Jane Cosmetics - a gluten disappointment

Here's why it matters that you check and get the most updated info from a company! Early in this "search for gluten free makeup" game, I was just relying on what I found on message boards. I had seen a letter from the company stating that all of their products were gluten free. Victory!!

Like many of us who purchase makeup, I was eager to just get out there and buy something so I could play with it at home. Also, I was really needing to expand my cosmetics since I'd ditched most everything else. So I went to Walgreens and was even more delighted to find there was a sale for Jane. Wow, could the day get better than this?

I decided to just "double check" by writing to the company, saying I had heard everything was gluten free and I was just making sure. I had also asked about facilities being gluten free or being shared to find out about cross contamination. I was deeply disappointed when I received this email (mind you, I'd just spent money on a bunch of new stuff). While this may not have technically been misinformation, it was definitely *outdated* information.

**Note that they don't address the facility question, I actually wrote about "gluten sources" (not just wheat sources), and I know I'd seen the "We're always psyched to hear from people" line at the top of the other letter I'd seen on the message board.

Here is the main section from that email:

Thank you so much for emailing us at Jane & Company! We’re always psyched to hear from the people that use our products.

You wrote to us because you want to know what Jane products contain wheat sources.

We hope the following information is helpful.

The only products containing hydrolyzed wheat protein are the Fan Club Mascaras. There are a number of products containing the natural antioxidant Tocopherol, (Vitamin E), which comes from wheat germ oil. Although there is a very small percentage within the formulae, it is best if you inspect the Ingredient Disclosure that comes with each product. The following products contain Tocopherol:

Attitudes
Barely Lips
Blushing Cheeks
Eyeing Eye shadows
Eyeing Linking Duos
Going Steady Lip Definer
Light Weight Cream to Powder Make-up
Lip huggers Lipstick
Lip Polish
Lucky Star Lipstick
Megabits Lipstick
Meg Megabits Lipstick
No Show Concealed
Oil-Free Face Make-up
Oil-Free Finishing Powder
One Liners for Lips
Radiation All Over Glimmer Loose Powder
Staying Powder Loose Powder
True To You Loose Powder

Now, certainly it is good that they even have some information on this. However, gluten cross contamination is a big deal, and for a 100% GF home, it is usually a deal breaker. Any real uncertainty there usually ends up being a "no" for anyone serious about "containing the molecule." Another point of confusion is that I'm not sure all of the product titles listed quite match some of the products that are out there. I bought an Eye Zing eye shadow, and they have "Eyeing". There was something else I had noticed earlier, but I can't remember right now. Anyway, I had trouble discerning whether this was some standard copy/paste email they've had in the archives for a while, or if a real person sat down and wrote to me. And there was no phone number available, only an email address.

All in all, I decided this was not ultimately a safe choice for our 100% gluten free home. It is very inexpensive, easy to pick up on an impulse, but still leaves a few big questions in my mind. For me, it is not worth it. And from what I have begun to find on the internet, there are tons of choices that are far more reliable than this, something I could safely and easily recommend as covering the biggest concerns. See a few earlier posts on a few choices. Basically, you tend to get what you pay for. I would rather pay a bit for shipping and quality than waste money and take a chance.

Here's the website if you want to check it out for yourself. http://www.janecosmetics.com/ Remember, only an email address down on the bottom of the page.

Erika