Maybelline Great Lash: A Formaldehyde Releaser Applied to Your Eye, No Warning Required
Quaternium-15 releases formaldehyde, IARC Group 1 carcinogen, directly at the conjunctival mucosa. Already banned in Washington State. A federal ban is proposed for 2027.
Maybelline Great Lash is one of the most iconic mascaras sold in the United States. It contains Quaternium-15, a preservative that releases formaldehyde in water-based formulas. Formaldehyde is classified by IARC as a Group 1 human carcinogen. The eye area is a high-permeability surface; conjunctival mucosa absorbs compounds more readily than intact body skin. In the EU, products releasing formaldehyde above 0.05% free formaldehyde must carry a warning label; no national US equivalent exists. Washington State banned formaldehyde releasers in cosmetics effective January 1, 2025. A proposed US federal rule (February 2025) would ban them nationally by January 1, 2027. As of the date this page was published, no national ban is in force.
The label, flagged
Water/Aqua
Beeswax/Cera Alba
wax base
Ozokerite
wax base
Shellac
Glyceryl Stearate
Triethanolamine
Propylene GlycolACTUALLY FINE
Fine on its own, the one honest caveat is that it's a penetration enhancer, so it helps everything else in the formula sink in deeper.
Stearic Acid
Sorbitan Sesquioleate
MethylparabenACTUALLY FINE
The paraben the breast-cancer scare was built on, and that 2004 study found parabens present, never proven they caused anything. Short-chain parabens like this are well-tolerated. Cleared.
Quaternium-15AVOID
Releases formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, right at your eye. Already banned in Washington State, with a US federal ban proposed for 2027. The EU forces a warning label; here it's silent.
Quaternium-22
Simethicone
ButylparabenCAUTION
The paraben that actually earns scrutiny, the EU caps it at 0.14% and bans it from baby products over weak estrogen activity. Not all parabens are equal.
Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)
may contain, colorants
Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)
may contain, colorant/opacifier
Ultramarines (CI 77007)
may contain, colorant
Mica
may contain, optical brightener
Source: Maybelline US official product page. View label. Tap any flagged ingredient for the evidence.
What to use instead
The fix isn’t complicated: a fragrance-free or fully-disclosed alternative, with the ingredients flagged on this label designed out, closes these gaps at once. We pick the ones worth your money.
See cleaner picks →Editorial analysis of the publicly listed label and regulatory/peer-reviewed sources. Not medical advice, not affiliated with the brand. Verdicts are evidence-graded, we flag what the data flags and clear what it clears.