[queenofhearts]

I thought you might be interested in the following exchange with Cover Girl-- I'll admit I was getting a little ticked off by the final message! (They are in reverse order.)



Hello Monika,

I can tell you are unwilling to help me with this product, & that's a pity, because I'll be forced to change brands now & to post a brand warning on Celiac.com.

Are you aware that as many as 1 in 133 people have gluten intolerance? It would be very nice to have our needs taken seriously by your company instead of getting a dismissive brush-off.

Let me ask you a personal question: do you ever wear lipstick when you eat? Do you ever lick your lips? If you do either you are "ingesting" cosmetics. Perhaps your "advising physician" is male & doesn't really quite understand that lipstick is put on the lips.

Is the physician you consulted a Gastro-Interologist? Many non-specialists are far from up to date on Celiac issues. I myself was misdiagnosed for over 20 years before a specialist finally pinpointed the source of my symptoms.

Please forward this letter to a company executive & let me know her/his name.

I hope you, too, "have a beautiful day"-- in my opinion it is a beautiful thing to learn something and to attempt to help others.

Yours very sincerely,

----- Original Message -----
From: <covergirl@custhelp.com>
To: <curiouser@mindspring.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 4:01 PM
Subject: Thanks for Contacting CoverGirl. [Incident: 060601-000256]



Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I've just been diagnosed with Celiac disease & must avoid all products co...


Discussion Thread
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Response (RightNow Administrator) - 06/07/2006 04:01 PM
Hello Leah.

I wish I had that information to share with you. I'm sorry but we don't However, as mentioned before, we sought advice from physicians; they told us it would be very unlikely a person with Celiac disease would have a reaction from a trace amount of gluten coming into contact with his skin or hair. This is because wheat, rye, barley and/or gluten generally cause symptoms when they're ingested. Since our beauty care products are designed to be used externally on the skin, their use shouldn't be an issue for someone with this disease.

Have a beautiful day!

Monika
CG Team

P. S. Moisturize, protect, and glow! Introducing new Olay Touch of Sun facial moisturizer with SPF 15 protection, and a touch of sunless tanner! Your color builds gradually with each application to give your skin a sun-kissed glow. Olay...love the skin y

Customer - 06/05/2006 10:31 AM
Thank you, I appreciate your understanding & extremely cautious response.
I would prefer more specific information, though. Could you please clarify
for me whether Outlast lipsticks contain the outsourced fragrances you
mention? One of the many things I like most about Outlast is that it lacks
the unpleasant "perfumy" taste of some lipsticks.

Many thanks,
Leah

Leah Palmer Preiss
Illustration, Calligraphy, Puzzles & Curiosities
curiouser@mindspring.com
www.leahpalmerpreiss.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <covergirl@custhelp.com>
To: <curiouser@mindspring.com>
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 9:58 AM

Response (RightNow Administrator) - 06/05/2006 09:58 AM
Thanks for contacting Cover Girl, Leah.

We know Celiac is a serious disease, so we want to give you clear information regarding the use of our beauty care products. If wheat and/or gluten aren't directly added to a product by us, these ingredients won't be listed on our packages. Like many companies, we often purchase the scents for fragranced products from outside suppliers, and the components of these substances are proprietary information belonging to those companies. Therefore it's possible that a very small amount (generally parts per million) of gluten may be present.

Since gluten sensitivity can vary among people, it would be best if you consulted with your physician about the use of all types of consumable goods, if you haven't already. You might even consider using one of our fragrance free products that doesn't list gluten or wheat extracts on the label.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us. I hope this response has been helpful to you. For more information about Celiac, you may want to check out http://celiac.com/ and http://celiac.org

Hope this helps.

Val
CG Team

Customer - 05/31/2006 10:35 PM
Hi, I've just been diagnosed with Celiac disease & must avoid all products containing gluten, wheat, barley, rye or oats.
This is a serious condition & I've been warned that some lipsticks are not gluten-free. I so love your Outlast lipsticks, I fervently hope they are safe! But I need to know for sure. If not, please advise of any substitutes.
Many thanks,
Leah

Auto-Response - 05/31/2006 10:35 PM
Title: Lipsticks contain lead rumor
Link: http://covergirl.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cove...ated=1092766310

Title: Research involving animals at P&G
Link: http://covergirl.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cove...ated=1046376605

Title: How to make CG Outlast last.
Link: http://covergirl.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cove...ated=1060019575





Question Reference #060601-000256
---------------------------------------------------------------
Product Level 1: CoverGirl
Category Level 1: What's in it?/Ingredients
Date Created: 05/31/2006 10:35 PM
Last Updated: 06/07/2006 04:01 PM
Product Name:
Product Version:


[---001:003521:13638---]

[Mango04]

I don't really think it was their place to tell you trace amounts of gluten shouldn't be a problem. I like to support the companies that will cooperate with us, or at least give us straighforward info. It drives me nuts that all these companies don't even know what's in their products. How can you sell something and not even know what's in it????

Grrrr....

I like Aubrey Organics, Gluten-Free Savionere, California Baby, Kiss My Face and companies that will disclose ingredients.