Gluten Free Recommendation: More Maybelline Products, and a Cover Girl Product

Wow!  SS surprised me, in the care package I received yesterday, with some lip liners and eyeliners!  After finding out that the Maybelline mascara I always liked is gluten free, she did some more checking when I said the only thing I had left to find, now, was lip liners and eyeliners.  And guess what.  Maybelline COLORsenstaional lip liners, Define-A-Line eyeliner, and Line Express eyeliner are all gluten free!  I’m so happy about being able to go into a drug store and buy makeup products I can use.

Sister calls SS the Gluten Nazi.  She means it as a compliment, of course.  They know each other; we do conference calls where we all three talk to each other.  That always makes me laugh, when she says that, because SS does go above and beyond.  She makes me feel so cared for and so loved.  She’s in the process of going completely gluten free herself, so that I won’t ever have to worry about cross-contamination being with her or in her house.

And for anyone who is looking for gluten free mascara who would like more choice, SS also found out that her favorite kind, Cover Girl Volume Exact, is gluten free as well (but not the waterproof type; be careful).

I really hope that companies who produce not only food but also items like cosmetics, toiletries, household cleaners, etc., will begin adding “gluten free” to their labels when it applies.  That would not only be very helpful for those of us who are gluten intolerant, but it would also reduce their incoming phone calls, inquiring, and would help them to gain a larger part of the market among people like me (and celiacs are a loyal bunch if you make a product that doesn’t make us sick; we’ll tell everyone we know!)

–

Gluten Free Recommendation: Maybelline Great Lash Big Mascara

Someone Special found out some exciting information for me!  Although I never wore makeup very often, I really missed wearing it after going gluten free and throwing everything away to start over.  The task of searching out gluten free cosmetics seemed so daunting to me.  I was delighted to read about Everyday Minerals on a gluten free message board and sent away about a year ago for samples.  I quickly discovered which colors worked best for me and was delighted to be able to wear makeup again.

Except for two things: mascara and lip liner/lipstick.  Everyday Minerals doesn’t make either (or didn’t; it appears they have lipstick now, but I haven’t tried it yet).  When doing a web search for “gluten free mascara” or “gluten free lip liner” or “gluten free lipstick”, most of what I was finding was out of my price range and I didn’t see any well-known brands that could be purchased in a drugstore.  I can use a gluten free lip gloss I found a while ago, but I couldn’t think of any substitute for mascara.

Well, Someone Special has been researching, in her own transition to gluten-free, and called Maybelline last week.  Guess what.  (Ok, you guessed it, but you saw the picture already.)  They told SS that all of their Great Lash mascaras, except for waterproof, are gluten free!

And so yesterday, I walked into my local Walgreen’s and bought a tube of Great Lash Big right off of the display!  I never thought I would be able to buy cosmetics in a drugstore again.

And you know the funny part?  Great Lash mascara was my preferred mascara even before I knew what gluten was!

SS was extremely impressed with their customer service and obvious knowledge of their product and its ingredients.  So much so, that we both want to find out what else in their product lines might be gluten free as well.  I think I’d like to email them and suggest that they put the words “gluten free” on the packaging and on their web site, so that someone searching for “gluten free mascara” would easily find them.

I’m posting this entry in the wee hours of Saturday morning, before bed.  When I get up, I’ll be getting ready to go with Sister to take photos at a wedding she is officiating.  I’m looking forward to putting on makeup, complete with mascara!

Update 10/31/09: Check out this entry as well, for another gluten free mascara and more gluten free Maybeline products!

–

I’d Like To Buy A Vowel (If I Can Read The Label First)

Something just occurred to me that was amusing.  

To the Gluten Intolerant, oats are like the Y to the vowels.  You know, a-e-i-o-u, and sometimes Y?  Those who can’t have gluten must avoid all wheeat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats (unless they are absolutely certain they are gluten free).  As the site that link points to says,

Oats, in and of themselves, do not cause this (gluten) damage. They are naturally gluten free. They have been unsafe for people with celiac disease because they are normally grown in fields shared by gluten-containing grains and they become contaminated.

I have been using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats for quite awhile, by the way, and have never had a reaction to them.  It’s such a treat, because I always loved oatmeal.  And oatmeal cookies.  Ohhh, yeah.

*   *   *

I haven’t done so well at sticking to the theme for NaBloPoMo, but so far, so good, on posting every day.

*   *   *

I’m getting ready to accompany a friend of my family, who is visiting from out of state, to a book signing today for a cookbook she had published.  That should be fun.  Plus of course, I love a chance to hang out in a book store.

Companies With Exemplary Labeling Practices

I was leaving a comment on Hormones & Highchairs‘ blog (my apologies to mamachun for leaving such a long comment) and I mentioned that several companies have very good labeling policies with regard to allergen ingredients.

I did a search to find a list of those companies and I found this thread on the celiac.com forums, entitled Companies with exemplary labeling practices (which is where I got my very imaginative title for this entry).  This poster went to a great deal of work to compile this list and I for one appreciate that work!

I’ve tended to gravitate toward Kraft and Unilever brands for quite awhile now because they were the first two companies that I learned had those policies, and I have a hard time remembering the other companies.  I may print out this list and carry it with me, for that reason.

I thought it might be helpful if I posted the list here as well.  Please click the link above to see the thread for the poster’s documentation of their communication with the companies and links to the companies’ web sites.

So, here is an alphabetical list of Companies With Exemplary Labeling Practices (specifically stating when ingredients are made from wheat, rye, barley, or oats [or other known allergens]):

• B&G Foods
• Blue Bunny
• ConAgra
• Del Monte
• General Mills
• Hain Celestial Group
• Hormel
• Kraft

Kraft’s Largest Brands as of the date of this entry include the following (keep in mind, of course, that some of these brands may actually have no gluten free products):
A1
Alpen Gold
Breakstone’s/Knudsen
Capri Sun
Carte Noir
Cheez Whiz
Chips Ahoy!
Club Social
Cool Whip
Cote d’Or
California Pizza Kitchen
Cracker Barrel
Crystal Light/Clight
DeluxeDiGiorno/Delissio
General Foods International
GevaliaGrand Mere
Handi-SnacksHoney Maid
Jack’s
JacobsJell-O
Kenco
Kool-AidKraft
Lacta
LULunchables
Miracle Whip
Nabisco
Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs
Newtons
Nilla
Nutter Butter
Onko
Oreo
Oscar Mayer
Philadelphia
Planters
Polly-O
Premium
Prince
Ritz
Royal
Simmenthal
South Beach Living
Stove Top
Tang
Tassimo
Toblerone
Tombstone
Trakinas
TriscuitVelveeta
Wheat Thins

• Lee Kum Kee USA
• Marzetti Brands
• McCormick
• Nestle
• Newman’s Own
• Sara Lee
• Unilever

Unilever’s Food brands include (as of the date of this post):
Ben & Jerry’s
Bertolli
Breyers
Good Humor
Hellmann’s
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
Klondike
Knorr
Lawry’s
Lipton
Popsicle
Promise
Ragú
Shedd’s Spread Country Crock
Skippy
Slim·Fast
Wish-Bone

Unilever’s Non-Food brands include (as of the date of this post):
Axe
Caress
Degree
Dove
Lever 2000
Ponds
Q-Tips
Snuggle Laundry Products
Suave
Vaseline

I’d like to add, also that Walmart uses very clear labeling (and will often include the words “Gluten Free” when applicable) on their store-brand products.  (You can also find a list of gluten free name brand products that Walmart carries by checking Walmart.com.)

Publix Supermarkets (in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee) also has a list on their web site of their store-brand products that are gluten free.  They also have a page with some more helpful information about gluten.

Update 10/30/09: Before going to look at the gluten free products list on the Walmart web site, please read this entry.

–

Gluten Free Recommendation: Scotch Clear Glue With 2-Way Applicator

This past spring / summer, I went through a few months where I was getting some kind of mystery gluten and couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.  I did a lot of comparing with others on Celiac forums and learned a lot that I hadn’t known prior to that, such as the fact that I needed to replace anything porous in my kitchen (plastic or rubber spatulas, wooden spoons, plastic spoons, wooden or plastic cutting boards, colanders [plastic or metal, as gluten can stick in those tiny holes], plastic measuring cups, plastic food storage containers, etc., and even non-stick cookware.)  Since gluten is not like a germ or bacteria that can be “killed” with bleach or antibacterial cleaners, those items must be replaced to ensure that they are not causing cross-contamination.

I also learned that the cat food I had been using as treats for my cat was not gluten free.  The vet said that brand-name cat treats are junk food for cats, and that since Emily has developed a sensitive stomach over the last few years, he recommends a specific brand of food, which fortunately is gluten free, and he suggested that I buy a different flavor of the same food to use as treats.  That’s what they do in their office, in fact.  I was doing that and all was well, and then one day I (without thinking) picked up another brand of “all-natural” cat food to use as treats because money was tight that week and it was a little cheaper.  (I won’t ever do that again.)  I hadn’t even thought about Emily’s food needing to be gluten free, since I don’t eat it, but as several people pointed out to me on the forum I was on:

1. cat eats food

2. cat licks self, distributing lots of gluteny saliva on her fur

3. I pet her, and now it’s on my hands

So, Emily is happily gluten free along with her Mama.  And interestingly, I had noticed some very uncharacteristically aggressive behavior on her part while she was eating that other food, and it completely stopped the moment I switched her back to only what the vet recommends.  She’s normally the most loving, affectionate cat, but during those couple weeks, she bit me hard enough to draw blood and leave tiny little tooth-holes and bruises on my arm three times.  I counted eleven punctures after the third bite.  That is very, very unlike her.

Well, during that time of cleaning out all the porous items in my kitchen and switching my cat’s food, I also made other changes, like deciding to no longer lick envelopes.  Some envelope glue is safe and some is not, and since I seal all sorts of envelopes at work (not only the ones we buy but also the return envelopes that come in with many of our bills), I decided to never lick any envelopes at all, ever, to be safe.  I bought some Scotch Clear Glue with 2-Way Applicator for envelope sealing, and I love it.  It has a sponge applicator on one end that is perfect for sealing envelopes, and a narrow pointed applicator on the other end for applying a thin line or several “beads” of glue.  It dries quickly and isn’t messy or awkward, as the water envelope sealers (and even glue sticks) can be. 

I called 3M today, before posting this entry, just to make sure, and they said it is gluten free.  I believe I called when I first bought it as well, but I couldn’t remember, and since I have been using it for months with no reaction, I felt confident that it was gluten free, but I wanted to be absolutely sure before recommending it to others who can’t tolerate gluten.

I will share other gluten free recommendations here in future posts.

Stay tuned!