How to Make Makeup

Home cosmetic-making has become a popular alternative to the use of professional makeup, due in part to an increased awareness of potentially unhealthy chemicals used in commercial products. You may prefer to make your own makeup because you can have complete control over the material you put on your skin, and may enjoy the level of precision color-matching that can be achieved with home cosmetics. Mineral makeup is a fashionable choice of homemade makeup and is used for its smooth texture, body-friendly ingredients and ability to make skin look beautiful.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mineral makeup recipe
• Untinted mineral makeup base
• Iron oxide colors
• Coffee grinder
• Plastic kitchen wrap
• Measuring spoons
• Makeup applicator

1. Start with an untinted mineral makeup base. You can buy this base pre-made from a mineral makeup supplier or you can make the base yourself using one of the many recipes available on the web. The untinted base should become 70 to 80 percent of your formula.

2. Put your untinted base aside. To achieve the color you want, you will also need a color pigment base made from iron oxides. You can purchase these from a mineral makeup supplier.

3. Play with mixtures of iron oxide color to match your skin. This part of the process is all about trial-and-error, so make sure to record exactly what iron oxide amounts produced each color combination.

4. Blend your color pigment base using a coffee grinder, covering it with plastic kitchen wrap to prevent mess. Make sure the iron oxides are blended well.

5. Measure out the amount of color base you will add to your untinted mineral makeup base. A little color will go a long way. You may have to try out several combination percentages before achieving the shade you want.

6. Add iron oxide color base to untinted mineral makeup base. Blend well.

7. Test a tiny amount of makeup on your hand to see how your skin reacts. Some people have allergic reactions to the sericite mica used in mineral makeup. Observe your test spot for a day. Do not use this kind of makeup if you are allergic.

8. Apply your new homemade mineral makeup to your face. Use your preferred type of makeup applicator. The color should blend seamlessly with your skin.

Tips & Warnings

• Many mineral makeup suppliers offer starter packages with help guides. Take advantage of these.
• You can find recipes for different types of mineral makeup on community websites, forums and some mineral makeup supply sites.
• Add kaolin clay to your formula to combat dry skin.
• Make sure your supplies come from a reputable seller. One way to tell is looking at how the seller describes his sericite mica products. Cosmetic mica is synthetic, so he should not be calling it "natural mica."

Resources

• The Conservatoire: Mineral Makeup and Recipes
• PV Soap: Handmade Soaps and Recipes
• TKB Trading: Mineral Makeup
• Barefaced Minerals

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on 8/1/2009 Kewl!