Gluten Free Cheri

2013 was a bit of a complete revamp of what I was using to care for my skin. My skin completely changed early last year into combination skin and what I was using, no longer worked, I had redness and lots of breakouts that showed no sign of healing up! Things have stabilized now (thank goodness!) and my skin completely cleared up! After months of trying different products, and trying to find products that were gluten free and as natural as possible, here are the clear winners that helped work it all out.. […]

2013 Gluten Free Beauty Favorites!

Don’t you just love watching/reading 2013 Favorites! I get a bit lost at times when reading through all my favorite blog’s daily picks, but with Best of 2013, you know your getting the reel deal on what’s worth investing in. So without further ado, here are my makeup and skincare items that I adore, couldn’t live without, would most certainly have on a desert island, and have used every single day of 2013! […]

Hi gluten free friends!

In the past I have mentioned Sephora’s, Sephora brand BoraBora Bronzer being a favorite beauty product that doesn’t contain gluten ingredients, however it seems they have changed their policy on how they disclose their own brand’s allergens. […]

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For face:

I love the Cover FX brand, and I wear the Natural Finish oil free Foundation almost everyday. They have great shades, and it’s one of the few foundations I’ve been able to find that has a lighter shade colour without a pink undertone, which suits my skintone better. No need to worry here guys, this is one of the few makeup brands that is actually labelled gluten free!! They also do not add the ‘inflammatory 5: parabens, fragrance, gluten, mineral oil, and talc.’ They formulate their foundations for very sensitive skin.  I buy Cover FX at Shoppers Drug Mart, the only store I know of close to me that sells Cover FX, or you can order their products online at coverfx.ca. I find this foundation works best if you don’t put too much on, just use concealer if you need more coverage, that way it won’t get cakey.

I recently purchased their brand new CC Cream, one of the few CC Creams, the beautician informed me that actually works..! So far, I love it…it’s light-medium coverage, goes on smoothly and has SPF 30! The sunscreen, a combo of titanium dioxide and zinc oxicde, is a physical sunscreen, which I tend to  prefer.

For Lips:

The clear Lip Glaze by Cover FX is also great and I often apply it on top of my lipstick, it has a great minty tingly feel.

EOS makes the round lip balm that you see everywhere, and this product is also labelled gluten free, 100% natural and 95% organic, which is great because we know it’s going to to end up in our mouth~… I like to use this product before bed and under lipstick for an smooth surface and a long lasting base.

Lately I am loving Marcelle’s lipstick in Paris Rose, this is a great pink, with a warmer tone to it, you can make it bold or subtle. Marcelle isn’t labelled gluten free so be sure to check with the company to ensure that it doesn’t contain gluten, if sensitive. They told me this one is ok, but it is good to double check as formulas change all.the.time… The same thing with the lovely Fresh brand, they informed me the tinted Sugar Rose lip treatment (pictured above) doesn’t contain gluten but the original clear one does. It’s a great lip treatment, nice scent and contains sunscreen for that extra thin lip area.

Bronzer, Mascara & Highlighter!!!

I don’t wear blush much, I tend to just swipe on bronzer, I like the Sephora Brand Bronzer in Bora Bora. Sephora informed me that this product doesn’t contain gluten, yay! (please see update on this product!)

I also recently got a little gift from Sephora, the pictured Benefit Watt’s Up and the, They’re Real Mascara. These two products are now my staples. Amaaaazing products… The Watt’s Up is a natural highlighter that doesn’t go weird, cake up or look white and ghostly, it just leaves this beautiful sheen on the skin. It’ll trick everyone into thinking you’re having a great skin day even when your not. The They’re Real is the best mascara I’ve tried, ever!! It adds so much volume but at the same time, perfectly separates and defines your lashes. I think this mascara is widely known as a fantastic product.. who knew? Apparently everyone! I’m playing catch-up on this one I guess…The icing on the cake is that Benefit informed me that these products don’t contain gluten!! I need to start saving now for when I use up these little gem samples.

(there is of course a possibility of cross contamination with brands that are not completely gluten free)

 I also use the E.L.F. concealer and highlighter regularly, the concealer is super light but…concealing?..if that makes sense. The highlighter is great if you want something that doesn’t show, just gives a kind of.. lit from within.. very subtle glow. I put it on the bridge of my nose, on my temples and on the top of my cheekbones.

There you have it! My Beauty Must Haves for right now. What products are you guys loving lately?!!

***Just a note for my gluten free beauty junkies, in the past NARS indicated online and in emails that their entire line is gluten free. I noticed this year however that it now says on their website that they are not, and that there may be some gluten in their products. I emailed them a few weeks ago to find out more, but I have yet to receive a reply:(

 I could not have been more happy last month, when I ventured across the American border in search of E.L.F. cosmetics. The entire line is supposedly free of gluten ingredients, plus the sheer joy of seeing prices that make you feel you must have travelled back in time a few decades! Brushes for $3, Primer for $6, bronzer for $1! My poor husband probably looked quite bewildered as I crazily grabbed everything and threw into my basket.

(Note: As I discovered last month however, E.L.F. cannot be labelled gluten free since they do not make their products in a dedicated gluten free facility. For more info please check out my original post on E.L.F.)

I looove trying new makeup products, so I purchased almost every product available at Target. Which in reality came to about the same price as one and a half products at Sephora.

Here’s what I found after using these products for a month:

I have not have a bad reaction to any of the products so far. My favorite product is probably the $6 face primer, it feels similar to the highly coveted Smashbox primers, which, by the way retail at $44. It smoothed out my pores and fine lines pretty well, creating that perfect canvas for your foundation. Saved $38. Soo worth it.

Next up, I love the Flawless Finish Foundation SPF 15 in Porcelain. It has a similar consistency to Laura Mercier foundations, very creamy and thick, with a semi-matte finish, it’s a high coverage foundation I would say. The downside is that there is very very limited color selection. Thankfully it was pretty darn close to my skin color. But it does have that pesky pink undertone that I’m always trying to avoid. If I mix it with Make Up Forever’s HD foundation no.117 it’s perfect. (MUFE has informed me that there are no gluten ingredients in this foundation, except for the slim possibility of cross contamination) The e.l.f. Foundation doesn’t have as much product as most foundations at 0.8 oz.per bottle.

Another favorite product of theirs would be the Eye Primer, it comes with Line Sealer on one end as well, which I haven’t tried yet, maybe you know something about Line Sealer that I don’t?? (Before I had to avoid gluten, I used to love Urban Decay’s Lid Primer, but was informed that it does in fact contain gluten) The E.L.F. Eye Primer does a great job of keeping eyeshadow in place, and it doesn’t seem to bother my sensitive eyelids. Worth it. All $3 of it.

The E.L.F. mascaras that I tried are the e.l.f. Studio Volume Plumping Mascara, and the white colored e.l.f. Essential Volumizing Mascara  the later of which I threw out quite quickly as it was horrible, however the Studio Volume Plumping Mascara, was comparable to Maybelline’s Great Lash Mascara. An ok mascara overall.

I have really liked most of what I have tried so far. Makeup can be so expensive and it’s nice to save a dollar where you can, of course, I still have a couple department store favorites, that I haven’t found a cheap replacment for..yet…

Hope that helps you know what products would work for you.

Stay tuned for Part ll of Best of E.L.F.!

I was beyond excited when I learned that a budget cosmetic line E.L.F. was supposedly entirely gluten free. A huge majority of their products are $1, some are $3 and primers and foundations $6. However I came across a blog saying they are not gluten free since ‘wheat protein’ is listed as an ingredient in one of the mascaras, which is true. However, this is what E.L.F. had to say about this:

(August 2013)

“Thank you for your interest in elf cosmetics. We do not add any Gluten in our products however if you’d like to be sure you can stick with the Mineral line that we have because all the ingredients are natural. If you still have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at 1800-231-4732.”

Sincerely, the e.l.f. team

I then emailed back in regards to the wheat protein clearly listed on their mascara, this is what they said:

“We apologize for any confusion. The wheat protein in our mascara is considered non-gluten. It is formulated from a part of the wheat that does not contain gluten.
Please feel free to contact us if we may be of any further assistance.”

Sincerely,
the e.l.f. team

E.LF. is not labelled gluten free likely because in another email they mentioned that ‘they cannot guarantee there is not gluten in the machinery’ they use however, each time I emailed them I got a response within minutes, and it seems like they know what gluten is and what is in their products. Hope that helps clear up the confusion.

If you are gluten sensitive, have an allergy, or celiac disease, you probably should make sure your makeup especially your foundation and lipstick are gluten free, as these products are easily ingested.

I have tried a few different ones. My current favorite is Natural FX  by Cover FX. Not only is it gluten free but it does not contain, parabens, fragrance, mineral oil, or talc. Their products contain good for you ingredients like vitamin C and E, and claim that their products improve the condition of your skin over time. Its got a full coverage finish, so a little goes a long way.I would say if you have dry skin, to make sure you use a heavy moisturizer underneath to get that great luminous finish that this product offers. I also LOVE Cover FX Lip Gloss, it is so nice to know that something is truly 100% gluten free when you are smearing it all over your lips. Their lip gloss gives an amazing minty tingle that feels sublime.

I happen to love makeup and I don’t want to feel restricted just because I can’t ingest gluten. I have found certain companies to be easier to deal with than others. For example when I email Clinique about whether their products contain gluten it can take months to hear back from them. I just think thats pretty bad customer service right right? Am I crazy? I email other companies and they manage to get back to me within two days! Below are a few of my favorite cosmetic companies based on their knowledge of their own product’s ingredients and response time.

Smashbox, Make Up Forever, and Canadian based company, Marcelle are great to deal with. I love MUFE’s HD Foundation, it is pretty awesome, but pricey:( It is always a good idea to call the company that make your makeup every year to ensure that your fav products are in fact still gluten free. Although some companies do advise that there may be cross contamination in the labs where it is formulated.