How to Make Mineral Makeup Kits

Mineral makeup continues to grow in popularity. It all started with Bare Minerals, and now every major makeup company in the world has a mineral line. Companies like Estee Lauder and MAC are embracing this new trend, which is beginning to look like it's here to stay. Perhaps the best thing about mineral makeup is that the average person can make her own kit in the comfort of her very home. Mineral makeup kits are easy to make and a fun hobby that can easily turn into a lifelong business venture. In fact, some of the biggest mineral makeup companies in the world, like Monave, began as home businesses.

Things You'll Need

• Tools: mini-grinder, spatulas and spoons, sifter jars
• Unblended mica
• Iron oxide pigments
• Recipes

Instructions

1. First, purchase all of the necessary tools and loose minerals you will need. Essential tools include a mini-grinder, spatulas, spoons and sifter jars for storage. You will also need unblended mica and mica pigments in order to create various mineral makeup products (like mineral powder, eyeshadows, foundation and bronzer) for your makeup kit. Once you have all the ingredients and tools you can officially start making mineral makeup kits. Check Resources below for companies that sell mica and pigments in bulk.

2. Find some recipes for blending and creating makeup products. There are online websites and books with recipes and measurements for correctly blending mica to create beauty products like eyeshadow and blush. Try www.diycosmetics.com and www.mineralmakeuprecipes.com. Also, try "Recipes for Makeup Products" by Karin Bombeli available on Amazon (see Resources). On the other hand, you can also try customizing your own shades by mixing various pigments and different types of unblended mica. Make sure to remember the shades and measurements that you use for your custom blends.

3. Prepare the unblended mica and iron oxide. Use the mini-grinder to break down the mica by removing lumps and clumps to create a refined texture. When it comes time to mix the ingredients and create the products, smooth mica will be much easier to blend and use.

4. Start mixing the unblended mica and iron oxide pigments. You may notice that the colors of the mica and iron oxide are beautiful on their own, but they require blending to create colors for cosmetic use. You can either refer to the recipes you acquired in Step 2, or rely on your personal taste to customize the shades for your mineral makeup kit.

5. Finally, transfer your finished products into sifter jars for easy use. Sifter jars contain small holes at the top that enable easy application without getting too messy. Remember that your finished products will still be in loose powder form so make sure to have enough sifter jars for storage.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider taking a few seminars or classes where you can learn the tricks of the mineral makeup trade--see Resources.

References

• Mineral makeup crafting guidelines

Resources

• Learn more about mica and take crafting classes.
• Purchase ingredients and tools
• Mineral makeup recipes
• DIY recipes
• Makeup recipe book