I’ve been having a lot of fun re-creating different cosmetic products lately, and I’ve found that almost all of them start with some sort of combination of titanium dioxide (or some other ingredient that provides opacity), magnesium stearate (or something else that helps slip), and sericite mica (USA / Canada) (or something else that improves adhesion and aids in the appearance of the skin).
So, rather than whipping up tiny little batches of these ingredients every time I wanted to make something, I decided to make a larger batch and use it a few teaspoons at a time.
I’ll be publishing a few recipes in the next few weeks that call for a teaspoon or two of this base, so keep an eye out!
The base powder on the skin—from here you can add all kinds of other ingredients to create mineral make-up, concealer, brow wax, highlighter, and more!
Cosmetic Powder Base
4 tsp titanium dioxide
1½ tsp sericite mica (USA / Canada)
2 tsp zinc oxide
½ tsp magnesium stearateBlitz everything together in a coffee grinder. Store in a small mason jar for use in other cosmetic recipes. Makes 8 tsp cosmetic base.
Notes as of November 2018:
- Make sure you wear a dust mask so you don’t inhale the powders after whipping them up—that can be dangerous to your health over the long term.
- Check out my book, Make it Up, for better formulas that use fewer ingredients and are much more flexible.
Can you recommend any other slip-producing ingredients other than magnesium stearate? I’d read somewhere that the sericite itself helps with slip. Any help you can give me would be great!
By the way, yours is the only site I’ve found with the EXACT type of DIY makeup recipes I’m looking for! Thanks so much for the time you invest in sharing these posts!
I don’t have much experience with other slip-adding ingredients as I’ve always found magnesium stearate to be so useful, but I have read that silica and boron nitride both add slip. They are significantly more expensive than magnesium stearate, though, so that’s why I’ve mostly stayed away from them (I have some of the silica microspheres, but I haven’t tried them in anything yet). And yes, sericite mica does help, but I’ve always loved the feel of adding a bit of magnesium stearate as well 🙂
And thank you for reading! If you have any requests for any types of make-up (or whatever), please let me know 🙂
Hey, love your blog! Have been keeping up with since the beginning.
So I was wondering if you could help me out?
I have all the ingredients to make your eyebrow fixative, and on top of that, I’m in desperate need of it. I don’t wear much makeup but eyebrow filler is essential! Although, I seem to have everything BUT the stericite mica 🙁
In order to avoid an expensive shopping cart from NDA or any other place, do you recommend me doing the recipe without it or something in place of it? Thankyou!
Thanks for being such a loyal reader, Kylee 🙂 you can definitely get away without the sericite mica for the cream filler. Sericite mica is for slip, adhesion, and improving the appearance of the skin, so it’s not totally necessary for the cream part. For the powder I’d make a small batch using cornstarch to replace the sericite, and make more whenever you get your hands on some. Have fun! Also, try pouring the cream filler into a thin lip balm tube for easier application… this has been on my “to try” list for ages.
Now, this is a stupid question, but I thought I’d ask. I see you have an eyeshadow recipe that’s separate than this one. Can this be used as an eyeshadow base or is it meant more for face powders/mineral veils type of recipes?
You definitely can, and I have 🙂 Keep in mind that it will produce quite an opaque eyeshadow if you just blend in oxides & micas, you if you don’t want it to be too opaque, you’ll want to blend in a bit of cornstarch. Also, be sure to blend in some liquid oil (jojoba is a good choice) to improve the feel of the powder around the eyes.
oh wonderful! I sort of wanted to play with the bamboo bio ferment and see how it reacts to powders and minerals.
Have fun 😀 Sounds like a fantastic weekend project!
First and for most, I am in love with your blog. You have got me so inspired and I started mixing up some basics following your recipes, so thank you!
My question is with the titanium dioxide. (This is in part related to your Healing Concealer post as well.)
I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned what you can replace it with, and I’m not sure where to even begin looking. Skipping the titanium dioxide has gotten me no coverage, as I imagined it would, and a VERY grainy texture in the concealer attempt. Is there something you could recommend to give opacity and the ability to blend with oils (as in with your concealer recipe) that isn’t titanium dioxide?
I should note, the reason I ask is that I am fairly certain I am sensitive to titanium dioxide- that and your blog have been my biggest DIY cosmetic motivators.
Thank you so much! And thank you again for this amazing blog!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Rachel 🙂 Titanium dioxide is a tricky one—the only swap I know of would be zinc oxide, which is insoluble, but is also an opaque white powder. Because it is insoluble, and not water soluble, it blends quite smoothly into oil-based concoctions, so it should be a good swap. Fingers crossed your skin likes it!
Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂
Hey there,
How long will this mixture last if covered and stored in a dark place, and no grubby fingers attacking it?
Thanks!
Hi Liz! It’ll last pretty much indefinitely since if doesn’t have any water or anything organic in it 🙂
I would like to know if I could leave out the zinc oxide, thanks.
As it makes up a pretty significant part of the recipe, I really wouldn’t recommend it. Stay tuned for my book, though—it’s going to be loaded with new cosmetic recipes that you might find more useful 🙂
Hi there, I’m thinking about DIYing my own cake makeup or cream makeup and was wondering if this would be a good base for that as well? Thanks, love your blog!
Hey! I don’t know if you saw, but I just finished writing an entire book of makeup recipes! It contains some awesome powder and liquid/cream foundation recipes 🙂 I obviously can’t share those recipes since they’re going to be in the book, but I’d recommend signing up for the pre-order list if you haven’t already. In the meantime, I’d start with this recipe for cake/cream makeup rather than this one 🙂
Hello! I am loving your blog so so so much!i hope you gonna add more diy in future. My question is will replacing titanium dioxide with zinc oxide give the same result as with titanium dioxide?
Hey! I’ve covered this question in this post 🙂 Happy making!
Hi! First of all, I sooo love your blogs. Your recipes are easy to follow and very informative. I love DIY stuff and I got inspired upon seeing your recipes. I am starting to make my own lip balms, but i am having a bit of a problem with its hydration upon applying, but that is off the topic!
Anyway, I would love to try your DIY eyebrwo fixative but I am having a bit of a problem acquiring sericite mica. I read once in your comments that you suggested using cornstarch in replacement for this. I tried searching it again but failed to find it, so I am a bit confused if I only read it wrong.
I live in the Philippines, BTW, and I cannot find any sericite mica near my place. Amazon is a bit difficult since they do not ship to where I live. May I ask if it is okay to leave out the sericite mica and replace it? Thank you very much!
Thanks for reading! In the eyebrow fixative cornstarch could be a suitable swap for sericite mica, though I haven’t tried it. It doesn’t share the light diffusing or adhesion properties of sericite, but we don’t need light diffusion in the brow fix and the adhesion comes from elsewhere. Let me know if it works!
Cornstarch worked for my eyebrow fixative. After a bit of trial and error for its shade I successfully made two shades that go well with my hair color!
Also, I recently, and successfully, bought your book! Upon browsing through it, I felt happy that I purchased it even if I have to pay extra for its shipping to Philippines. Thankfully, Amazon Canada has a seller that shipped the book to our country.
Thank you very much for your wonderful book! I hope you have a woderful Christmas and New Year ahead. 🙂
Yay, and a huge thank you for buying my book! 😀
Hi Marie, I reckon the type of titanium dioxide used in most (maybe all?) of your makeup recipes are the oil-soluble ones?
The only thing that’s holding me back from starting my own DIY-makeup-wonders using your recipes is that I cannot find oil-soluble titanium dioxide anywhere near me (unless I order some overseas and that costs a fortune).
I’ve been following your Youtube channel and your blog for months and months and still quite short on luck for that ingredient 🙁
It is, yes—the oil soluble/dispersible element means the TD can bind with the oils on your skin, resulting in longer wear times 🙂 See my other reply to your other comment for other ideas, though 🙂