

For Dedivanovic, skipping mascara gives an otherwise glamorous makeup look a more editorial edge. “I think it’s more of a fashion, kind of editorial approach, and for me that’s why it works sometimes if you’re doing a glam look. If you kind of remove the mascara or just don’t put on a lash, it gives more of a slightly cool vibe. However, for, like, everyday, are you kidding me? You need mascara.”

But perhaps the question isn’t whether you need mascara, but how to make a makeup look feel finished without it. According to celebrity makeup artist and beauty educator Angela Lee, the key is making the rest of the look feel intentional.

Start by giving the brows a little attention. “Brush them into place and lightly fill any gaps if you want to. They frame the eyes while the lashes stay soft,” says Lee. Keeping the skin looking fresh can also help bring the look together. She recommends using coverage where you want it and adding a little blush, rather than feeling like you need flawless skin or a full face of foundation.

Finally, choose one deliberate detail to give the makeup a point of view. “A defined lip, a wash of shadow, or a beautiful cheek colour gives the look a point of view,” says Lee. “Leaving your lashes bare can be part of the look—you just want the other details to feel considered.”

For a little more definition, Lee recommends adding “a small amount of soft brown shadow close to the lash line.” But there’s no need to overcompensate for the missing mascara. “You don’t have to replace mascara with five other steps—just choose the detail you want to emphasize.”

Of course, some seemingly mascara-free lashes aren’t entirely untouched. Lash lifts and extensions can create naturally more noticeable lashes before any makeup is applied, making it easier to skip mascara altogether. A lash lift is a semi-permanent treatment that curls and lifts your natural lashes, while lash extensions involve attaching false lashes to the natural lashes and can typically last anywhere from a couple of weeks to around a month.

Interest in lash lifts in particular has been climbing, with Fresha reporting, based on Google search analysis, that searches for Korean lash lifts increased 3,695 percent year over year in the U.S. At-home lash lift kits and DIY lash extension kits have also become increasingly accessible for those looking to recreate salon results at home.

Lee has noticed more of her clients and models coming in with lash lifts or extensions, with convenience playing a big role. “People like waking up with their lashes already looking done,” she says. And in some ways, that may be contributing to the shift away from mascara. “They give people some of the effect they’re looking for before they’ve applied any makeup, so I understand the convenience.”

For those who aren’t quite ready to embrace completely bare lashes, brown mascara has emerged as a happy medium. Rather than creating the stark definition you get from traditional black mascara, brown gives lashes softer definition that works particularly well with the effortless makeup aesthetic. At the 2026 Met Gala, Gigi Hadid, Gracie Abrams, and Hunter Schafer were among the celebrities who stepped out with softer brown lashes.

Whether you leave your lashes completely bare or simply swap black mascara for brown, the goal seems to be the same: softer definition and an eye look that feels less obviously “done.”

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