Goal: To find the safest, natural or organic Liquid Foundation THAT WORKS!
Brand: Gabriel Cosmetics
Product: Moisturizing Liquid Foundation in Natural Beige & True Beige.
Description: A light creamy texture foundation made with naturally derived ingredients to even out skin tone and give skin a silky, natural finish. Unique plant based hydration system keeps skin supple and resilient, yet not oily. Provides excellent coverage for all skin types and is especially advantageous to dry, sensitive complexions. Formulated with vitamins A and E as well as a chemical free full spectrum sunscreen to shield skin from damaging ultra violet rays and free radical damage. SPF 18.
Ingredients: Aqua (Infusion of Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice), Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Sorbitol, OenotheraBiennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Crithmum Maritimum (Sea Fennel) Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Limonene, Lecithin, Silica, Xanthan Gum, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate.
- Price: $ 28.00
- Size: 1oz/30ml
- Texture: A light, creamy, liquid.
- Scent: No scent really. Maybe a very, very faint rose scent, if anything.
- Visual Attractiveness: Pretty, square glass bottle.
- How Much I Needed: Expected amount, depending on the coverage you want.
- How Long I’ve Used It: About 6 months.
- Where to Find: GabrielCosmeticsInc.com or your local Whole Foods Market.
- Sample Sizes: Nope, not from Gabriel (that I’m aware of), but if you shop at Whole Foods- ask for free samples to match your colors.
- Acquired: Sent to me to be reviewed with my honest opinion.
- Customer Service: Amanda’s the BEST! She was totally on top of her game… answered all of my questions and got what I needed out to me right away!
- Loved: That this really, truly works, doesn’t irritate my skin or my eyes, and that I can find it in a store near me to match my colors!
- Hated: Only complaints… that there is no pump on the bottle, + that it contains Retinyl Palmitate!
- The GG’s Final Thoughts: I’ve tried wayyyyyy too many to count, and this is the most similar (natural) liquid foundation to my beloved, but toxic ex… M.A.C. Makeup! Yes, I, The GG – was a loyal M.A.C. addict for 15+ years… so changing my foundation was a HUGE step! I really love how this makes my complexion look healthy, natural, smooth, & glowy! It’s light, moisturizing, stays on all day and lasts through most nights (requires only a slight touch-up here and there). I do like a lot of coverage, so in all honesty- I’ve never really been one of those shear coverage kinda girls no matter how perfect my skin has been! To set my Liquid Foundation, I layer it with Pressed Powder Foundation which helps with staying power & avoiding raccoon eyes. My FAVE Pressed Powder is Gabriel’s Dual Powder Foundation. For those of you interested in oil-free makeup- I’ve also tried the Zuzu Luxe Oil-Free Liquid Foundation (Gabriel’s sister brand) and surprisingly didn’t like it at all! I’m in my early 30’s and felt that it made my skin look old, dry & flaky, and had much less coverage. I wanted to love it, but it just wasn’t happening for me. As far as the packaging, I totally prefer Gabriel’s glass bottle, hands-down. BUT liked the convenience and cleanliness of Zuzu’s squeezable bottle much better! My main concern with the packaging is that my brush/ sponge/ finger, etc. has to repeatedly touch the tip of the bottle when I need more (contaminating the unused portion of product, Ew). I have even gone to the extreme of purchasing several different pump caps to see if they fit on the bottle with no such luck! Grrrr. I would definitely, definitely, definitely purchase this product again because I’m truly IN LOVE! BUT I totally NEED a pump cap! Hope you’re listening Gabriel… Pretty please? Lol. Thanks for making such FAB cosmetics THAT WORK! Mwah. xo
18 Comments
Anonymous
March 29, 2011 at 3:03 amI was so excited to try this but found out is contains: Retinyl Palmitate which I guess doesn’t get a good score on the cosmetic database. :( Still much better than the non organic stuff though!
Anonymous
April 20, 2011 at 4:05 amRetinyl Palmitate is just vitamin A. I wouldn’t worry about it. I like to consult the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetic Database too, but if you use it like a bible it will be IMPOSSIBLE to find a foundation they recommend. They’re extremely strict! Some of the ingredient overviews and the reasons why they give them poor reviews seem pretty rediculous too. I LOVE this foundation and have been using it for about 4 years.
-Liss
anonymous
September 27, 2014 at 1:09 pmRetinyl Palmitate is a synthetic vit A that when exposed to sunlight has been shown in studies to promote the development of skin cancer. A lot of people dismiss it because it has not been talked about nearly as much as something like parabens, but it is actually much more dangerous. Even Skin Deep rates it more dangerously than parabens. I would personally avoid this ingredient like the plague. I hope natural companies will start catching on soon and just remove it from their formulations like many companies did with parabens.
Danielle
September 27, 2014 at 3:21 pmI totally agree! I wish the Gabriel + Zuzu Luxe products {or any other makeup companies} wouldn’t use Retinyl Palmitate as well. You’ll see that I actually even have it listed here, on my Ingredients to Avoid. This was one of my first posts though (back in early 2010), + one the very first natural beauty products I tried – so it may be a little outdated. What we know about it today, wasn’t that well-known yet. I’m not sure if it’s actually worse than or as bad as Parabens though, in my opinion.
However, in the big scheme of things, it’s really tough to find good, clean makeup that works well + doesn’t contain worse things like: Phenyxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Japanese Honeysuckle Extract, Propylene Glycol, PEGs, Polysorbates, Dimethicone (or any silicones), Hydrogenated Oils, FD&C Colors, Emulsifying Wax, etc. So… while I’m not at all a fan of Retinal Palmitate, I try to choose the lesser of the evils when it comes to how a product performs + which have the best ingredient lists out of the bunch. I let it slide only in very few products that I can’t find better versions of.
Love your Youtube Channel, BTW! XO :)
nature's gift
May 20, 2011 at 1:20 amhey GG,
do you think this would work for my oily acne prone skin as well?
loveyourskinnaturally.blogspot.com
Susie
June 3, 2011 at 3:53 pmHi, great review. I was hoping you could give me an opinion on the two shades you tried. I tried on the true beige at WF. I dont think they had the natural beige there and Im not close to WF, so Im unable to go back and try on. So Im wondering if you could give me your opinion on the differences on the 2 shades, maybe undertones.
FYI, the true beige on me was fine, maybe giving a slight tan look. Im looking for more of a natural look for my complexion so Im hoping the natural beige is just a little lighter than the true beige? Appreciate any input….thanks!
The Glamorganic Goddess
June 3, 2011 at 6:35 pmHey Susie!
I’m not sure about the undertones, but if you contact Gabriel Cosmetics, they can probably help you with that. I had the same issue- the True Beige looked slightly tan on me (perfect for my skin tone for summer though). If you want a little more natural look- go with the Natural Beige. It’s not too pale or anything like that. In all honesty, now that I think about it- a mix of the two shades would be the perfect mix for me. Hope this helps!
xo
The GG :)
The Glamorganic Goddess
June 3, 2011 at 6:39 pmHey Nature’s Gift… it should, it worked on mine. My skin’s much more balanced out now since I’ve changed my diet and everything though… it was the best out af all the one’s I’ve tried so far! Keep me posted!
xo
The GG :)
Heglaé Maia
August 3, 2011 at 11:36 pmHi, GG.
I was reaaly excited about this review because my first test with a liquid foundation sample of Real Purity was terrible. Stick, sheer coverage, short-lasting…terrible. It seems Gabriel Cosmetics foundation is really good, but I saw it has not a good score on EWG Database…in fact, it has the same score of my actual liquid foundation from Mary Kay. I want to find a natural liquid foundation with good coverage and with low hazard score. Do you have another suggestion?
:*
The Glamorganic Goddess
August 5, 2011 at 7:19 pmI honestly don’t use Skin Deep that much anymore. It’s a database… not a person, so it mis-calculates things sometimes. How about Vapour Organic Beauty?
xo
The GG :)
Ana
June 8, 2015 at 9:54 amI use a foundation from a brand called 100 percent pure. They had a store in the mall in San Jose but now that I have moved I order online. The lipsticks are great also! When I first tried the foundation I found it hard to apply with a brush but I purchased a beauty blender and it applies much better now! Their products are fruit pigmented with the exception of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide for sun protection.
Danielle
June 17, 2015 at 11:40 amHey Ana! I love their makeup too + use some of it as well! The only thing with a few of their products to watch is that they use Lonicera Caprifolium (Japanese Honeysuckle) extract as a preservative which has some data out there that it may disrupt hormones similar to Parabens, although it is natural {you can find some data about that here}. And, since I had hormone positive Breast Cancer so young, I avoid that ingredient. I’ve heard amazing things about 100% Pures Liquid Foundation though! XO <3
Kimberly
September 23, 2011 at 12:47 amThere is a newer beauty site where you can order samples if you want and all makeup orders ship free! I got my Gabriel Power and some Zuzu lipstick samples from there – the samples are so cool because the color I thought would be perfect for me (even on my hand at WFs) didn’t look good on my lips at ALL! They have foundation samples too. I am always the palest color so I often don’t have to worry about that but the lipstick samples were great! The lady is really nice and all my stuff was packaged so prettyily. http://www.whiterabbitbeauty.com/all_gabriel.html
Crystal
March 4, 2015 at 8:43 amThanks for this review. I am only just beginning to understand how many toxic items are in my home. I am a MAC user and have been dreading starting the process of trying something new.
ANonymous
July 7, 2015 at 8:16 pmI’m using this foundation right now (for about the past 2 months) and couldn’t figure out what has been causing my skin to look and feel so dry .. I’ve finally realized its the retinyl palmitate. If your skin can’t handle VitA, this is not the foundation for you! Not moisturizing, sheer & flaky coverage.
Danielle
July 11, 2015 at 4:43 pmYes, it can be hit or miss with most natural foundations… they’re usually either too greasy, or too drying, bringing out the flakiness. It took me a few years to figure it out… but I find that exfoliating regularly {at least twice a week}, applying a moisturizer on damp skin a few minutes before, + then blotting with a dry towel or tissue before applying this foundation really does the trick! When I get lazy + skip exfoliating… almost any natural makeup tends to look + feel super dry on my skin. I also shake it before applying it each time, incase any of the particles may have settled at the bottom of the bottle, so that may help with the coverage. Sorry to hear this didn’t work out for you! <3
Nicholle
February 10, 2016 at 10:11 amYou may want to review Retinyl Palmitate again on EWG’s Skin Deep Database .. its comes up as a 9 and has been banned and/or restricited in Germany and Canada. The foundation itself comes up with a rating of 5.. maybe not as “natural” as thought.
Danielle
February 11, 2016 at 12:26 amHi Nicholle! Thanks for the heads-up! ? I totally agree with you + have responded with my stance on this foundation / Retinyl Palmitate in the previous comments. Please see above. This is a very old blog post (working on an update), however I still love + use this foundation (haven’t found anything that works better for me), + of course, wish that ingredient weren’t in it. Please contact Gabriel with any questions or concerns regarding irritation, why they use the ingredient, EWG Ratings, etc. Hope this helps clarify! XO ❤️