Eight Glorious Gluten-Free Cosmetic Companies

If you have Celiac Disease, food allergies or just want to eliminate gluten from your life, you’ve got to check out these gluten free cosmetics brands! Cutting out gluten from your diet might have seemed like a no-brainer but there are some pretty good reasons to use gluten free cosmetics also. Some people report not getting 100% relief just by going gluten-free in their diet and it is possible to ingest gluten from some of the cosmetic products we use. Luckily there are cosmetics companies who make quality gluten free cosmetics and are aware of the risks of gluten.

1. Ecco Bella Products

The first gluten free cosmetics company I want to mention is Ecco Bella. This beauty brand creates quality, gluten-free makeup, skin care, hair care and fragrances. They also have a variety of vegan products as well as cruelty-free, non-comedogenic and paraben-free products.

2. Bare Minerals

If you’re a fan of mineral makeup, you’ve likely heard of Bare Minerals or Bare Escentuals makeup. While most of their products are gluten-free, they have a disclaimer on their website stating that they cannot promise that each ingredient in their products was processed in a gluten-free environment. Check out their website FAQ page for a list of products that are free of oat, rye, wheat and barley here: bareescentuals.com.

3. Afterglow Cosmetics

Afterglow is the first certified gluten-free makeup line by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. You can find tons of gluten-free beauty products on their website and if you sign up for their newsletter, you can get 10% off your first order! Some favorites include organic blush, lip gloss and mascara!

4. Zuzu Luxe

Zuzu Luxe is another fab gluten-free makeup company who specializes in creating luxury cosmetics inspired by European spas. Their products are vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free, corn-free and their ingredients are all natural. Take a look at some of their beauty products like dual powder foundation or mineral bronzer, which all come in eco-friendly packaging!

5. Joelle Cosmetics

Joelle Cosmetics, which is also known as My Mineral Glitters, considers themselves the celiac friendly alternative for natural beauty and the largest gluten-free makeup and skin care solutions store! Browse their online store for tons of options in makeup, skin care and hair care. They’re also creating more gluten-free products for the baby!

6. Intuitive Color

Intuitive Color’s goal is to create quality beauty products formulated with natural, cosmetic-grade ingredients that are safer than traditional, and mineral makeup that doesn’t feel heavy or cakey on your skin. They currently only make foundation that is applied in three steps with three different products to smooth, color and set.

7. Monave Mineral Makeup

Monave makes gluten-free, cruelty-free, 95% vegan and organic makeup that is made of only the highest quality mineral makeup. Choose from a variety of gluten-free lipsticks, concealers, eye shadows and skin care products. Monave prides themselves on creating superior cosmetics that suit women of all ages, complexions and lifestyles!

8. Red Apple Lipstick

Judging from the name Red Apple Lipstick, one would assume that this company only creates lipstick, right? They do make a great lipstick but they also make lip balm, lip liner, lip exfoliator, lipstick and eye shadows. This gluten-free makeup company has a 100% money back guarantee and will even discount their prices if you send in your old makeup!

Now that you’ve been introduced to some amazing gluten-free cosmetics companies, will you try them out? Some people might say that going gluten-free with your makeup isn’t necessary, but if you’re very sensitive to gluten, it can’t hurt and it could help improve the condition of your skin!

What’s your favorite gluten-free makeup brand or product?

[via All Women Stalk]

8 Gluten-Free Recipes You Need to Know Now

Going gluten-free can really hit hard. But chin up: There's absolutely nothing that they can make with gluten which we can't make without. These eight gluten-free recipes are the ones you want to master so that you really just won't feel the pinch of that missing gluten -- and you won't be tempted to cheat on your gluten-free diet.

With them, you'll pack those school lunches without a problem, wrap up a burrito for a quick dinner, serve the proper side with your famous chili (cornbread!), make gravy or cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese, bake for the bake sale, and even satisfy that gummy-loving sweet tooth. Nothing is out of reach!

1. Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas: The best thing about these flour tortillas is just how authentic they taste. The second best thing? They freeze beautifully. Just let them cool, then wrap them in a stack (no need to place any parchment in between the tortillas--just stack 'em up) in freezer-safe wrap, and place them in the freezer. Defrost them overnight in the refrigerator, or even in a quick spin in the microwave. I always have at least a dozen in my freezer. I consider it dinner insurance.

2. Old Fashioned Gluten-Free Cornbread: If flour tortillas are always in freezer, this easy all-cornmeal, no-flour skillet cornbread is always at the top of my mind. It is a super-easy recipe to throw together, and bakes in about 20 minutes. It's the perfect accompaniment to that tried and true naturally gluten-free chili recipe your family loves, and I've even served it for breakfast, drizzled with a bit of honey.

3. The Best Gluten-Free Wonton Wrappers: Unlike conventional wonton wrappers which are sold ready-made in large grocery stores in the refrigerated case, if we want gluten-free wonton wrappers, we have to make them ourselves. And since wonton wrappers are the foundation of everything from eggrolls and crab rangoon to steamed dumplings and wonton soup, this is a gluten-free recipe to master right now. Like the gluten-free flour tortillas above, they freeze beautifully, stacked without filling, or filled and shaped. You can even boil filled wontons in soup without defrosting them at all!

4. Basic Gluten-Free Flour Roux: A flour roux is really one of the simplest ways to thicken everything from soups and sauces to cheese sauce and gravy. But have you ever tried to make a gluten-free flour roux with a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum or guar gum? Not a good scene. Master this recipe for a basic gluten-free flour roux, and you can even follow a conventional recipe the rest of the way.

5. Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Yogurt Quick Bread: Quick breads are nothing more than baked goods that are leavened with chemical leaveners (such as baking powder and baking soda), instead of yeast. So, all muffins are quick breads. So are most cakes and cookies. But not every muffin recipe will work well in a loaf pan. This recipe for a tender gluten-free yogurt quick bread, made here with miniature chocolate chips (but you could use any dry mix-in piece you like), is a wonderful basic quick bread loaf recipe to have in your back pocket.

6. Soft Batch Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Whenever someone new to gluten-free eating, who is a bit spooked and afraid to bake, asks me what they should bake first, I always say "drop cookies." No rolling out cut-out cookie dough when you're right starting out. Just drop cookies, which you "drop" by the tablespoon on a baking sheet and bake away. These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are rolled into big, round balls of dough, and they bake into a thick, pillow-soft cookie that tastes like it just came out of the oven, even once it's cooled.

7. Gluten-Free English Muffin Bread: Did someone say lunch? This is the easiest, softest, and fastest gluten-free yeast bread, and it is absolutely perfect for those school lunches. There is no shaping involved in making English Muffin bread, as it's a very, very soft dough. No learning curve!

8. Gluten-Free Red Cherry Licorice: Finally, gluten-free licorice. Read the package on most licorice, and one of the very first ingredients is wheat flour. It's just one of those things that most people just don't realize isn't naturally gluten-free. It's candy! It should be safe, right? Well, break out those candy thermometers. This is a fast and easy recipe, and it's one to master early on because you will feel like a total gluten-free rockstar when you pull it off.