Some days, you just feel like you were “meant” to find something. That cute dress. That new restaurant behind the grocery store. That makeup company that pops out of nowhere and is entirely gluten free… You wanna guess which one just happened to me the other day?
Yep! I stumbled across Emani out of the blue a while back, through another blogger who happened to mention that they are gluten free. Having never heard of them, I was quite curious. But a quick browse through their site had me completely interested. A full makeup line, including gluten free mascara!! *said in sing song opera voice*
Now, currently Emani does not test for gluten, nor do they have any intention of doing so in the future that I know of. They focus on using non wheat, rye or barley derived ingredients. All of these ingredients are mineral pigments and organic plant/flower oils or waxes. So although the ingredients do not naturally contain gluten, and although Emani takes care to keep their products gluten free, there is always a small amount of risk involved in using their products. That being said, I myself am using the products they sent me to try out with no problemo, whatsoever. In fact, I’m loving ’em.
So! Here’s what I got to try!
Hydrating Liquid Mineral Foundation
I have a history of not overly caring for liquid foundations. They can look stunning, but it’s so easy for them to go all cakey and plastered. Plus they tend to feel funky on my skin. Still, I haven’t given up on them yet, and I know a lot of people prefer liquid. Emani’s liquid foundations looked lovely and for some reason, I had a good feeling about them…
And ‘ya know what? My gut spoke truth. Emani’s Hydrating Liquid Mineral Foundation is fabulous.
First off, the colors seem to have an excellent variety. I received “Golden Amber”, though originally I was looking at “Oyster Beige”. Oyster was out of stock at the time, so Golden Amber was sent instead. But it still worked fabulously! Golden Amber is just the right summer shade for me and I am not easy to match.
Secondly, it goes on like a dream. Silky smooth, easy to spread and dries fast. When it does dry, my face feels like velvet to the touch.
The coverage is quite good, yet as long as you don’t use a heavy hand does not look cakey. It looks more like… Well, velvet! And it’s beautiful. I love how it blends into my skin flawlessly, mutes out red spots in the blink of any eye, but does not make me look like a stiff and over made-up doll.
Also (and here’s one of my favorite parts), this foundation does not feel “stifling” to my skin. It’s heavier than powder of course, but unlike many other liquid foundations I’ve tried this one does not feel like my face is in a mask. And at night, it washes off perfectly without feeling like it’s still clinging to my pores. This makes me very happy indeed.
The only thing I didn’t much care for was the scent. There’s some sort of fragrance in the foundation that was so strong, it nearly gave me a headache. It did not actually give me one, nor did it make me sneeze or my eyes water, it was just really really strong. People who are more accustomed to liquid foundation may be totally used to it, but for me it was nearly overwhelming at first. It’s of note though that Emani does not use artificial fragrances in their products. I’m sure that’s why this one did not make me react in any way. At any rate, the scent did not last very long and dissipated rapidly as it dried.
I really like this foundation! In fact, it’s something I’d be quite happy to keep on hand at all times. Me, who doesn’t really care for liquid foundations. 😉 Can’t say I’m a full convert yet, but Emani’s liquid foundation is pushing me in that direction.
Soy Mascara
I was SO excited to try out this mascara. Having been on the hunt for an amazing gluten free mascara for ages, I really hadn’t found one that lived up to my standards. Sure, some of them are OK, but either they’re sticky, or flaky, or clumpy or something. But Emani’s Soy Mascara?
Folks, I screamin’ love this stuff.
NO clumps! NO flaking! And y’all the definition! My breath hitched in my throat as I watched my lashes separate, lengthen and go all hi-def. Oh. My. Word. It’s glorious, y’all.
Now, it does not really do much thickening. There’s a little bit, especially if you go for two or three coats, but not a whole lot. Now, I always put brown or black eyeliner right at my lash line anyway to give the illusion of thickness, so combining that with the extreme definition of this mascara makes this mascara look gorgeous, without being overbearing.
Also, bear in mind it’s not waterproof. If you get your eyes pretty wet, it will rub off a bit. Not terribly, and in fact I’ve had gluten free mascara flake off with normal wear worse than Emani’s mascara rubs off when my eyes water ’cause the wind is blowing hard in my face.
I am, seriously and officially, in love with this gluten free mascara. I have no complaints whatsoever with it and have everything to love about it. Can you tell I’m still excited over it!? 😀 LOVE LOVE LOVE Emani’s Soy Mascara!!
I was hoping for good things from Emani, but they completely exceeded my expectations. And I’m soooo happy they did! Go check ’em out, folks! You won’t be disappointed!