I’ve always thought concealer was a great big Catch 22. You start with an angry clogged pore that turns into a zit. So you cover it it up with some fleshy coloured goo (though let’s be honest, you aren’t fooling anyone within 2 meters of you). Said fleshy coloured goo clogs even more pores, and on it goes. A never ending zit parade, probably designed by the makers of concealer so you can never stop buying it.
The last time I was in Sephora I noticed funny little pots of distinctly non-face coloured goop. That you were supposed to put on your face. It came in a selection of pastels, including minty pink, lavenderish purple, and some sickly looking yellows and oranges. As a designer I figured these were either a) very boring face paints or b) some sort of opposite-colour correcting device type thingy.
It turns out it was b. I didn’t really think much of it until I saw the greeny one that looks like choc-mint ice cream (without the chips, obviously) used in the first bit of this video. Up until this I would have guessed that you would be left looking like Elphaba or the Grinch who stole Christmas. Guess not.
So I thought I would take the idea and apply it to concealer. But I didn’t stop with colour correction. I also wanted no pore clogging and lots of healing power.
Now, I’ve tried concealer before. Or, at least I should say I’ve tried to make concealer before. I made it as a lotion, and it was sort of ok at first… and then it drastically changed colour after a week, which was pretty suspicious (in addition to making it useless), so I tossed it. This time, after making my a bunch of different lipsticks, I thought I’d go entirely oil-based.
So: I selected rosehip oil and sea buckthorn seed oil for their supposedly legendary anti-acne wonders, and Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada) for its general awesomeness in helping the skin heal. I thickened the whole mixture with some beeswax, cocoa butter (USA / Canada), and cupuacu butter (USA / Canada).
For the colorants, the first step was making it opaque with some oil-soluble titanium dioxide.
Then, I added some multani mitti and zeolite clays (feel free to use any clay that sort of matches your skin tone) for some starting colour and the awesome healing/pulling properties of clay. From there I used a mixture of oxides to get it the rest of the way to my skin tone. I then divided the mixture, and added a hint of green to one part, giving me an anti-red concealer, and a plain, skin-coloured concealer.
The resulting concealer is exactly my skin tone, and works beautifully. I am so very thrilled with myself.
DIY Healing Concealer
4g | 0.14oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
7g | 0.25oz capuacu butter
5g | 0.17oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
4g | 0.14oz sea buckthorn seed oil (the fruit oil is likely to be so orange that it’ll effect the colour of the final product)
4g | 0.14oz rosehip oil
1g | 0.03oz Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
1g | 0.03oz magnesium stearate (optional; adds slip)1 ¼ tsp oil-soluble titanium dioxide
½ tsp sericite mica (USA / Canada)
1 tsp zeolite ultrafine clay
2 ¼ tsp multani mitti clayYellow iron oxide
Red iron oxide
Brown iron oxide
Green chromium oxideMelt the beeswax, cupuacu butter (USA / Canada), cocoa butter (USA / Canada), sea buckthorn seed oil, rosehip oil, Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada), and magnesium stearate together in a small saucepan over medium low heat.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the titanium dioxide, sericite mica (USA / Canada), and clays.
Now it’s time to use oxides to get exactly your skin tone. I found this part to be pretty darn annoying, frankly. Lots of measuring, mixing, blending, stirring, testing, and repeating the entire process. In the end I think I used approximately 1 tsp of yellow iron oxide, 5/16 tsp of red (I use these tiny measuring spoons for tiny measurements like this), and 3/16 tsp of brown. It turns out I didn’t take terribly good notes (sorry!). Anyhow—work slowly, take your time, test and blend away, and you will eventually come out the other end with you-coloured goo.
If you’d like a red cancelling concealer, mix in a bit of green chromium oxide. This recipe makes quite a lot of concealer, so I’d recommend doing what I did, and dividing it up.
Want an even better, even easier concealer recipe? Check out the one in my book, Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care, By Marie Rayma, creator of HumblebeeandMe.com. It uses fewer ingredients, the colour matching is WAY easier, and if you’re interested in DIY cosmetics, you’ll LOVE the rest of the book. Check it out!
See that red zit on my chin? Now you see it…
And now you don’t! BOOYAH.
This is so neat! I always wondered what exactly was in concealers and foundations and I wasn’t sure if I REALLY wanted that soaking into my skin. Do you find that your face gets oily with this concealer because there are so many butters and oils in it?
Yay! Have you ever visited Skin Deep to check out your concealers and foundations? It’s a fantastic resource for people who are curious about their products 🙂
I don’t find this is oily at all. I only apply this to spots and blemishes, not my entire face, though. Sometimes I end up doing my entire chin, but no, it’s not at all greasy, even after several hours. I carefully chose oils and butters that absorb into the skin quickly and smoothly to keep that from happening 🙂
This sounds great to try, however I am not sure of where to get all of these items, so I will have to substitute and make some adjustments to see what will work for me.
Have fun!
Marie where do you order your tins, bottles etc?. Thanks in advance
I’ve linked to all my suppliers in the big grey box above the comments 🙂
I know this is an old post but I can’t seem to find that grey box so I’m wondering if it’s still there
This is what you’re looking for 🙂
Have been eagerly awaiting this. Thank you.
Awesome! I was surprised to see how that Instagram photo piqued people’s interest, glad you stuck around for the recipe 🙂
You clever girl!!
Aww shucks, thanks Jane 🙂
Is there an alternative for the capuacu butter? I want to make this, but I don’t have capuacu butter. I realize that the consistency may be a bit different, but what butter would you recommend in place of it?
Mango butter would work, and shea butter might do as well, though it is a lot greasier and stickier than capuacu. You should also read my article on carrier oil substitutions 🙂
That’s really cool and all but do you have ideas for concealer out of products that are easier to get? I don’t buy makeup, I receive it from friends and relatives so all I have is eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, lipstick and lip gloss.. I really need/want some because I have really annoying circles under my eyes.. Plus 20,000 freckles
Hey! The thing about making stuff is that you need to start with ingredients… eye shadow is not an ingredient. I’m not sure if you were saying that you wanted to make concealer out of eye shadow, but that’s not really what I do here. To me, that’s sort of like saying “I’d love to make this cake, but all I have is a packet of Twinkies and a box of cookies to make it with.” Anyhow, if you’re looking for ingredients, these ingredients really aren’t that hard to get. Just order them online (I’ve linked my favourite suppliers in the big grey box up above)—you should be able to use a prepaid credit card, a debit credit card, or PayPal hooked up to your bank account to pay if you are too young to have your own credit card. Otherwise, just buy some concealer. Seriously. If your other options are something like mixing face powder with some body butter, just buy the concealer.
Wow, I seriously need to make this. It’s so rare for me to leave the house without concealer on somewhere, and I HATE the the only brand that has a shade to match my skin colour (or lack of colour) is CoverGirl’s absolute palest shade from their Aqua Smoothers line. They test on animals, and it’s probably full of crap. I’d almost rather not know just what/how much crap until I find (or make, as it would appear) a replacement 😛 I’ve seriously tried every other (reasonably priced) brand, including the organic line from Physician’s Formula, which was completely disappointing and not even close to natural looking. I never even thought about making my own, chalking it up to something that would have to be done in a lab setting. Thanks for doing the dirty work! 😀
You’re ever so welcome, that’s what I’m here for 🙂 I, too, am SO happy that I will never again have to look at the tiny little packets of fleshy glop in the drug store and try to figure out which one is sort of me-coloured by holding 45 barely discernible different palettes up against my arm (because, of course, they don’t have a mirror so I can’t see them up against my face). I can’t believe they haven’t just come up with a concealer that does its job without the colour mattering at all.
Hi there,
I stumbled upon your site and I am loving it! I have a question for you. Where did you get your french press? Is it the same thing as a grain mill?
Thanks for all of the info!
Janelle
Hey Janelle! I don’t use a French Press in any of my recipes, so I’m not really sure what you’re asking about. I got my coffee grinder on Kijiji, though.
I would like to make some of my own essential oils.
would a coffee grinder work? Thanks, Janelle
Essential oils are made using a distiller. I’ve read into it, and you won’t need a coffee grinder. You will need tons of raw plant material to yield much essential oil, and a distiller. There’s a video on it here 🙂 I’ve never tried it myself, but it’s on my list. Good luck!
This is awesome, thanks so much! One question…
Do you think this would work as a super concentrated foundation (i.e. put it on problem areas and sort of lightly spread across the whole face)? I’ve been using rms beauty’s uncover up and this recipe reminded me of that…
Thanks again x
Thanks! It probably would work, but it’s awfully thick. I would try my DIY mineral make-up first, it has amazing coverage! A friend of mine says its better than Bare Minerals. You can also layer it up really well 🙂
Hi Marie, what size tins did you use and how many tins did you end up filling?
For this recipe I used 1oz tins, and you can see from the photos how full they ended up being 🙂
Hello Marie,
Are you sure you are measuring in grams?
I have almost the exact same skin tone to yours so I followed your recipe, measuring everything the way you have listed, and I did not come up with a lot of concealer. I came up with a tiny bit. And also, with your iron oxide measurements, my concealer came to be very very dark brown and I feel that it is probably due to my super small amount of concealer that was made prior to adding them.
It also came out very grainy, and I bought everything from the places you recommend.
Hmm. The two major culprits with grit are usually clay or something insoluble. What did you use instead of zeolite clay? I’m guessing you had to substitute since NDA discontinued it. I’ve accidentally added a clay that was a bit too gritty to something and ended up with a final product that was more of an exfoliating cream than anything else 😛 Otherwise, if you used water soluble titanium dioxide instead of oil soluble that might be it. One final idea is that the magnesium stearate didn’t melt completely when you were melting the oils (though I doubt it, that’d be hard to miss). Could any of those be it?
Yeah, they no longer had it so I used Kaolin clay instead.
Hmmm… this may be the grit culprit—it is definitely not as fine of a clay as zeolite ultrafine. Next time, try running it through your DIY coffee grinder first.
Yes, I’m super-duper sure I used grams. You can kind of double check it by adding up the grams in the ingredients (26g + the powders), and comparing that to my final yield—about 40mL (~1.3 x 1oz containers). 26g of water would mean 26mL of final product, but because oils are less dense than water, 26g of oils will be more than 26mL, meaning that ~40mL makes sense as a final yield, especially with the powders and oxides added in. How much did you end up with? Did you use an electric scale that measures in grams to weigh out your ingredients? I’d love to hear more about your process so we can get to the bottom of this!
As for using oxides, I always recommend working up to it and testing as you go (as noted in the recipe… it’s a pain in the arse, but worth it in the end). Photos can be deceptive depending on lighting & white balance, and oxides can vary in colour from batch to batch. Also, I’m not entirely convinced of the accuracy of most sets of teaspoons/quarter teaspoons/etc. as the margin of error for things like baking soda in a cookie recipe (which is what they’re designed for) is quite a bit larger than for something like this. So, yeah… testing, sadly.
As for what you’ve got made up already—you can always just dilute it with more of the oils mixture! Just melt up some more separately, and re-melt your final concealer in another container, and slowly add more oils, stirring and testing on your skin, until you get something that works.
Yes,
I used a kitchen scale in grams. And I used a very small glass bowl, maybe only enough to hold half a cup of water, and it barely filled the bottom after I mixed it all up. It would probably be enough to fill a one ounce tin but when I read the instructions and it said “a lot” I didn’t attribute it to being a lot since I could barely get it off the bottom of the bowl haha. So I thought there might have been a difference between our grams.
Ah, sounds like my use of “a lot” threw you off… I was using the term relative to how long it’ll take me to use all that concealer (ages, truly, it’s quite concentrated), not it terms of ice cream or something else 😛 But it does sound like you’re on the right track & if you either dilute your current one, or start over and go slowly with the oxides you’ll have yourself an ounce or so of awesome natural concealer!
I will definitely try using the coffee grinder to help. Thank you so much! 🙂
So thrilled this worked out 🙂
Thanks for the the step-by-step! I just ordered all the supplies and can’t wait for them to get to me so I can start. I really need a concealer for my dark circles… Would you say that this concealer is or can be high coverage? 🙂 Also, I bought kokum butter instead of cocoa, so i hope that will be ok.
Exciting! I love waiting for an order of new goodies to arrive 😀
If you want to use this over a larger area I would recommend dropping the amount of beeswax to 2 or 3g, rather than using the full 4g, to make it easier to apply (especially to the delicate skin under the eyes). As it is, it’s quite thick—good for stacking over a zit, but I imagine it wouldn’t work as well on that thin skin. That said, the coverage really is fantastic!
I haven’t ever used kokum butter (just got some in the mail last weekend & I can’t wait to play with it!), but from everything I’ve read & heard from readers, it should be a perfectly fine substitute.
Enjoy & let me know how it goes!
Thank you for the recipe for the concealer. I tried (my own version) and I love it! I can’t use Vitamin E , it breaks me out, and I don’t have capuacu butter. I used Horsetail butter because it is great on my skin and is naturally green. Also I did not have rosehip oil, but substituted golden jojoba. I like the idea being able to add my own color. In the stores the makeup is always too red for my skin so I cut down on the red in this recipe and the color turned out perfect. I am soooo happy. I used to spend $25 for a small tube of concealer at Sephora. Now I can make my own and I know whats in it! Not to mention I’m probably saving gobs of money.
Fantastic! I just love hearing from people who’ve actually made my recipes, especially something that’s a bit more complicated like this one 🙂 Publishing a recipe is kind of stressful—it worked for me, fingers crossed my notes were good enough that it’ll work for somebody else. And it does! YAY! It sounds like your substitutions worked out really well, and three cheers for being able to make the colour exactly what you need it to be 🙂 And best of all, we will eventually never need to go to Sephora again, and spend all the money we’d spend on mascara and stuff on big buckets of clay & bottles of lovely oils 😀 Thanks so much for DIYing with me!
Hello Marie,
Making the concealer was now a success after blending the powders in my grinder. I think the culprit was the multani mitti clay, that I may have added too much, which made it so dark. However, I think my final coloring with the oxides is a little too warm for me. It’s almost perfect but too warm. Is there something I can add to make it more cool toned?
Fantastic! I’m so glad we got to the bottom of this 🙂 A wee bit of blue oxide should cool it down in the meantime, but in the future, you might choose a clay other than multani mitti, which is quite a warm coloured clay, and look at something like Australian Ivory, which has less yellow in it.
Hi Marie! I can’t wait to try this! I am trying to order all the ingredients I need. As you said, NDA no longer carries the Zeolite Clay. Do you have a recommendation for something comparable in both color and consistency? I don’t want to veer too far off your recipe since I don’t want to waste any ingredients or money! 🙂 I need a lot of coverage and most concealers I would actually like to be thicker, so I hope this one will be a good thickness. Thanks for all your awesome recipes!
Yes, sadly—I do miss that lovely clay (though I did also order something like 3kg when they announced it was being discontinued lol, so I shouldn’t run out for a while…). Depending on your skin tone Australian Ivory or Australian Beige should work fairly well. You may want to run it through your DIY coffee grinder to ensure it’s nice and smooth, though.
This concealer is definitely really thick—I think I will use a wee bit less wax in my next batch as Canadian winter temps have made mine a bit harder/thicker than I like lol. Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
Awesome, thanks! I will try one of those. Thanks for all your awesome DIY things, they are all so cool and I am trying them little by little. 🙂
I can’t wait to hear how it goes 🙂 Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
hi. your recipes sound great but still a little too complicated for me as i’m just starting to make body & skincare products. do you sell your products anywhere? if not then please do. 🙂
Hi Linda! Unfortunately I simply do not have the time to make and sell my products. That, and being located in Canada shipping would be quite steep, and most of my potential customers are international, so I imagine most people would change their minds pretty quickly when shipping was added in. However, I do have a “DIY for beginners” article coming out soon that includes guidelines to ease you into DIY projects so you can start whipping up projects like this in no time 🙂 The article comes out on January 18th.
I am loving your website!
What is the shelf life for your concealers, lipbalm and lipstick?
I am wanting to make hemp base products, do you have any tips?
Anything that doesn’t have any water in it (totally oil based, like lip balm, body butter, etc.) will last quite a long time—I’ve got a batch of body butter that’s about 3 years old that’s still fine 😛 Once you add water into the mix, that life span shortens considerably. There’s loads of variables (freshness of ingredients, cleanliness of instruments, temperature, etc.), but I’ve seen things spoil around 3 weeks, or even up to 6 months. You’ll just have to watch them for mould, colour changes, etc. and toss ’em when they start to go dodgy on you.
As for hemp, my experiments with it are limited so far (just got my first bottle a month ago), but so far I can say that it’s definitely sensitive to heat. In the process of trying to melt in some carnauba wax with it, I torched the hemp oil, and now it smells and tastes awful! 😛
I love this! You should have kept the minty green one too though, as a corrector.
As a professional makeup artist, you had me screaming “you were onto something!! Noooooo!” Green corrects the redness in the coloring of the face, and oranges correct the blue veins. Use those under your concealer and you have a full awesome natural base to paint your face onto! 🙂 Dooooo it!
I never had the minty green one, I just saw it in the shop. I did make my own, though—it’s right up there in the photos 🙂 I just added a bit of green to a bit of the batch (you can see the photo where I’m doing that), so I have one concealer that’s just skin toned, and one that appears perfectly skin toned after cancelling out red. It’s awesome! Thanks for clearing up what the orange one is for, though—I don’t have veins like that so I had no clue what the blue cancelling was for 😛
Could I use zinc oxide instead of titanium dioxide? Also, where do you get your red oxide from? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it. The reason I’ve used oil soluble titanium dioxide is because it’s oil soluble, so it disperses very nicely. If you’re going to try it, I’d recommend using a very fine grind so you don’t end up with gritty particles.
The red oxide is from NDA, they re-named it reddish brown recently, but it’s the same stuff.
Hello Marie,
As time goes by, my concealer has hardened a bit. Is there a way I can soften it back up?
I’ve noticed this with mine, too :/ The best solution I’ve got right now is warming it up, usually with my breath or a fingertip. I’m currently trying to figure out what the problem is, so hopefully I’ll have a better answer soon…
do you think this recipe could make more of a liquid foundation if i were to use less clay or something? im trying to make a liquid foundation and so far have only been able to make a powder foundation :/
You’re free to try it, but I can’t make any promises. I, too, have been trying to make a liquid foundation and have so far just thrown out a lot of skin coloured goo. It’s tricky! I think you’d probably find this to be pretty heavy since it has no water in it—most liquid foundations I’ve seen have water in them so they feel lighter.
I made both this and the DIY mineral powder. Both are awesome! I took half of my mineral powder and slowly mixed it into a basic moisturizer that I had on hand and it made a really nice, light coverage liquid foundation! With the clay in the mineral makeup recipe, the lotion dries on your face fairly quickly, so it’s kind of like a liquid to powder foundation.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you’re loving everything 🙂
I’m new to DIY cosmetics but it’s all I want to do, everyday!
What do you think of the controversy regarding titanium dioxide? Are the colored oxides a safe and natural option as well?
I really love the idea of creating my own, natural products but this one has me on the fence. I would love to be able to get the coverage I want from just shea butter, cocoa powder and arrowroot but it’s just not cutting it. The finished product in your pictures looks perfect and my skin is drooling for it.
I just want to make sure I will be making something that is good for my skin, not just a homemade version of the chemical-filled store products.
Thank you!
Hi Meg! Welcome to the awesome world of DIY cosmetics 😀 Soon you will be scoffing and snorting derisively at all the grossly overpriced pots of goo at the department stores as I do… if you don’t already, that is 😉
The danger around titanium dioxide is really just to do with inhaling, so don’t snort lines of it (lol) and do be careful not to inhale it (mostly problematic when using a coffee grinder—I wear a dust mask). As for oxides, they are basically refined rust. Rust minus heavy metals and other dangerous things, that is. Are they 100% natural? Eh… kind of? The compounds do occur naturally, but the ones we buy are generally synthesized/refined for our safety. They get a low hazard rating on Skin Deep, and the general gist is a) don’t inhale large quantities and b) avoid use as nano particles. A dust mask solves problem a, and I’ve never found nano versions for purchase (and you can’t really do that up yourself at home).
It’s also worth noting that you really don’t have any other options for getting a variety of strong colours in the safe/natural cosmetics world. Clays are pretty good, but not as potent and still fairly limited. Botanical extracts are also quite limited and not very potent (and water soluble, which is problematic for most cosmetic applications in my experience). You also don’t need much of an oxide to achieve the colours you’ll want, which automatically limits your exposure. And, when you compare them to FD&C dyes, they win hands down.
So, I suppose what I’m saying is I am ok with them. I wear my dust mask & I don’t buy nano particle versions, and I like them. They give me the freedom to create products that function like store bought products, but contain great things like seabuckthorn oil. I always recommend doing your own research and making your own decisions, but you will find yourself very limited if you choose not to use them. That’s not all bad, of course, but something to keep in mind 🙂
1) Do you think Argan oil could replace Seabuckthorn oil? Why?
2) Do you think Hazelnut oil could replace Rosehip oil? Why?
Right now I’m putting together an exhaustive excel spreadsheet detailing prices of ingredients and ingredients needed in my first batch of recipe attempts, aka the healing concealer and cream blush.
Thanks for posting all of these DIY endeavors!
Thanks for helping me out by re-submitting these, Maialen 🙂
Both your substitutes will work well in terms of not adversely effecting the texture of the final product (similar consistencies and absorbency). However, neither argan nor hazelnut oil have the same acne-zapping properties as seabuckthorn & rosehip oil. Argan is still a great healing oil, though, so on the whole I think you’d be ok 🙂
Have fun with your DIYing!
Hmmm… Just out of curiosity, do you think it would be possible to replace the iron oxides with highly pigmented clays – such as Australian red reef clay and rhassoul clay – to achieve similar colouring effects in the concealer?
In my experience, the only clays that have enough pigment to replace oxides are Australian red & Australian black, though Aussie black clay doesn’t act like a clay or an oxide because it’s magnetic & quite heavy, so it will sink out of thinner formulations. So, if your skin is a sort of pinkish/reddish/brownish/black colour, totally! The other more skin-like coloured clays, though, aren’t strong enough to give much of a colour punch before you’re just spreading straight clay paste on your face. Also, be sure to watch out for the textures of the clay—every rhassoul clay I’ve come across is quite gritty, which makes it feel like you put sand in your make-up 🙁 Clays also shift colour when wetted out with water or oils far more than oxides, so be prepared for that when you’re testing. I think you will find that you need yellow and brown oxides as a minimum in order to achieve a skin tone colour for your cosmetics. Let me know how it goes if you try it, though!
Hello Marie!
I too have been wanting to completely minimize the amount of chemicals I put on my skin when it comes to concealing scars and such. I am going to try your recipe (because it looks amazing!!!), but my skin is more olive-to-tan looking. I also live in an area with almost year-round sun, so I occasionally get rather dark. What type of clay and oxides would you recommend? I am relatively knew to DIY makeup. 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Yorgi! You could probably still start with the same clay (or perhaps something a little darker, like Australian Beige or Australian Ivory), and then tweak it the rest of the way with iron oxides. A blend of yellow, brown, and red works for almost all skin tones, it’s just the matter of finding the precise blend that works for you! Thanks for reading 🙂
So I did try making this concealer finally! (I commented earlier too) and have mixed results after a few first-timer mistakes. It ended up being too dark of a shade, even before I put in any of the micas, and I think this is because of the clay substitution I made using australian ivory. Now I have the color pretty close to my color, just needs to be lighter by a few shades. I am wondering if you suggest anything just to make it paler? Is there such a thing as white mica? Any advice would be appreciated! 🙂
Yay! I’m glad to hear you tackled this & it worked! Titanium dioxide will add some whiteness, though it will dilute the colour as well. In the future I’d try using kaolin clay instead of Australian ivory, since the kaolin is white—it’s a nice starting point 🙂
You could also get a tan 😉 LOL
Hey Marie,
I have just made this recipe at first for using it as a concealer and as it turned very good for oily skin I have tried to turn the same recipe to make a cream eyeshadow. I
measured the oils and after I have finished, I remembered that I have forgotten the 7g of capuacu butter. Well, to tell you the truth, it became the exactly as the paint pots of MAC. The same opacity and steadiness.. I’m so happy !!!! Thank you a lot !!!
Fantastic! How funny, I have been experimenting with something similar, but I’ve been having adhesion issues—it sounds like I should re-visit this recipe 🙂 Yay for experiments! And successes! WOOO!
Hi,
I am wondering if you purchased both oil and water soluble titanium oxides from Saffire Blue, or just used the one from NDA. I asked at NDA and they said that theirs is neither, but soluble in both oil and water so now I am very confused. Thanks!
So… I have all three, and I use the ones from SB when it really matters. And I really need to test the NDA stuff as I’ve been meaning to do because you emailed me about this an embarrassingly long time ago (sorry….). My plan is to just test it for you so I can say once and for all. But, from what I’ve read, titanium dioxide is more “disperse-able” than “soluble”, and the two are sort of on either end of a spectrum, so I suppose it’s possible for one type to be both? Eh. I will do that experiment, I swear. Sorry I haven’t gotten to this yet 🙁
Hey! I’m trying to make the most of the ingredients I already have and avoid buying ingredients I would only use in one thing… You said you use the beeswax, capuaco, and cocoa butter to thicken… if I don’t have capuaco, could I just add more beeswax and cocoa butter? I saw you suggested mango butter, but I don’t have that one either.
Also, you said multani mitti and zeolite clays can be subbed with a clay that matches your skin tone. I have the Australian Ivory from another make up recipe of yours… can I use that one clay to replace both of those you mentioned?
How funny, Grace. I had a similar question about substitutions. Marie, can coconut oil be substituted for the capuacu butter? I really need a good concealer.
Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! Sadly not—those two ingredients have totally different textures and melting points. Coconut oil pretty much liquifies on contact with the skin and is very thin, whereas capuacu butter is smooth and thick. I’d recommend mango butter or even shea butter as better subs. You can read more about carrier oil subs here 🙂
Hi Grace! If you don’t have cupuacu I’d recommend subbing out another soft oil with a melting point around 35°C—shea butter might work, though it’s not as smooth. If you do try to use more cocoa butter, you’ll need to do the fiddling yourself to get a texture you’re happy with. I wouldn’t increase the beeswax as it’s such a powerful thickener and has a far higher melting point.
Yes, you can use Aus Ivory clay if that matches your skin tone 🙂
Hey Marie,
Have you ever tried making a solid concealer? I’m looking to venture further into diy-ing my makeup and I’m fantasizing of a high coverage concealer that I can apply straight in a lip balm tube. Then that made me think maybe I can build a lip balm base and combine some titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate and oxides together for it! Do you think that would work using a blend of shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax and jojoba oil? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks,
Laura
Hi Laura! This concealer actually ended up being quite solid (despite the photo… it took a few days to set up), especially on the surface exposed to the air. Next time I would definitely put it in one of the slim lip balm tubes. I’d give that a go before changing anything 🙂
I started with this mixture in a pot, and it was great, but sort of annoying to apply. I remelted it and poured into lip balm tubes…and it is perfect! The heat from your skin warms it up quickly, and spreads nicely. (I used shea butter instead of capuachu butter).
Awesome! I have often thought about doing this as well 🙂 I think it would also help extend the life of the concealer as it can dry out over time.
Hi Marie!
I just discovered your blog & am loving it. I am just wondering if there is anything you can substitute Titanium dioxide with to make this formula opaque? I read that TD is a potential carcinogen so would prefer my formula not to include it.
Thanks a lot! 🙂
Hi JT! The risks with titanium dioxide are from inhaling the powder, which I definitely don’t recommend doing—a dust mask comes in useful here. You can read more about the risks here, and as you can see, all the risks are annotated with “only for products that may be aerosolized (airborne)”. Health risks associated with inhaling fine powders aren’t limited to titanium dioxide by any means—you could use zinc oxide as a substitute, but it has the same risks if you want to breathe in a big cloud of it 😛 Once it’s in the concealer it won’t float off into your lungs, so as long as you are careful with the production process, you should be a-ok 🙂
I recently found out about the acne face map, which states that acne appearing on different parts of the face is the result of specific internal problems. Most of my acne forms around the side of my mouth, which is supposed to be caused by hormonal imbalances. My breakouts in that area weren’t related to my cycle, so I knew that that was not my problem. I think dairy and soy (which I consumed regularly and a lot) were the main culprit. Since cutting them out of my diet this last week, my acne has mostly subsided in that region.
For more info on acne face map, check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z139_OHNuLE
Dairy for obvious reasons, soy because it has a compound in it that mimics estrogen.
Ah yes, that pesky phytoestrogen :/
I’ve seen charts and what not on this before, and it does seem to line up with my acne—which is generally mild, but generally worse around “that time”. Unfortunately, with the chin location I end up making things worse as I tend to sit with my chin in my hands. Bad Marie, I know :/
Dear Marie, I can’t tell you enough how happy I am that you’ve shared such an amazing resource of free & natural skin care recipes with the world! And even better, your recipes seem really intelligently and dilligently designed and tweaked, until they really WORK! I discovered your website about a week ago, and I’ve been spending many evenings pawing over the recipes and trawling the web comparing UK-based ingredients suppliers. [As a side note, I can really see how this kind of hobby could soon become an expensive obsession!] 😀
I have a couple of questions, if you have a spare minute or three:
1. I haven’t been able to find any multani mitti clay ANYWHERE!! On the UK version of the New Directions site, the closest clay (colour-wise) appears to be the French Yellow clay. Do you think this could be a worthy substitution?
http://www.newdirectionsuk.com/shop/products/index.php?id=1022
2. Beeswax choice is a bit bewildering! For these healthy cosmetics, which is the better choice: refined / unrefined / purified / ‘BP’ grade?
https://www.newdirectionsuk.com/shop/search.php?k=beeswax&s.x=0&s.y=0
See, I love the smell of natural beeswax, and I’d IMAGINE that it retains more ‘good stuff’ (beneficial healing compounds?) than the refined beeswax…but am I right, or is the point of refining the wax to remove contaminants that wouldn’t be good up close and personal with skin?
3. In a similar vein, when purchasing butters, and oils, etc, would the UNrefined, cold-pressed versions be best? [Are the refined pretty much ‘dead’ versions, stripped of the useful nutrients due to the processing methods? Or does processing actually improve these ingredients, in the context of cosmetics making?] ~What do you choose???~
4. Organic, or non-organic? Is there risk of harmful pesticides and chemicals getting into our products, if we choose regular non-organic ingredients?
5. Vitamin E oil: natural or synthetic? There’s a HUGE difference in price, but is there any difference in product outcome?
6. Sericite Mica: Silk, or matte for mineral makeup? The blurb on both versions says that they are colourless and untreated: http://happyolive.co.uk/cart.php?m=search_results&headerSearch=Y&search=sericite
Sorry for the mass of questions, Marie. I just really want to be sure I’m making the right informed choices in my purchases, as I know I’ll be investing a lot of money and time in this hobby. Call it the OCD in me! 😛
Hi Amber! Thanks so much for reading, and for your kind words 🙂 I really appreciate your support! Now, for some answers 🙂
1. Choose a fine clay that’s closest to your skin tone (not rhassoul, it’s gritty!) and you’ll be fine 🙂
2. I buy my beeswax straight from the beekeeper. It’s yellow and smells like honey, and I LOVE it that way. I wouldn’t recommend anything else. The white stuff is usually from China, too, which is downright silly when you can buy local beeswax almost anywhere in the world.
3. I like to buy the un-refined versions of butters wherever and whenever I can. The processed ones are sometimes all you can get, and while they’re still good moisturizers, common sense (and some reading) says the processing strips them of many of the vitamins and goodness we value the ingredient for in the first place.
4. Go for what you can afford. I feel like we’re already seriously upgrading the healthfulness of our products by ditching all the fake stuff, but this hobby shouldn’t break the bank.
5. Again, affordable. I’ve never even tried the expensive one—OUCH. It is painfully pricey! The cheap one has worked perfectly for me.
6. I’d choose whichever you prefer your face to look like. I’d probably go with silk rather than matte as my skin doesn’t need any help looking dry!
Thanks so much for reading 🙂 Have fun!
Ahhhr thank you so much, oh awesome lady! 😀 I’ve taken delivery of a bunch of intriguing-looking ingredients, and I’m now just biding my time til the weekend when I can try out a spot of cosmetic wizardry, a la Marie! Sillily (is that even a word?!) excited. 🙂
Exciting! I definitely know the feeling 🙂 I’ve got a similar weekend planned 😉
Can I substitute all the oxides you used for just one oxide? Also I have a very deep skin tone (I am of African descent) can you recommend a clay that I could use? And one more thing, does titanium dioxide make things such as foundation more opaque and have even more coverage? If not, would you be so kind as to recommend me an ingredient that does? Thank you in advance!
Hi Danielle! You can if your skin is exactly the colour of one oxide. This isn’t the case for most people, but if it is for you, awesome. For clay I’d recommend sticking with the original clays and then darkening them up with oxides—I don’t know of any clays that are a dark brown and smooth enough for use here. And yes, titanium dioxide provides opacity, coverage, and brightness 🙂
Any idea what type of sites I should look at to find the ingredients overseas? I’m in South Africa, and I wasn’t sure where to start. Thanks!
Hi Alison! Fellow reader George Graham recommends The Soap Barn in South Africa 🙂
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! Do you think any discoloration would occur if I colored it with turmeric, cocoa powder and beet root powder instead of the oxides? Thanks! I think I will try pouring into a lip balm tube for ease of application. 🙂
Hi Julie! You will not have a lot of fun if you try using food for colourants here. Your biggest difficulties will be with solubility (see what happens when you combine beetroot powder and oil here) and potency, resulting in a final product that’s chunky/gritty, and not very pigmented. I’d really recommend getting yourself some oxides, they’re wonderfully versatile and deliver a wonderfully strong colour punch.
I’m going to follow your advice and pick up some oxides. I’ve been experimenting with food colorants and have found that, so far, they really only work well with powders. They begin to get a bit grey after awhile with anything in liquid form. Though, I may try again and see what happens with this Leucidal Liquid stuff I’ve been reading about. I’m new to this, so I’m sure I have a lot of experimenting ahead of me. Thanks for the reply!
Have fun with them! I’ve also noticed the same thing about plant based colourants—I just chucked a rather grey pot of beetroot lip gloss. I don’t think Leucidal Liquid will prevent the colours from fading, though—that is an oxidization reaction, and Leucidal Liquid is an broad spectrum preservative. Some vitamin E or rosemary seed extract might help, though 🙂
Hi Marle,
I was wondering what kind of beeswax you use, yellow or white?
Thanks for the recipe, I hope to try this. I live in a country where the simplest makeup is pricey, and I’m so sick and tired buying expensive crap and not even feeling right wearing it cuz it’s full of…well, crap. I have some bad acne and redness, so my question is this pretty pigmented/ have good coverage and staying power?
I always use golden beeswax from local apiaries 🙂 And yes, this concealer has awesome coverage! Thanks for reading & DIYing with me 🙂
How do you clean/sterilize your containers before filling them?
I usually run them through the dishwasher, but a quick swirl of high percentage rubbing alcohol also does the trick 🙂 Because I don’t sell anything I make I’m generally not too fussed about it.
I just recently found your website and am obsessed with it! 😉 I wear concealer every day and really want to try this next, but I don’t have seabuckthorn oil. Could I use all rosehip instead? Or is there another substitution you would recommend? Thanks so much!!
Hi Laurie! You can definitely use rose hip oil instead. Some people find rose hip oil can aggravate acne, but if you’re not one of those people it is a great alternative 🙂
I just bought a big bag of water soluble titanium dioxide for the mineral makeup recipes…is there any chance it could still work for this recipe or just no way?
Hi Liz! “Soluble” when it comes to TD is more “disperseable”, so it just might work. I’d try a wee test by mixing some TD into some melted shea butter (or some other soft oil) and let it set up. If it’s smooth, you’re good to go. If it’s gritty, no dice. Fingers crossed!
Reporting back. Used shea butter instead of capuachu butter to keep costs down, but wow! This stuff is awesome! Poured into lip balm tubes for easy application, and the titanium dioxide I used (which I was told in water soluble) must be a fine enough grain that it so far has not been an issue in the final product.
Giving a tube to my sister and my mom for xmas 🙂
I’m so thrilled you love it! Woo! 🙂
Hi you! Great website, and congrats on turning out a nice concealer! I have acne prone skin, and also make homemade concealer, so I thought since you seem so sweet I’d better say something……
Cocoa butter rates a 5 on causing acne, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the worse. It’s a big pore plugger! I substituted natural unrefined shea butter which actually helps control acne instead. The smell is very heavy though, and hard to mask. I have also used the odorless white shea butter, and had no issues with breakouts, so in the future I will stick with this even though it’s a bit processed.
I am one of those that stays super simple with my DIY concealer – zinc oxide only, white kaolin clay, and a pinch of rice powder, beeswax, (maybe a few drops of lavender essential oil) and Jason’s aloe vera oil, which is in a base of sunflower seed oil. Again, significant if you are an acne sufferer, because sunflower seed oil is the least likely oil to break you out. I read that on a blog that covered oil washing your face, and this was the feedback from hundreds of ladies. I like the added aloe vera version of sunflower seed oil, because this way I get the aloe vera in the mix without needing synthetic emulsifiers, and personally I find aloe heals my pimples big time!
Btw- My concealer also dries out, and after 3 years I have finally figured out that it’s the clay. They tend to soak up everything over time, that is their very nature and why they pull toxins out of the skin, and flavor out of my homemade toothpaste too! The zinc oxide tends to be a bit sticky once added to warm oils and wax, so I have to add the clay to control this, and bit of rice powder (I don’t like arrowroot, tapioca, cornstarch, talc, or titanium dioxide personally). Other then re-melting, and adding a bit more liquid oil, I don’t know if there is an answer for this drying out problem without turning to synthetic compounds, or skipping the clays. 🙁
I heard mica performs like a champ on dry or elderly skin, so I might try this as I do like shimmer, but I will definitely be wearing a mask while blending away, and I will definitely always “compress” any loose mica product I make such as a face powder, or eye shadow to reduce inhalation issues. Lol, I even considered using a blow dryer on my face while applying to help with this.
Have you tried silica for slip? I want to try this, and would love feedback. I read magnesium stearate interferes with absorption of nutritional supplements internally, and so it seems in theory it MAY also block how well our skin gets to soak up all those lovely healing oils and butters we put into our makeup, but of course there is no proof of this, it’s just my thoughts leaning on the safe side. Rice powder definitely has a slip factor, but I think I have to add either mica or silica if I really want to rock it with slip. I wanted to try and make a powder foundation I can apply with a sponge, and so I am needing to slip away. Have you attempted a powder foundation yet? =)
Thanks for all the great info! And I simply LOVE your profile picture. You look so elegant and pretty!
Hi Fina! Thank you so much for your input. I’m not a great acne sufferer, so I would bet my experience with some of the more comodogenic oils is different than yours. Thank you for keeping an eye out 🙂
I’ve been experimenting with blending some vegetable glycerin into concealer to counter the drying out effect… I’m not convinced it’s a great solution :/
I’ve bought some silica microspheres, but I haven’t played with them yet. It’s on my (long) list!
I do have a pretty awesome powder foundation here 🙂 Be sure to read the comments, too, there is some great discussion down there!
Hi There! I just found your site, it’s so wonderful (I’ve actually been on it for the past two hours, opps)!
I was wondering if you think tea tree oil would be a good idea/could be incorporated into this recipe?
I also recently made some whipped body butter and I was wondering if there is a way to turn this recipe into something super light and well.. whipped?
Thank you so much and your blog is fantastic!
-Rose
Hi Rose! You could definitely add some tea tree oil if you like, though I’d keep it to a minimum if you’re prone to acne around your nose 😉 I probably wouldn’t whip this, though—it has a tendency to dry out over time and increasing its surface area will only exacerbate that.
Thanks so much for reading & DI&ing with me!
This is amazing!! I can’t wait to try this. I just have one problem and one question. I have been trying to figure out how to make a liquid foundation so I tried to make your airbrushing creme foundation and in the end I added some oxides to create the color I needed. And not only I wasn’t able to get the color I wanted in any of the two batches that I made but also I struggled with the fact that when I add the oxides to already creamy texture, they don’t dissolve very well and I actually end up with a cream that has a light color but little bits of color. And I find these once I put the cream on and then I am awfully brown or green or yellow 😀 Do you have any advice on that? I am hopeless.
Hi Georgie! I’m still working on liquid foundation myself and it’s far more complicated than it seems, so I’m afraid I can’t offer much advice beyond what I know for certain does not work… which is so far everything I’ve tried :/
Hello! I am LOVING your site, currently putting together my shopping list right now! I am specifically making this for my genetic undereye circles, and have found that a nice peach tone mutes the purple tones under the eye. Which clay combos would you recommend for a shade like that? Will I even need oxide powders? Sorry I am so new to using clays and oxides as colors.
Also, side question, what do you prefer to use to measure all of this stuff? I am in the US so will probably convert the grams, do you just use a little shot glass? Tiny scoops? haha. Thanks!!
Hi Tarah! You will need oxides to shift the colour the way you want to—clays are simply not potent enough, and really do not provide much in the way of colour in this recipe. Even with the zeolite clay being a very close match for my complexion I had to add a lot of oxides to get the saturation level necessary for a match.
For measuring, you need a scale. You can’t easily convert weight measurements to volume measurements, and measuring by weight is just so much more accurate than measuring by volume. I’ve written more on this in the FAQ 🙂
Hi! Firstly I just wanted to say that your blog is amazing! I discovered it about two weeks ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. My bank balance isn’t so pleased, haha.
I’ve got the ingredients on the way to make this concealer (yay!) and I wanted to make a yellow one too, to cancel out under-eye dark circles. However, I was worried about putting the acne-busting sea buckthorn oil and rosehip oil near my eyes, and since healing power isn’t really needed in the eye area, which oils would you suggest using instead? I was thinking something nice and light/easy to absorb, but I have no idea which oils are eye safe.
Also, would the clay be necessary in the eye area, or should it be left out/swapped for something else, maybe more mica?
Sorry if this has been asked before!
Hi Poppy! For an undereye tinted concealer I’d recommend looking at this recipe as a starting point 🙂
Argan oil is great around the eyes, and camellia seed would also be a good choice as it absorbs quickly.
I can’t believe I didn’t find that post before! I’ll probably end up making a hybrid of the two recipes.
I already have some argan oil so I’ll give that a try first and see how it turns out 🙂 Thanks for the advice!
🙂 I look forward to hearing what you think!
could you… possibly… use coffee to add in the brown? :0
I thiiiiiink I *heard about a similar recipe with that ingredient …
sounds wack but asking just in case . . .
-hides-
I would recommend it—coffee is water soluble, so it would be grainy. I’ve also done coffee infused oils, but it doesn’t give any colour to the final product 🙂
Hi, can you please tell me if;
a) the Capuaco Butter and Cocoa butter can be substituted for anything as both these ingredients have a comedogenic rating of 4. How about using Shea butter which has a rating of 0 would that work?
b) Could I substitute Beeswax (comedogenic rating of 2) for Candelilla or Carnuba wax (rating of 1).
I am trying to avoid ALL ingredients with a comedogenic rating any higher than 1 whilst I get my acne under control.
Many thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa! Read this on carrier oil substitutions, and this on waxes.
Where are you getting your information on comedogenic ratings? I’ve been unable to find a rating for cupuacu butter, and I’ve found widely varying values for shea butter (generally from 1–4).
so a while ago I decided to only use mineral (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) sunscreens and reading about them online I saw they are notorious for photographing badly due to titanium/zinc being reflective and very pale white.
i always wonder how something will photograph when you include titanium dioxide in it but the products always look fine in the pictures. Is it just because there are enough oxides in it to counteract the whiteness?
Well yes, if you’re applying straight TD or ZO you’re going to look very pale 😛 Most cosmetics with any level of opacity contain it, and they photograph just fine as long as they aren’t pure TD or ZO. Most cosmetic ingredients would photograph pretty badly if used in isolation or relative isolation 😛 It’s all about the blending! Think of it like baking… flour tastes pretty awful on its own, but is great in lots of things 🙂
I’m going to try this with green Canadian glacial clay! This stuff is amazing as a mask! It’s also great for under eye circles so I imagine it would be great in a concealer! Plus of course it’s green!
Where do you get Canadian Glacial Clay? That sounds like something I’d love to play with!
at voyageur soap and candle!:) http://www.voyageursoapandcandle.com/Ultrafine_Glacial_Cosmetic_Clay_p/60902.htm
i’ve been doing a mask with it! Just amazing! Skin is smoother, softer, less redness/blotchy, radiant! I did 1/2 tbsp clay, 1/2 tsp cucumber peel, a few drops german chamomile and helichrysum and a very concentrated matcha tea to make a paste. I’m just amazed at what it did for the dark circles under my eyes (not even haloxyl did anything like this!) – of course, it’s not a permanent fix or anything but still!
VSC mentions that this clay is used in BB creams too – I bet it would be awesome in a foundation too, not just a concealer! 🙂
Sweet, thanks! I’ve never ordered from them before, but perhaps I’ll have to give it a go 🙂
Hi Marie.
Thanks for a great recepie and a great site.
I’ve just made the concealer, though I tjekkede it and used half a gram of bacuri butter insted of cocoa (I cannot stand the smell and bacuri is antibacteriel). It is a little softer, which is good herefter in cold cold Danmark, but it is so good.
I also did your anti red power but as a mineral foundation power and adder allantoin. My problem skin actually gets worse when I don’t use it… So I’m pretty much addicted now 🙂
I Hope you have more makeup up recepies coming up soon?
Hi Clara! Thanks so much for DIYing with me 🙂 Have you heard about my upcoming book? It’s almost entirely makeup recipes! Primer, eyeliner, liquid foundation, lipsticks—SO many awesome recipes 😀 You should definitely grab a copy when it comes out in the fall 😉
Hello! I’ve been looking for natural make up for a while then I found your blog and now I’m in love with it! Is the titanium dioxide edible? Or the industrial one?
Hey Amanda! What you’ll want is cosmetic grade titanium dioxide—food grade would probably work, but I’d avoid industrial grade since this is for your skin 🙂 Also, have you signed up for the pre-order list for my upcoming book that’s 100% makeup recipes? 😉
Hi marie,
I know this is an old post but i just came accross it….ive been meaning to delve into cosmetics till now its only been bath and body…..i have 1 question can oxide be replaced by mica in this recipe as of now….rest of the ingredients i have except the cupacau butter and oxides….thanks
Hey Synara! The short answer is no—read this and this for more info 🙂
Also, if you’re keen on making your own makeup you’ll love my upcoming book—it’s all about how to make your own cosmetics! You can sign up for the pre-order list here 🙂
I have been trying a bazillion times in an attempt to make a proper concealer. I realized that this recipe is anhydrous so is it greasy? Could I just make this leaving out the following:
capuacu butter
seabuckthorn oil
rosehip oil
1 tsp zeolite ultrafine clay
2 ¼ tsp multani mitti clay
And replacing the Capuacu butter with shea and zeolite and multani mitti clays with kaolin? And replacing the titanium dioxide with zinc or perhaps sericite?
Sorry there are so many questions.
Thanks!!!
-Kat
Hey Kat! Honestly, with the massive number of changes you want to make to this recipe, you are on your own. You want to leave out or replace well over half of the ingredients, and that is a crazy amount of change. I really can’t offer any sort of “customer service” to something you want to change so drastically—my hypotheticals are completely out of their depth here.
All that said, the concealer recipe in my upcoming book is way better, far easier to make, and uses far fewer ingredients 🙂
Also, most concealers are anhydrous—you generally can’t get the kind of coverage a concealer needs with water involved 🙂
Ok! I’ll do some experimenting. How do you keep the concealer from being greasy though? Do you have a time frame as to when your book is coming out?( Roughly)
– Kat
It’s all in the formula, really, there isn’t a surefire “no greasy” trick. It’s looking like the book will be out at the end of the year 🙂
Hi 🙂 I’m going to set out to make this concealer, and I was wondering if there were any ingredients which are optional/can be replaced by other ingredients in the recipe? So I can buy as few ingredients as possible since it’s just this product I’ll be making. Also where do you buy the ingredients from? I’m in Melbourne, Australia, so I’m not sure if you have a recommend supplier which would be cheapest for me?
Hey Claire! Honestly, my #1 recommendation would be to wait for my book to come out. The whole book is written around a waaaaaay shorter ingredient list than the assortment of cosmetic recipes I have published on my blog (the concealer recipe is also way better than this one, and WAY easier to make). It’ll be out at the end of the year!
Do you think I could use beet or hibiscus powder rather than red iron oxide. I’m a little concerned that it will be the wrong color. Mine is a little more of a rust red and I have a very pink undertone. Thanks
Definitely not—you will encounter potency, solubility, and oxidization problems. Read this for more information 🙂 If you want a pinker pink, carmine will do beautifully, but have faith in the red oxide combined with titanium dioxide—I have made up every conceivable skin tone with red, yellow, brown, and titanium dioxide, including some very fair, very pink skin tones 🙂
Thanks, I’ll give what I have a try and keep the carmine as I plan on making the lipstick anyway. Thanks for the link. I thought I read all of your posts. That one must have snuck by me. Good article.
No worries! I have nearly 900 posts up here, so I’m pretty sure no one but me has read all of ’em 😉
Hi .. I would like to know whether I can avoid adding TD, sericite mica and other oxide colorants to make this concealer…
Nope, not at all! Those are all the things that make this concealer and not body butter.
Hi Marie 🙂 Good Job, do you still like that product or it evoluate into something else by now ? What is your opinion in adding lavender, patchouli and /or tea tree oil to it to reinforce the healing properties ?
Hey Lili! I’ve definitely upgraded to the recipe in my book—it’s way better! You could add an EO if you want 🙂
Hey! I have some questions on this recipe.
Can I use zinc oxide instead of titanium dioxide? Using Zinc oxide more for the coverage and bulking properties. Also, how long does 1 batch of this concealer last (in terms of shelf life). Ive read that oil base (without water) cosmetics can last 1-2 years without any preservatives. If so, can I make one batch of this concealer (around 25ml) and keep it in a container for 1 – 2 years without adding preservative?
Lastly, after this cream concealers cools and hardens up abit, can I still reheat it without damaging the concealer to transfer it to another container? (For transport and etc)
Hey! So—no. Zinc oxide has pretty awful coverage, especially when compared to TD. I made a video to show you!
Honestly, if you want to make a good concealer, make the one in my book. This one is nowhere near as good, and it’s much harder and fussier to make. Both recipes will likely last around a year; two is likely pushing it as “up to 2 years” is under ideal circumstances, and once you are working with ingredients, mixing them with other things, and not storing them in a dark fridge 24/7, you are no longer dealing with ideal circumstances.
I would recommend planning to re-melt it; why wouldn’t you just put it in the proper container to start with?
Hi Marie, thanks for your reply.
I asked about the separation into containers as I’m actually working on this for a college product design project.
I’m designing a concealer product container and hence I need to make my own concealers for about 4-6 shades of common skin tone (Light – Dark). Something like this, a concealer product with different shades. http://www.sephora.com/perfecting-stick-concealer-P393811?skuId=1687565
I’m keen to buy your book for the concealer recipe. From what I understand, the concealer can be made in 2 processes
1. The actual concealer base (beeswax, oils etc)
2. Adding and mixing in the oxides to give colour/specific shade
As I need to produce 4-6 shades of common skin tone for my project, would your book contain recipes on how to make the individual shades? e.g. how much of each oxide to add to get a particular shade. I understand that in this recipe post you mentioned to “trial and error” until the desired shade is achieved. But for my project it would be really helpful to get pre-fixed recipes for each shade for common skin tones. (Light to Dark).
Thank you so much! Im really looking forward to purchase your book. Hope to get your insights on how I can solve this multiples shades conundrum for my project. Cheers!
Hey! It sounds like my book would be perfect. There are seven different colour blends for different complexions, so that’s done for you, and the concealer is easier to make, too! If you aren’t trying to match your own complexion you’ll be able to make 7 different colours of concealer in no time flat!
Hey Marie,
That’s awesome! Thanks so much
Happy concealer-ing!
I got your book! Have some questions regarding the recipe. Sent you a message on fb.
Cheers!
Jia
Thanks!
which green chromium oxide is better to use? hydrated or unhydrated? i wasn’t sure which one to pick as they were similar shades.
Definitely just plain ol’ green chromium oxide, which is green—the hydrated stuff is turquoise.
Oh and should i use organic or standard white beeswax or yellow beeswax? the site i’m getting all my ingredients from is https://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk
I use yellow for most things, but in my book that’s all about makeup I recommend white as it performs just that little bit more consistently, and that’s quite essential for cosmetics. If you are interested in DIY cosmetics I’d really recommend checking out my book—the concealer recipe in there is much better!
Oh I’d like to put my vote in for this one if you are still considering revamping any of your old recipes. I made this one years ago and I think you could so revamp the healing concealer with a new luxury version.
Honestly, with my book out I’m probably not going to re-visit concealer any time soon. I really like the recipe in the book and most of the things I’ve found that really help with healing pre-existing acne are water soluble (including plain ol’ water), and in my experience water and high, physically build-able coverage don’t really go together. I’m finding it’s best to cover acne with a simple, non-irritating concealer when it needs to be covered, and then I slather it in hydrating things and use hydrocolloid bandages to try and encourage healing at all other times 🙂 Who knows, though! Maybe I’ll find some miracle ingredient somewhere that lets me marry all my favourite things!
I’m new to DIYing and I want a concealor for my zits. This recipe sounds great but also really complicated. Is the concealor in your book more suited for beginners and would it be good for acne?
The concealer in my book is MUCH simpler with far fewer ingredients and won’t exacerbate acne 🙂
Thank you very much!
Hi Marie! I have recently found your website and youtube when looking for how to make lotion and have enjoyed checking out your stuff here and there as I have found time! I am excited to make some recipes (I need to finally pick one! there are so many to choose from!) and have ordered your book. 🙂 I have a question about titanium dioxide but probably not the question you normally get – Are talc and titanium dioxde the same thing? I thought I read a long time ago that they were. I know talc makes me break out so that is why I was wondering.
On another note have you ever considered making deoderant??? I have made several however they start out fine but then either stop keeping me smelling good after several weeks or my skin starts to get rashy and irritated. 🙁
I am excited to keep learning more diy! And I love your sense of humor.
Talc and TD are absolutely NOT the same thing, so you’re good to go. I have made quite a few deodorants using baking soda, and now I’m working on testing one that’s baking soda free and it seems to be working well so far!
Hello what about preservatives? Only vitamin E in this one?
Only the presence of water necessitates a preservative—no water, no preservative. Vitamin E isn’t a preservative, it’s an antioxidant, so it while it does help extend the shelf life of this concealer by delaying the onset of rancidity, it is not a true preservative 🙂
Hi Marie, I just made your Essential Mineral Makeup Powder Base with Colour Blend Jess and your Creamy Concealer from your book Make It Up and I just had to tell you immediately…WOW! They are amazing! I added the exact amount of colour blend that you stated for Jess in your book and although it looked a bit too dark in the container, it blended perfectly with my skin tone – I didn’t even have to make any adjustments! And the concealer…Oh my Gosh! You are an amazing genius! Please keep your wonderful recipes coming!
YAY!!! I am so stinkin’ thrilled 😀 Now that you’ve got those nailed, check out this recipe as well—it’s become a fast favourite for me!
Oooh! I will 🙂 now just to order the containers…
I’d definitely recommend the palette approach instead—I almost never use the stick as the palette is much more convenient/easier to apply 🙂
Thanks for the advice :))
Hi! I was wondering if there are any recommendations to what you would change to your recipe to accommodate an all over full coverage foundation that would work for dry, sensitive skin?
I would just make the recipes in my book—they’re far superior. There’s an actual liquid foundation recipe in there and a much better concealer recipe to boot 🙂
I just bought your book! Can’t wait to get started once I gather all tools and ingredients.
I’ve been in a cosmetic stick phase recently; how would I go about transforming some foundations, primers,and concealers into a creamy, easy glide/nontugging stick formula? (Think along the lines of Hourglass’s seamless finish stick.)
I’d recommend looking into fatty thickeners like cetyl alcohol and cetearyl alcohol 🙂 You might also be interested in this!
Thanks for posting that recipe! It really sparked my imagination, but all the ingredients seemed kinda overwhelming. do you know of any other ways that could work??
There is a MUCH simpler recipe in my book 🙂 I highly recommend checking it out!
Hi there! Can I use your recipe bases and add fruit pigments to them instead of iron oxide pigments? Would that still be effective?
No, it won’t. I’ve got an FAQ on this 🙂