Wait a second!!!

This is some troubling news. And quite frankly i am extremely frustrated! I had contacted Revlon's customer service about the lip butters that I swear by and on the phone they told me the product had no gluten derived ingredients. Yesterday and today I was feeling a slight reaction, but had no clue why. I blamed it on stress because my hubby and I are in the process of buying a house. Until I remembered one thing, I used a lip butter yesterday. I don't wear lipstick frequently because the office I work in is quite relaxed and I almost feel "overdressed" with a lot of makeup. I looked back at the ingredients on the product and Tocopherol Acetate is an ingredient. Now I am very confused. I know not all Tocopherol and it's relatives are wheat derived but how am I, the consumer, supposed to figure out the difference. I had been staying away from all products with this ingredient, so I'll be staying away from these now too, until I can get a better answer. It is just too much of a coincidence and I do not feel comfortable using a product with that ingredient. [quiet sobs] so long precious lip butters.

Bare Essentials: Bare Minerals

I know some claim that all of Bare Mineral's products are gluten free, but I don't think that's entirely true. Here is the FAQ page that lists their safe items.

http://www.bareescentuals.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BareEscentuals-Site//CustService-FAQS#question15

Over the past couple of months I have purchased: Prime Time Foundation Primer, Foundation (SPF 15 Matte),
And two of the Ready Eyeshadow Quads.

The primer is exactly what I've been looking for. It leaves the skin feeling do smooth, makes my foundation great, and keeps it looking great all day. I can tell a dramatic difference in my foundation with this primer, but I didn't notice it making my pores look smaller. For me right now that isn't a huge concern, but I know for some women it is. I haven't personally tried the Too Faced Primed and Poreless primer, but I contacted them and it is safe. So if you're looking for a primer that focuses more on disguising pores, that might be one to try.

I had used the original Bare Minerals foundation in high school and I liked it, so I figured I'd like it now. I chose the matte formula this time because when I searched them both the original seemed to look shimmery, and I tend to like a more satin finish for foundation. Overall I really enjoyed using it. At the time I had some problem breakout areas and wanted to give my skin a break, but not go to work feeling naked with no foundation. I felt it did the trick. It gives a very natural coverage that I can't wait to use in the summer and feels very light on the skin. I did notice that it wore off quickly without using the primer and that after using it for about a month my skin was looking dry. Although I do have dry skin to begin with and it's the dead of winter, the foundation just didn't help the situation.

Ok, here comes the love fest. These Ready Eyeshadow Quads are just incredible. The shadows are such good quality, so rich and creamy. First I bought The Truth and within three days bought the second, Dream Sequence. . I have to say I'd recommend The Truth to EVERYONE. I can't say enough food things about it. This is a pretty huge and risky statement, but if I could only choose one eyeshadow product that would be it. But thankfully I don't have to live with just one!

I hope you'll try some of their products, and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading and happy beautifying!!!

E.L.F. Haul

So, there have been a lot of changes that I’ve had to make to my collection. Now is time for the rebuild, so you could say. E.L.F. (eyes.lips.face.) cosmetics is entirely gluten free, and amazingly affordable. They also had an unreal deal going on, if you spent $25 you receive 10 mineral eyeshadows for free. I thought that was a perfect opportunity to stock up. Here’s what I got. 

-ELF Mineral Eye Liner in black and midnight: $3

I am very happy with these liners. They are creamy and glide on effortlessly. Overall they’re just great. 

Left: Midnight Right: Black

- ELF Cream Eyeliner $3

To be short and sweet, this is a great gel liner. I have them in black and purple. Best of all just three bucks!

-ELF Studio Lip Balm $3

The colors I have are pink and nude. They are very much a tinted lip balm. There is not much pigmentation, but are very moisturizing. 

-ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow $3

Pebble and coffeebean. Pebble is more of a satin finish, and coffeebean has quite a bit of glitter. Pebble is a great taupe color; I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this. It is really universal. Coffeebean is a medium brown with golden shimmer. This is so beautiful when built up into the crease for a dramatic look.

Coffeebean

Pebble

 

Left: Coffeebean Right: Pebble

Then I chose 10 mineral eyeshadows. $3 each. These are loose powders, which can be kind of tricky, but are fun none the less. These are the colors:

Elegant

Innocent

Temptress

Caffeinated

Confident

Socialite

Mysterious

Royal

Partier

Seductive

Elegant, Innocent, Temptress

Innocent, Elegant, Temptress

Caffeinated, Confident, Socialite

Caffeinated, Confident, Socialite

Seductive

Seductive

Glad I could share with you!

And as always, I'm looking at the bright side that I didn't have to scrap my entire collection.

Happy beautifying!

Goodbye and Farwell

No one ever wants to say goodbye.

Well, throughout the research I’ve done so far I’ve gotten some responses that I just didn’t like. They were unclear, not helpful, and I decided to not buy products from those companies anymore. I’ll start a page too because I am sure this list will grow.

Right now it stands at Stila, Benefit, Covergirl, and Rimmel.

I talked to a Stila representative on the phone who gave me a clear answer about a specific product, the eye kajal. But when I contacted them by email, their only response was “we do not claim any of our products are gluten free”. I feel like that’s saying we are not going to take the time to make our products accessible to you, so I don’t feel that I should spend my money on it.

I contacted Benefit by phone. They would not tell me anything about the ingredients in their products. They did consult me to contact my doctor about which ingredients may not be safe for me to use. So… again, I don’t feel like wasting my (or any doctor’s) time or money.

Covergirl actually said they wanted to give me a clear answer, but there could be nothing farther from the truth. What I could grasp from the email is that they don’t really even know what is in their products because some of their fragrances come from outside suppliers. They did say that if gluten was in the fragrances it wouldn’t be enough to cause a reaction. Oh and that since most of their products are not ingested it shouldn’t be an issue. Oh (again) and they provided me with some resources to learn about Celiac Disease. After I had read the email, I basically just sat there with my mouth wide open. I couldn’t believe what they were telling me and how ignorant they were. It well known that the most common symptoms come from ingesting gluten, but I can’t tell you the number of people I have heard that have a skin rash/reaction just on the surface of their skin from gluten, let alone people with just a gluten allergy and not Celiac. I don’t know, something about the whole tone rubbed me the wrong way. I think Covergirl is a good brand, but just not for me anymore.

Rimmel was also very confusing. I honestly couldn’t tell you if the product I asked them about was safe or not, even after reading the email about five times. And they also gave me a list of over 200 different ingredients that may contain wheat. I was actually a little insulted that it was implied I should cross reference each ingredient on the product to the list. Again, waste of my time. I’d rather invest my money in a product I feel comfortable using and in a company that is accommodating to ALL customers.

These are just my opinions on the responses I received. But, I wish people shared them with me when I was looking for answers, so I am sharing with you!

I hope this information helps and everyone is having a great week so far!!!

Eye Products

Alrighty… I’m going to switch things up a bit. Since there are a lot of products to cover, I am going toxseparate them by brand. The amount of eye products that were not gluten free came as kind of a big surprise. There were a ton of products that once I asked the question, I didn’t really want the answer. Definitely more products that in the end, I didn’t feel comfortable using, and I was actually pretty sad about it. But anyways… let’s get down to business.

I’ll start with MAC. Another one ofmy “holy grail” products is the MAC paint pot. This product basically changed my life. It is an eyeshadow base that can be worn alone or under normal eyeshadow. It makes an immediate difference and I can just tell it makes my eye makeup look incredibly better! It makes the pigment of the shadow pop and standout, and also makes the shadows last longer. The great thing is that they are SAFE! YAY!!!!

MAC Paint Pot

safe

Next is another base type product.It is the MAC cream color base, this one in pearl. This has a tendency to crease more than the paint pots, but this is a multitasking product, which the paint pot really isn’t. It can be applied to the tops of the cheekbones for agreat highlight, especially in the summer when you want to achieve that “dewy” type look. And yay, SAFE!

MAC Cream Color Base

safe

Ok, so onto shadows. I’ll start with the MAC prolongwear eyeshadows. These are supposed to last longer than thevnormal eyeshadows, and they are also in a bigger pot, the same size as the cream color bases. That helps for this specific shade, carefree, because it can thenbe easier to use as a powder highlight. And since my precious lightscape I loved so much as a highlight is not gluten free, this is a good alternative for the time being.

MAC Prolongwear

safe

Time for the heartbreaker, before Istarted this I would have said the MAC satin finish would be my favorite. But I guess not anymore. The eyeshadows are the same as the lipsticks as far as the finishes are what determines if they are gluten free or not. By the time I was done going through the shadows I had, there were about 7 I couldn’t use anymore. I was pretty blindsided by that number. But that’s ok, I’ll just have to look for better, gluten free, alternatives. (Trying to stay positive!) Sohere is the run down.

MAC Eyeshadows
Frost	safe
Lustre	safe
Matte	safe
Satin	NOT safe
Veluxe	safe
Veluxe Pearl	NOT safe
Velvet	safe

More than half of the shadows in my palette ended up being not safe. sad day...

I’ll do the same as the lipsticks are list the NOT safeshades.

Satin

Mylar

Orb

Brule

Shroom

Sushi Flower

Folie

Girlie

Haux

Electric Eel

Winkle

Shale

Digit

Grain

Soba

Era

Arena

Cork

Club

Concrete

Mystery

Brun

Coquette

Scene

Howzat

Print

Blue Candy

Shock-a-holic

Parisian Skies

Veluxe Pearl

Crystal Avalanche

Dazzlelight

Star Violet

Da Bling

Expensive Pink

Plum Dressing

Coppering

All That Glitters

Gorgeous Gold

Sumptuous Olive

Freshwater

Moon’s Reflection

Satellite Dreams

Beautiful Iris

Stars N’ Rockets

Woodwinked

Antiqued

Twinks

Silver Ring

Knight Devine

Three Ring Yellow

Jealousy Wakes

Sparkle, Neely Sparkle!

Hocus Pocus

Mythical

The Too Faced Foiled Eyeliners are safe. They have a nice smooth formulation. I enjoy using the one I have. It isn't amazing, but a nice product none the less.

Too Faced Foiled Eyeliners

safe

I have generally preferred this eyeliner to the Too Faced one. It is the Stila Eye Kajal. It is super creamy and great for smokey eyes. Stila does not claim that any of their products are gluten free, but that this one does not contain any gluten or gluten derived ingredients. I don’t think I will purchase more from them, but for this that I already own I will continue to use.

Stila Eye Kojal

safe

I actually really enjoy this eyeshadow trio. It is by LORAC and I think it is really fun to run my brush in between the colors and use it as a wash all over the lid. You get a different result every time, but I am always happy with it. It is quite shimmery which is good now and then, and I do reach for it a lot. I classify is as “pretty safe” these are the exact words used in the email response, “LORAC products do not generally contain gluten products however; they may be used by suppliers of ingredients in the manufacture of LORAC products.” I’ll let you decide if you're comfortable with that answer or not.

Starry-eyed Baked Eyeshadow trio: Superstar

pretty safe

            This Revlon quad is an awesome one. It is very versatile. I love using this for a matte and natural look, but you can use the darker shades to build up for a more dramatic look. And best of all it is safe. I considered this a big score!

Colorstay 12hour eyeshadow: Copper Spice

safe

            And of course, trusty NARS. There’s not much explaining this one. All NARS products are gluten free. AMAZING. And I love love love the two duos I have. All AboutEve (left) and Cordura (right). These are just down right fantastic.

NARS

Safe

            This company surprised me. Urban Decay had absolutely the BEST customer service that I had contacted. It was super fast and very clear in the answers. I didn’t feel like it was a hassle for them to get the answer, and they were knowledgeable. I will definitely purchase more products that are gluten free. I was quite sad because my favorite eyeliners I found were not safe. But again, I will just be on a mission to find one I like just as much that’s a safe option.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencils	NOT safe
Urban Decay Primer Potion: Original	safe
Urban Decay Original Naked Palette	safe
Urban Decay Naked2 Palette	safe

The Primer Potion is a great product. Its one of those that you don’t see the effects immediately, but when your eyeshadow looks just as good when you get home from work as it did when you left, you’ll know why, Primer Potion.

I love my Naked Palette. I don’t use it everyday, and when I do use it, I always ask myself, “Why don’t I use this everyday?” It is so versatile and it is great for dramatic or “fancy” looks too. It is a great investment to anyone’s collection.

I don’t own the second Naked palette….yet. But once I found out it was gluten free, I am all over it. I will be purchasing it as soon as I can track it down. It was recently released and still hard to find.

            I guess I had the largest amount of eye products in my collection. And I think as a result of that I had the largest amount of disappointment. But I am going to try and find the brightside, and what really makes me happy is the way Urban Decay handled my questions and how fast they got me the answers. And I am very much looking forward to finding, purchasing, and using the Naked2 palette. Just have to keep looking up, to the nearest Urban Decay retailer

I hope you can all find the bright side to your day, and maybemany bright sides!

Thanks for reading.

Face Products

So here goes, round two. Face.

This was one of my “holy grail” products, but it will surely have to R.I.P now. Ouch…oh well, I’ll just have to move on. It’s the MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Lightscape, not safe. It was the perfect highlight. Oh precious Lightscape, you will be missed.

 

MAC MSF: Lightscape

NOT safe

 

Going along with the theme, MAC’s Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Give Me Sun! is not gluten free. I used this as a bronzer, but I am pretty confident that I’ll be able to find a matte bronzer that I like just as much.

MAC MSFN: Give me Sun!

NOT safe

Ok, that wasn’t so painful, on to the good news. Although this isn’t matte, it is a great bronzer, and I love using it as blush too! Bonus points for multitasking.

Too Faced Peach Leopard Bronzer

safe

When I first used the MAC Fix+ I totally thought it wouldn't do anything. But once I was finished doing my makeup, it was hard not to notice the effects. It is just a mist that you spray on before you start your makeup application. It really does make your makeup look smoother, it also feels really refreshing, especially first thing in the morning. Another bonus product, if you use it after your makeup is finished it acts as a setting spray and makes it last longer.

MAC Fix+

safe

When I first started looking into gluten free makeup, I was totally mislead and confused. I misunderstood and thought that all of Clinique’s makeup was gluten free, but nope. Luckily, what I already own is gluten free, the Perfectly Real foundation and compact. I really enjoy using these products. They give my skin a really healthy finish while at the same time mattifying the oily places like the “T” tone. Score on this one.

Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup Foundation	safe
Clinique Perfectly Real Compact Makeup	safe

And once again one product that put a huge smile on my face. It’s the NARS All About Cheeks blush palette. I had been drooling over this product ever since it was released, and I received it as a gift for Christmas. I now don’t know if I could live without it. But i never have to find out! I guess until I use it all, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. This has everything in one place, and perfect for traveling AND it so freaking versatile. Perfect peachy pink, amazing bright pink, a gorgeous plum perfect for fall and winter, not to mention a bronzer and highlight. So sweet!  

NARS	safe

 

AND the best part is that all NARS products are 

gluten free. It even says it on their website!!! No hoops to jump through!!! SAFE. end of story. I know where all my savings are going, NARSproducts. Love.Love.Love

Thanks for reading!

Lip Products

As long winded as my last post was,I still have some choice words for the cosmetic world. But I'll spare you thedetails and get to the important stuff.
Just another reminder, products that qualify as "safe" are notcertified gluten free, but have no gluten derived ingredients. There are notreally any regulations on gluten free makeup like there is for gluten free food.

So here it is. This is my entire makeup collection.  In this photo, it is a mixture of gluten free and not gluten free products.

Ok, so this is kind of how it goes.There’s both good news and bad news, and I’m going to start with the bad news.I do it that way because maybe by the end of the good news, you’ll forget aboutthe bad. As sad and disappointed I am in the information I got today, I actuallyfeel really good. Some of my “holy grail” products will have to be buried andR.I.P. But there is a silver lining.

So let’s get to it. I’m going to separatethe posts by product type, lips, eyes, face, just because there is a lot to goover. I’ll start with lips, because that’s the product that is the easiest toingest/get in your system. So here goes nothing.

Ok, this is one product that I amsuper disappointed about. I absolutely loved MAC’s cremesheen glass lipglosses.WRONG! 

MAC Cremesheen glass

NOT safe

Ill have to stop loving them. Ialso loved the cremesheen lipsticks. WRONG again. MAC does have a goodselection of gluten free lipsticks, but the cremesheen isn’t one of them. MAC has different finishes for their lipsticks, some are safe and some are not; 

MAC Amplified Crème	NOT safe
MAC Cremesheen	NOT safe
MAC Frost	safe
MAC Glaze	safe
MAC Lustre	safe
MAC Matte	safe
MAC Satin	safe
MAC Sheen Supreme	safe

I also made a list of all theshades that are the NOT safe finishes. The finish is listed on the bottom of the tube above the shade.

These are the shades names that are NOT safe.

            Amplified Creme

Saint Germain

Impassioned

Girl About Town

Cosmo

Chatterbox

Fast Play

Craving

Dubonnet

Dark Side

Brick-O-Lay

Morange

Vegas Volt

Half ‘n Half

Up The Amp

Blankety

Cremesheen

Beach Sand

Pillow Talk

Offshoot

Crème Cup

Speed Dial

Hot Gossip

Speak Louder

Fanfare

Lickable

Spice is Nice

Hang-up

Party Line

Brave Red

Dare you

Shy Girl

Ravishing

Crème d’ Nude

Crème in Your Coffee

Modesty

On Hold

Crosswires

Black Knight

            Next are the MAC’s plushglass lipglosses. These are NOT safe. This product was alright,but I definitely won’t loose any sleep about not having them.

MAC Plushglass

NOT safe

            I havefound a new liking for lip liners. I thought they should have been left in 1998,but I realized you can’t really pull off a bold lip well without them. And I havebeen thoroughly enjoying the bold lip trend. BUT these Rimmel London 1000 Kissesare not gluten free.

Rimmel London 1000 Kisses

NOT safe

           

              That’s finebecause MAC lip pencils are gluten free! YAYYYYY

MAC Lip pencil

safe

            And here wego, this is unheard of news. The brand E.L.F. (Eyes. Lips. Face.) is acompletely gluten free company. They actually test their products for gluten.WHHHHAAAAATTTT???? I couldn’t believe it when they told me that. They test anddo not find any gluten in the products. Yes sir-y.

E.L.F.

ALL

Safe

           

          

Thanks so much for reading!

I’ll post the eyes and face sections of my collection soon.

Happy Beautifying!