Marcelle (Canadian, cruelty free, drugstore) claims to be hypoallergenic. I have used a few of their products but I personally don’t have sensitivity.

Hypoallergenic is an unregulated term in the makeup industry, so even products marketed as such might not work for you. It would be easier to find products if you know specific ingredients you’re allergic to?

I have really reactive skin, and I've had good luck with Clinique products. Since they're stocked at a lot of stores, it might be helpful to swatch some foundations to see if any will work for you.

Physicians formula says it is and I've had pretty good luck with it as a sensitive person

I think it would be better to visit a dermatologist instead of spending money on makeup that might not work.

My main advice would be avoid anything with fragrance.

For cleansers and moisturisers I’d strongly recommend Aveeno (their calm and restore range is great). And be sure to always use moisturiser under your makeup.

For actual makeup product, I think most big brands should be fairly good (again, avoiding fragrance). I can’t speak for most brands but I’ve had good experience with Clinique.

I have sensitive, acne-prone skin and avoid all fragrance (artificial and natural, which includes essential oils), alcohol (aka. ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol or alcohol denat., isopropyl alcohol, and methyl alcohol/methanol), and all oils (avocado, jojoba, there are too many to name). I can’t even double-cleanse with an oil-based cleanser without breaking out, despite the fact that the second cleanser removes the oil from the first one.

Just as an FYI: some alcohols are fatty alcohols which are fine for sensitive skin: cetyl, stearyl, and cetearyl alcohols are 100% okay.

I refer to this list of chemical irritants all the time when looking for new skincare products: https://www.vanicream.com/about/chemical-irritants.

I hope this helps! 😊

There literally is a brand called Hypoallergenic (I think) that offers anything from foundation to nail polish. But I'm not sure if it's available where you're from

See a dermatologist for allergy patch testing.

"Hypoallergenic" means absolutely nothing. It's right up there with "all natural!" Coconut oil and lavender are all natural but watch my face puff up and my skin peel when I use them. Bare Minerals markers itself as hypo allergenic and I'm allergic to half the ingredients. Thrive Causemetics say they "the sensitive skin makeup". I can use none of their blush or foundation, one formulation lipstick, and a lip pencil.

Until you know what you react to, it's an expensive guessing game.

I've used regular makeup for performance for years, without problems. Greasepaint and the Ben Nye stage makeup is horrible for my skin and outside of really specific things that require more like "special effects" makeup, I stick to stuff I can get at Sephora and test everything for allergies before putting it in my kit.

What have you been using that you react to? Are you using a good primer and skincare to help your skin along? Do you wear any other makeup? Have you reacted to any products in the past? What kinds of reactions are you having -- are your eyes watering, is your skin breaking out, or are you getting hives?

Its not stage makeup- but clinque works for my sensitive skin

I use Haus Labs for my sensitive skin no issues at all. I know LA ballet uses MAC

a bit expensive but try RMS beauty

Would highly recommend r/fragrancefreebeauty!

Have you considered that she might have had an eye infection and it keeps being repress through bacteria in her make up and tools?

If she has new versions of the same stuff ready to replace old ones, suggest to her to open them up and clean all her tools and brushes before testing them.

It would help to know what she is currently using that irritates her eyes. That way those ingredients can be avoided.

Also: eye drops. Keeping the eyes hydrated is also very important and gets harder as we get older!

It might help if you share what she currently wears

A few things to cover first :

Have any of the products expired? No, not all things literally go out of date the day they say, but when someone has symptoms it’s a first thing to check. Even powders. I learned that the hard way with an old eye shadow I shouldn’t have used.

Mascara though, don’t mess with it. IN THE BIN when it’s past its date, wands are horrid for being able to hold onto bacteria. I personally only buy travel size mascara as I don’t want to risk it.

It may also not be the eye makeup specifically, even other things she puts on her face may irritate the eyes first. The best way is a process of elimination using one product a day to see how she goes.

Is she a contact lens wearer? It’s that much easier to be irritated if so. I never go to the root of my lash with mascara, and I’m very selective about eyeliner use.

I’ve had good experiences with Pur and Neutrogena. I prefer to use Neutrogena’s Sheers on my face and Pur’s pot concealer sparingly in the areas I need extra coverage.

Try tower 28s new SPF foundation!

Almay

i don’t get the swelling, but i can definitely get watering and headaches if i’m not using good quality products. i’ve just kinda noticed this, so some things i’ve noted:

1. use artificial tears (without preservatives) before you do your makeup, and after if you need it. idk if you have dry eyes, but it can make sensitivity worse and keep bad things trapped in your eye longer than necessary.
2. avoid morphe. just,,,,trust me on this one. i have yet to find specific brands that are foolproof—hipdot kesha palette works well but i want to try more of them, j* is hit or miss and i’m not providing him any more money anyways, mac doesn’t irritate my eyes either, neither does UD. i think the more powdery/fallouty/ pigmented thé formula, the more likely it is to cause irritation to me—but morphe? gives me a headache every time, and it’s not like they have a good enough formula for me to justify it lmfaooo.
3. id really keep your eyes out for sensitive skin safe mascaras and eyeliners. those are gonna be what have most contact w the actual eye imo. avoid fragranced products (for the love of god no lancome, flower, coty). i’ve heard good things about cliniques liner, and they market it as extremely safe for sensitive eyes. sharpen it before each use. for mascara maybe try clinique as well, or tartes LCL mascara. foundations? clinique again, as their brand is just really good for people with sensitivity. a lot of brands throw fragrance into their foundations for no good reason.
4. i’ve noticed taking a daily allergy medication (claritin, the purple one, etc.) can help w the level of irritation, but check with your doctor before doing this if you don’t already, and make sure to be drinking lots of water!
5. synthetic brushes, and clean them often. you may have sensitivity/allergy to real hair brushes if you’re using those. if you can, try to test products on your hands and see if they’re causing a reaction before using them on your face. if any irritation occurs, try to keep an eye out on ingredients you see commonly in those products.

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Almay.

I was wearing Cover Girl and Maybelline. My eyes became swollen, had a rash surrounding them, and burn red. I’m wearing sunglasses in all the selfies I took during my Chicago trip - even inside. I did research and discovered I wasn’t the only one have issues with those brands.

I had been getting acne a couple of years before then, and my sister recommended Almay. So I switched my foundation to Almay. When I had that allergic reaction around the eye, I went 100% Almay. Haven’t had a reaction related to makeup since then.

I know everyone is different, but for some reason the cheapo Wet n Wild eyeliner doesn't bother me. 

Before, wearing anything near my eyes would trigger not only irritation but also sinus congestion.

I also had to stop wearing eye makeup. I did find a mascara that’s alcohol free that works for me. It’s essence lash princess, less than $5 on Amazon

I pretty much only wear Clinique. Lash Power Mascara is great.

I can only use Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions mascara (not their Volumizer) & some of their neutral-colored Eye Brightener pencils like Callie (taupe) & Mieko (pale pink). Every time I try a different brand I regret it. They have some decently priced ‘sets’ of these particular products & lots of sales, plus a good Rewards program.

I have super sensitive, acne-prone skin too and found that vegan/cruelty-free brands are a lot gentler. For eyeliner, try Physicians Formula Eye Booster (hypoallergenic) or Ilia Clean Line, both are great for sensitive eyes. For concealer, BareMinerals Original Liquid Concealer or RMS Uncover Up are lightweight and don’t clog pores. Lipsticks: Bite Beauty or Tower 28 (allergy-tested + super creamy).

Patch test everything first! Sensitive skin loves fewer ingredients.