MAC is a prestige brand of makeup sold in some department stores, their own stores, and online. MAC does not make gluten free makeup, per se, but they do pay enough attention to their products to be able to say which of their products has glutinous ingredients and which don’t. They do acknowledge that even products that don’t contain glutinous ingredients can come in contact with gluten, so gluten free is not guaranteed because of shared equipment.
MAC offer a huge line of cosmetics, including but not limited to foundation, eye makeup, lipsticks, moisturizers, makeup removers, and fragrance.
I contacted MAC to ask generally about whether their makeup is gluten free, but also about particular products. Their representative sent me the following information:
Gluten Free Meaning
– Lipstick (Amplified) contains wheat, barley, and soy
– Lipstick (Amplified Creme) contains wheat, barley, and soy
– Lipstick (Cremesheen) contains wheat, corn, and soy
– Lipstick (Frost) contains ingredients derived from corn
– Lipstick (Glaze) contains ingredients derived from corn
– Lipstick (Lustre) contains ingredients derived fron corn and soy
– Lipstick (Matte) contains ingredients derived from soy and corn
– Lipstick (Retro Matte) contains soy
– Lipstick (Satin) contains ingredients derived from corn and soy
– Viva Glam Lipstick – please reference finishes listed above
– Ultimate Lipstick contains soy
– Pro Longwear Lipcreme contains corn and soy
– Mineralize Rich Lipstick contains wheat, barley, and soy
– Casual Colour contains soy
– Mineralize Moisture SPF15 Foundation may contain soy and ingredients derived from corn and other grain sources
– Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 contains corn and soy
– Matchmaster SPF 15 Foundation contains corn and soy
– Lip Erase contains soy
It’s up to you whether you’re willing to use a product that is made on shared equipment, but before you purchase MAC’s makeup, make sure to contact them and ask whether what you’d like to use has glutinous ingredients. I have not yet tried their products, so if you try any, let me know!
- Offering more than 100 shades of professional quality cosmetics for All Ages, All Races, and All Genders. Enjoy free shipping and returns on all orders.
- All Starburst Lip Balms. Lip Smackers with SPF. Aveeno: Gluten free: Aveeno Essential Moisture Lip Conditioner SPF 15. May need to avoid other Aveeno lip products. Chapstick: Their website states that they do not add any gluten to their products, HOWEVER none of their products are certified gluten-free. Nivea: Gluten-free status not confirmed.
- Clinique is a prestige brand of makeup sold in many department stores and online. Clinique does not make gluten free makeup, per se, but they do pay enough attention to their products to be able to say which of their products has glutinous ingredients and which don't. They do acknowledge that even products that don't.
*sigh* I am grateful for their honesty, but that doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed.
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When I first talked to NARS, they told me how careful they were in watching their gluten content. They told me they tested periodically to double check that their products were safe. While it took some time to finally get this information from them, at least I got answers!
Well, after the Arbonne thing and the realization that I need to reevaluate my old “questionnaires”, NARS was the next obvious company on the list to double check. Big, many products and not natural in the slightest. Some of my fab, smart, observant readers also emailed me wondering the exact same thing. So I set to work finding out.
I finally got my answer back from them and I wasn’t very happy about it.
Here’s what the gal told me:
Our statement [has] changed recently to say that we can’t guarantee that there will be any traces of gluten.
Many of our products do not contain ingredients derived from barley, oats, rye, spelt or wheat, which are commonly known sources of gluten. however, due to the wide range of raw materials and equipment used during the manufacturing of our products, we cannot confirm that our products are free from any traces of gluten.
As far as ingredients derived from barley, oats, rye, spelt or wheat we provide our clients with ingredient lists for any product in which they are interested as a lot of our products do not contain such ingredients.
This is completely different than what I’d heard before. Pretty much a 180 turn around from what they told me to start with.
As sad as this makes me, better to know now than to not know, right? I am grateful we at least know now!
However, I’m a bit troubled.
I do not now know if this has always been the case and they misinformed me to begin with, or if they really did try to be 100% gluten free for a while and just gave up.
I do know that I’ve had a few mysterious “watery/burning eye” days when wearing makeup and I wasn’t 100% sure what the problem was. Allergies? Someone’s perfume? Too much wind? (all plausible for me) But it makes sense that the NARS mascara I was wearing could be cross contaminated, because in hindsight, that’s exactly how my eyes react to gluten. The reactions from the NARS mascara were just so mild I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.
Since NARS is such a huge company, I’m pushing out an emergency update to remove it from the gluten free makeup list.
Is Mac Makeup Gluten Free
Ugh, I just feel kinda sick about this. Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that NARS is gluten free no longer, but still. All those options just… Gone.
Is Mac Makeup Gluten Free
Thank you NARS for the clarification. but I’m still really sad about this. NARS – gluten free no longer.
Looking for more gluten-free brands?
Here on Gluten Free Makeup Gal, I’ve built a list of all the safest gluten free bands of makeup, skin care, hair care and body care on the market. You can also check the following guides on: