This is a project my friend Sarah found. She’s on a quest to make some all-natural tinted moisturizer/light foundation, and this was the starting point. So, we ordered up all of the ingredients, and this weekend we made some fleshy-coloured face powder.
It’s simple enough. Mix everything together, and then mix some more. Lots more. We pressed the mixture through a fine sieve about twenty times, adjusting the colour as we went. We started with this recipe. It was a bit off. Very, very pale.
In the end, this is what we did, more or less. You’ll have to tweak the colour balance to match your skin tone, but it’s nice and simple, so I’m sure you’ll have no trouble.
Mineral Make-up
8 tsp non-micronized titanium dioxide
1 tbsp sericite mica (USA / Canada)
4 tsp zinc oxide
1 tsp magnesium stearate
1½–2 tsp yellow iron oxide
¼ tsp brown iron oxide
Pinch of red iron oxide
¼ tsp jojoba oil (USA / Canada)
5 drops Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)Rubbing alcohol, optional
Mix together the first four ingredients, and then add half of each oxide. Mash and grind everything together in a mortar & pestle, or press through a fine sieve. Or both. The colours in the oxide will come out more as you mash and press away, so don’t be too heavy handed with the oxides. Gradually tweak here and there, as necessary.
Once you’ve got the colour you want, drop in the jojoba and Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)s. Toss them into the powder and then press through the sieve, back and forth, until they are totally incorporated.
You can leave it at this point for a loose powder, or you can stir in a bit of rubbing alcohol to make a paste, and then press it into a powder compact. Leave it open and the alcohol will evaporate off leaving you with a pressed powder.
Notes as of October 2016:
- You’re definitely going to want to make this in a coffee grinder that you only use for DIY projects. It’s the only way to get an even, thorough colour blend, plus it’s way faster! Just 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.
- If you want to press this makeup, this method is about 1000x better than the rubbing alcohol one mentioned above!
- Check out my book, Make it Up, for an updated formula and more colour blends and colour blending tips.
Thank you for this information. How long does it wear? I have been using mineral makeup for years and even though it is a bit pricey, it lasts a long time.
Kelly—There is always make-up left on my face at the end of the day, and I find it actually seems to improve in appearance as the day goes on! As far as how long a recipe lasts, I have yet to even make a dent in mine!
Hello. I was wondering if there were any substitutions for the sericite mica? Im trying to avoid mica altogether. Even though mica has a 0 comedogenic rating, it can still occlude skin and cause breakouts in acne prone skin. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
How much did it cost you for the ingredients?
Laura—The initial investment in the ingredients is your biggest (and only) cost. Here’s what I paid:
Titanium dioxide – 500g, $9.00
Sericite mica – 30g, $2.50
Zinc oxide – 500g, $7.00
Magnesium stearate – 100g, $2.60
Yellow oxide – 30g, $3.40
Brown oxide – 30g, $3.40
Red oxide – 30g, $3.40
Jojoba oil – 473mL, $21.50
Vitamin E oil – 100g, $11.40
So, the initial investment was ~$64. HOWEVER, that said, I only used a fraction of these ingredients to make this recipe, making the recipe cost approximately $2 (probably less). You can also cut the cost by using a different liquid oil (pretty much anything will work, jojoba just has a very long shelf life), and you can leave out the vitamin E if you’d like.
I also use these ingredients in other things, such as tinted lip balms, blush, bronzer, and eyeshadow.
Another recommendation would be to split the cost of the ingredients with a friend (or 5) who is also interested in making their own make-up! Between the two of you these ingredients will still make more make-up than you’ll be able to wear in years!
Where do you order the ingredients from?
I’ve linked to a few suppliers I like in the big grey box between the comments and the entry 🙂
I absolutely love this Foundation.
I find that it lasts for a few months.
I read that it is important to use titanium dioxide that is non-nano. It doesn’t State on your recipe if it’s non-nano or not. Could you please let me know. Somehow I’m thinking that it is non-nano just need to know.
I love your book and your recipes 🙂 thank you for everything you have sent me on a path to making all my own stuff and I’m now selling some of it in a shop.
It’s always non-nano 🙂 Happy making!
Marie- where did you find all these ingredients?
I get almost all of my ingredients from New Directions Aromatics (https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/). Anything else I’ll usually get at the grocery store (epsom salts, baking soda, olive oil, and other such cheap non-specialty ingredients) or my local soaping store (Soap & More — lye, mostly, and some packaging that NDA doesn’t have).
Where do the oils come in? I don’t see them in the directions.
Whoops! Thanks for pointing this out, Lily. I’ve added them to the instructions.
I’m so excited to have found your blog! I’ve dabbled in herbal remedies etc. but I’ve been wanting to branch out to something a little bit more fun and everyday, practical. Your blog makes things seem so much more accessible and it helps to have firsthand experience with “homemade” health and beauty products. ( I don’t know about anyone else, but for some reason I always worried that for all their healthy, natural benefits, they were bound to be inferior to store bought cosmetics) Thanks for the eye opener!
Thanks, Gina! I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying my blog 🙂 What have you been dabbling with? Any specific goals or projects? I’d love to help/come on your DIY journey with you!
I will never buy store bought makeup again!!!
YA! This is exactly what I was hoping for when I shared this recipe 🙂 The only thing I buy now is mascara and eyeliner, and I’m working on figuring out my own and ditching those as well 🙂
Tkb trading has kits to make your own eyeliner!
http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=1557
Cool! The reviews are pretty spotty so I can’t say I’d ever buy it, but I think I will look at their ingredients and run with the idea : D
Thank you so much. I have just found the biggest candy store of ideas and recipes, but I am wondering where one can purchase the ingredients other than online. I am really excited to begin trying to make some of your wonderful ideas.
Kathleen—Since I have no idea where you live, I can’t recommend anywhere local for you. Be aware that if you intend to shop locally you will generally be paying a huge mark-up on everything you buy. I know Sephora sells argan oil—they sell it for $30/15mL, whereas I buy it online for ~$12/100mL—that’s $2/mL vs. $0.12/mL, which is a huge difference! You will also find that essential oils bought in store are generally older in addition to being more expensive as turnover in local shops (where I live, at least), is quite low (partially because they as SO expensive in stores). Whenever I price compare in stores to my online suppliers EOs are usually at least 4x the price as online, and there is never anywhere close to as much selection. I don’t mean to be rude or anything, I just don’t want you to overpay for everything and then get scared off because everything is too expensive 🙁
All that said, if you still wish to buy from a store, I would recommend visiting a local craft/farmers market and chatting with the people there who make soaps and body products, and ask where they buy their products locally.
Cheers!
I have very sensitive skin, any idea on how this may work out for someone like me? I really don’t know that I am allergic to any of the ingredients, some things just cause itching or burning sensations, and I’ve never really been able to narrow it down to a particular ingredient.
I’ve tried this make-up (or at least these ingredients) on a friend of mine who is allergic to most drugstore make-up and she was totally fine. That said, no promises, but these ingredients are generally non-irritating. Why don’t you do some research on Skin Deep and see what you think?
Thank you! Everyone is a little bit different so you never know. I’ll do a bit of research. Great Website!
Let me know how it works out for you 🙂 And thanks for reading!
What is the coverage like? More like a mineral makeup or finishing powder? I have been using bare minerals for years and love the coverage but would totally make my own version if I could. I make a variety of DIY skincare but am just starting to realize that makeup is also possible. I hate the idea of how much trash I’ve generated over the years in product containers alone!
Amber! I’m so sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back to you—I wanted to make sure I replied with a photo, and it has been surprisingly hard to find the time for that. So sorry! BUT! I have the photo.
So, as you can see, the coverage is really good. Please ignore the fact that the side of my face with the make-up on looks like it came from a zombie. It did not. That is some weird combination of the lighting in my kitchen, weird Photoshop colour correction, and the fact that I blended that make-up in the middle of winter, to match my not-a-hint-of-a-tan face. You can get whatever colour you want when you’re making it, so yes, ignore the colour. See the coverage! It’s awesome 🙂 Also, I just made another batch of this yesterday with a girlfriend who has been using Bare Minerals, and she wanted to compare/DIY. She says mine has better coverage, the colour is better (of course, because it’s custom blended), and it feels nicer and looks better on her face. SO BOOYAH. Also, we did the math, and mine costs (quite literally) 1% of Bare Minerals version. Their is $27/8g, mine is $0.27! Not too shabby at all 🙂 And you can just re-use those containers for all of eternity 😛
Your sense of humor is contagious! I just found your blog about 15 minutes ago and I have been giggling and enjoying every moment! 🙂
That said, I am highly intrigued!!!!!! I am definitely into DIY. I started making my own household cleaners, then moved into personal care products and now herbal medicine remedies. Makeup seems like a natural progression, eh???
So excited!!!!
Awww, shucks, thanks Karin! Glad to hear I’ve made you giggle 😉 And yes, do get into homemade make-up! It is SO much fun! Once you realize all the different possibilities you won’t be able to stop (don’t say I didn’t warn you!).
This looks very convincing… Could you upload mire photos like this? With better lighting if possible?
No need, I’ve already done it for my Titanic make-up tutorial!
WOW!! This DOES give fantastic coverage! Well done you! 😀
D’you reckon this negates the need for your DIY Concealing Colour Corrector? Comparing the photos of your face with product (in the comments part of both recipes), this seems to have performed the same job, yet has the added bonus that it can be used for full face coverage.
I have very similar skin colouring to you (pale, but with areas of red that need covering / evening out). I want to start ordering ingredients, and I’m wondering if I’d be ok with just ordering stuff needed to make this Mineral Makeup recipe, as it seems to have worked as a bit of a multi-tasker in your case?
I have tried commercial mineral makeup before, but it seemed to highlight any dry flaky areas of skin, and made my skin progressively drier through the day.
Do you reckon I might have the same issues with THIS recipe being drying?
I generally only use my colour correcting concealer if I’m not going to be wearing this, so if you plan on going full coverage, I don’t think you’ll need it 🙂
If you have issues with dryness I think you’ll be able to fix them with some argan oil and perhaps a setting spray 🙂 You can also add a touch more liquid oil to this recipe to make it a bit more creamy.
Thank you so much!
I love how much care you show in replying to your readers; it’s such a strong point of your blog (in addition to your super recipes and really useful photos, of course!)
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I wonder though, could I substitute a type of oil, or a natural preservative, for the vitamin E? I have a biodegradable (supposedly eco-friendly!) preservative on its way to me for another project. It’s a powder, though; what do you reckon?
No worries, Amber 🙂 I take a lot of pride in replying to all my readers, though sometimes it takes longer than I would like to get to everybody.
You can just leave the Vitamin E out, honestly—I included it in this recipe, but I haven’t really used it in powdered make-up since.
I wouldn’t add a preservative to this. With no water for bacteria to grow, it would be a bit excessive.
Hi,
Just found your make up recipes and, frankly, this seems too good to be true 😉
I’ll try them as soon as I’ve got enough money for “non-essential” stuff.
Have you ever thought of making tutorial videos on youtube? I’m sure you’d reach more people that way.
I think it’s really generous of you to share these recipes with us… mostly because I’m another one with really sensitive skin and no use for the usual make up.
Cant’t wait to give this a try 🙂
Hi Shimotsuma! Thanks for reading 🙂 And I swear it’s not too good to be true! I make almost all of my make-up these days, and it’s awesome—and waaaay, waaay cheaper than the store bought stuff (natural aside).
I have thought about videos, and I’ve even filmed one… but HOLY WOW do they take a TON of time! I post 4 times a week right now… if I was doing video I’d be lucky to do twice a month. A well filmed, well edited video needs to be shot several times (for different angles), and then edited, and whoa. I don’t have time for that, sadly 🙁 It’s definitely something I want to do sometime, but it’s really not something I can manage right now while I’m working full time. Damn, eh? I’m glad you’re interested in videos, though, I’ll throw one in the “pro” column 😉
Have fun with your DIY make-up and feel free to get in touch if you need any help!
In making your healing concealer I discovered that my skin tone is almost exactly the colour of zeolite clay. I probably could have avoided the oxides altogether and had a pretty close colour–I’ll try that next time! So, do you think adding zeolite (to replace some titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide maybe?) to the mineral makeup would be a good idea, then only add oxides if needed? Orrrrrrr, should I just skip this and go with the airbrishing powder? 😛
This is definitely one of my biggest reasons for loving zeolite! I bought so much when I saw they were discontinuing it as it understands my pasty face so perfectly lol. The sad thing about clays in general is that they don’t have great opacity or adhesion when dry, so you’ll still need the titanium dioxide & zinc oxide… those, in turn, make the base powder suuuuuuper bright white, so you are right back to needing oxides (which pack a strong colour punch) to get the colour to skin-like territory. If you want to try it, I’d ditch 4 tsp of the titanium dioxide in favour of the clay and see what happens 🙂
All the said, yes, try the airbrushing powder! I don’t even use mineral make-up anymore because I love my airbrushing powder so dearly 😀
Recently found your blog and am immensely inspiried by your projects. Will be following this one soon (and more). The suppliers you shared are wonderful.
I found some interesting info on titanium dioxide since you mentioned that micronized is best. I agreed with you as well, until I heard someone claim it was unsafe.
http://www.mvorganics.com/pages/titanium-dioxide-toxic-or-safe
I think I would rather my powder a tad lumpy considering the article. What do you think? Are we “general public” being overly paranoid about carcinogens?
Aww, thanks Elena 😀 I’m thrilled you’re enjoying browsing & reading.
As for titanium dioxide, the risk is mainly from inhalation… so don’t snort lines of it 😛 Seriously, though, work somewhere well ventilated, and I’d recommend a dust mask to filter the air. I don’t buy micronized TD (it’s not all that easy to find), but I make all my powders in a DIY-designated coffee grinder I got off Kijiji for $10 or so. That works beautifully. The end product is wonderfully smooth, and it’s much faster than the sieve method. And, since the final product includes a few drops of oil, it isn’t very poufy/dusty when you’re using it, so inhalation isn’t much of a risk.
So… I guess don’t be paranoid, but be careful? And trust me, you don’t want lumpy 😛 Go the coffee grinder route! It’s so much faster & once you’re hooked on making all your own cosmetics you’ll be so glad you aren’t spending all your free time mashing things through a sieve lol.
Definitely will go for a grinder. Until then the Magic Bullet will have to do. Ultimately, the finer the better. I guess that was my initial concern about micronized titatium, because I’m sure it’s more perfect looking on the skin, but don’t want those nano particles seeping through and wreaking havoc. Thanks for your generosity with your knowledge and experience!
I’ve recently decided to venture more seriously into my own natural bath and beauty products, but I gotta say…you have quickly become my hero. I cannot stop reading every single post you have had and seeing how you learn and evolve your process. Enough butt kissing…now I gotta start saving my dolla bills because NDA is gonna get hit with an overhaul. I’m taking in everything I’ve learned here so that I can have a good idea of what I’m doing once I’m start. Love your article on solubility.
No worries, Elena—let me know how it turns out for you 🙂 With a grinder I’ve never had a need for the micronized version. The grinder also allows for much better colour integration, which is great.
I don’t mind a bit of butt kissing, haha (metaphorical, that is, lol). I’m always happy to help if/when you’ve got questions. I’ve done a lot of this on my own (there’s a pretty serious dearth of recipes for most make-up products online), and I’ve learned a lot along the way, and I’m still learning. It’s awesome!
I made this today and I love it! I found the amount of Mica to give a bit too much shimmer for my tastes, so I added a bit of white Australian clay and some cornstarch to whiten it up. I also added a tiny fragment of a bit of blue oxide to cancel out the yellow and add a bit of anti-redness green coloring. I then decided to add a tiny bit of my silk powder to add in moisture content for winter. The only thing I am wondering is if there is any way to make this into a cream foundation? I added the alcohol and put it in a compact (so awesome!!), but I really do prefer cream foundation. Just curious if it’s possible! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Fantastic! I’m surprised you found the sericite mica to be shimmery—mine is barely irridescent-ish. I always have to resort to adding some silver mica or some other colour mica to get something shimmery (for eyeshadow, of course, not face powder :P). Your colour correcting additions sound fantastic!
I’m currently working on cream foundations—I’ve got one on right now, which I keep touching because I never wear cream foundation & it’s weirding me out, haha. So, stay tuned!
I don’t know why mine is so shimmery! I was looking at your Airbrushing Powder, and got my inspiration from there for the additions. 🙂 I absolutely love the color, and I can’t wait to make concealer, and liquid foundation! I can’t wait to hear how the foundation turns out!!
Mysteries aside, I tend to chalk up inconsistencies to the natural-ish-ness of my ingredients 😛 So far the liquid/cream foundation experiments are learning exercises in how not to do things, lol. Oh well!
I agree with the natural individual quality of each batch. All the better for it in my book! I have found some vegan products websites and I am trying to make their cream foundation, primer and eyeliner sealant because they look divine and I have all the ingredients already! So far I think I have the ratios of ingredients really off… :/ I am just going off the list of ingredients, so I still have to fine tune the amounts. How do you go about making a recipe? Is there some secret I am missing?
It sounds like you’re going about it pretty much the same way I would—tweak, experiment, take notes, and think it out. I often end up reviewing lists of ingredients and thinking back to previous projects I’ve done that use similar ingredients, and going from there. Don’t be disappointed if it takes several tries—all the things you’re trying are pretty tricky in my experience (though I haven’t tried primer yet). Just work in small batches, take notes, and mull it over. You’ll eventually gather enough pieces of the puzzle that it’ll all fall into place 🙂
Thanks for your advice, so far so good! My DIY notebook is filling up [with a few questionable “mistakes” too 😉 ]
I tried this recipe, and love the potential… But, whenever I apply it to my face it turns a lovely deep orange color that’s really flattering (lol – or not…)… I have oily skin, and have found a number of store-bought mineral makeup brands create a similar, but not as drastic affect. I’m trying to experiment with the ingredients to see what I can change to fix this… Any ideas? Could micronized vs non-micronized zinc oxide or titanium dioxide make a difference? what about treated vs untreated sericite mica? Or maybe it’s my skin reacting to the oxides? what if I tried spices instead – like curry? lol – not sure that smelling like Indian food would be an ideal solution, but I’m willing to consider it 🙂 … What about clays? like a French Yellow? I’ve begun experimenting, but thought I’d see if you had any thoughts or suggestions just in case 🙂 thanks!
Hmmm. How… odd. I have never heard about this before. It sounds like the oils in your skin are combining with the face powder to darken it—this has definitely happened to me with several different concoctions, though usually ones that involve clay. Are you blending the colours and testing on your face as you go? I would think if you were doing that you would counter the effect by creating a colour that darkens to the necessary shade when applied. I can’t see why the micronized versions would make a difference, especially if you’re blending the powder together in a coffee grinder (which is definitely the best way to go about this… as I discovered after spending way too much time with my sieve).
So, since my official guess is the oil darkening the powder, I’d test it first by mixing a small bit of the powder with a drop or two of carrier oil and seeing if you get a similar colour. If you do, I think your solution will be to try and reduce the oil on your skin before application with a dusting of a pale skin-coloured clay (perhaps blended with some starch). I have a recipe for an oily skin combating powder coming out in the next month or two that’s an extension on that idea that will likely help. You could also try blending the clay right into the make-up.
Hope that helps! Keep me posted, k?
Eureka! After dumping tons of flesh colored and not quite so flesh colored powders in the trash, I finally discovered a solution! After trying every ingredient by itself with pigment, trying other types of colorant, trying a freshly washed and powdered face as well as a well jojoba oiled one, I didn’t like the other colorants (haha, although I did manage to dye my face mustard yellow just before church one Sunday, which was super exciting…), and I couldn’t figure out how to make the oxide not react with my skin… so, I decided to try and make it react first… and oddly enough, cornstarch is the magic ingredient! Using your original recipe, combine separately 1.5 teaspoons of yellow, 0.25 of brown and 0.25 of red, with 4 teaspoons of cornstarch. Then mix two teaspoons of this “color blend” into your recipe in place of the straight oxides… for some reason, the cornstarch reacts with the oxides the same way my face did, and so by reacting them first, there’s nothing left to morph by the time it’s on my face! 🙂 don’t know if this will helpany of the recipes yyou’ve had color-morph or not, but it works well for me no matter how greasy my skin gets through the day, so I’m happy! Thanks!
Hey Abby,
It sounds like the makeup oxidized on your face – apparently this is common with mineral makeup (I didn’t know either – my sister is a sephora associate and said “NO!” when I said I wanted to make my own mineral foundation haha)
Is it still “wear-able” after it oxidized for you? It would be amazing to mix a colour, oxidize it and have it match. I’m wondering if there’s a way to get around oxidation. This article has some more info, and unfortunately doesn’t have good things to say about anti-oxidants in this area 🙁
http://beautyandtheblackwoman.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/make-up-oxidation/
Laura
Hey Laura! Yep, oxidation is the conclusion I came to as well. I’ve had similar trouble with many store-bought foundations, just not as extreme. For me, it seems as though mixing 1 part of pigment oxides with 2 parts of cornstarch oxidized those pigments preemptively. Then using pre-oxidized pigment meant there wasn’t anything left to change colors on my face since the reaction already happened. I’ve had no problems with anything turning colors on my face since, and I’m quite happy with how it wears so far… for a lot of people, the oxidization doesnt seem to be a problem, but if you ever have problems with it, try this and let me know if it works for you! Maybe it’s the diy version of “non-oxidizing” makeup? Lol 🙂 d
I wonder if any other starches (arrowroot, rice, etc.) would have the same effect? Just a thought as many people like to avoid corn products these days. Hrm.
I’ve been wondering the same thing! Unfortunately, I’ve checked every store I can and neither arrowroot nor rice powder are available locally, so it’ll be a while before I can test those. I’ll let you know whenever I do!
Hmm. Amazon grocery to the rescue?
I’m really intrigued by the term “oxidization” here because oxides get their colour from oxidization… hence their name. They are variations on oxidized iron. I wonder if it is possible to go from one variation to another through exposure to an acidic environment? Hmmm. I wish chemistry class had been this interesting! As for anti-oxidants, there’s vitamin E. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, but it’s also acidic. That could make for some interesting tests.
Hey Marie,
I was confused about iron oxides oxidizing too, but I read another theory about this. I think “oxidization” is just a catch all term in the makeup world to reflect changes in colour, but I think what is really happening here is that the iron oxides are becoming stronger in their pigmentation because they are getting wet – apparently oxidation is more common with those with oily skin. So mixing a mineral powder foundation with an oil prior to application will take care of this problem but you just have to match the colour of the liquid foundation instead of what was powdered. I think using cornstarch like Abbey did works as well because it likely has some moisture in it from the air’s humidity, whereas the mineral components themselves in the makeup have no water retention capability. I’m going to have to experiment with that works best for me when I make this. I moisturize with only joboba oil before I put on my makeup so I don’t know if that’ll make it oxidize sooner, or if it would oxidize later as my sebum levels would be in control because of the oil :S I don’t know what to expect but somehow I’m going to make this work! haha
Laura
Hmmm. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think it’s a pH thing. I need to do some experiments, but here’s why: oxides HATE water. Have you ever tried to mix a bit of iron oxide in with some water? It doesn’t happen. You’ll end up with a blob of water coated in perfectly dry oxide powder. I’ve even left the mixture for a week to see if it would wet out—nope. This was rather heartbreaking for me in my continued experiments to create water activated eyeliner, but oh well. You can’t argue with physics/chemistry/you get my drift 😛 I’ve found you have to mix oxides with oil for them to wet out and change colour. So, if they were getting moisture from the cornstarch, it would be water, and that flat out doesn’t compute from my experience. So oil on the skin does make sense as to why the oxides would change a bit on the skin, but that doesn’t explain why cornstarch would cause the same effect. My thoughts based on my experience, at least. I’m already dreaming up an experiment with solutions with different pH levels 😀 This is such a cool mystery!
Oooh, I like the pH theory… I never paused to think before about the oxides oxidizing thing, but of course if I’m using oxides, then they’ve already oxidized, so that theory is out… as an aside, I wonder why that’s the catch-all term for makeup changing colors? oh well… The pH theory seems reasonable, but, if it is pH, then wouldn’t that just be the H+ ion moving, which would actually be reducing the oxide (the “re” part of “redox”)? I’m definitely gonna have to research this! I have a decent chem background, and if I manage to figure it out I’ll definitely share! Meanwhile, if you do any pH experiments, let me know! I don’t have a way to test pH right now, but you definitely have my interest piqued! As an aside, on some days, the makeup still turns colors on my face a very little bit… think I may need to adjust to a slightly higher ratio of cornstarch. Another side note, I did some experimenting, and I found that non-micronized zinc oxide has better coverage than micronized titanium dioxide. Since zinc oxide has scientific studies showing that it helps heal skin irritations (active ingredient in diaper rash cream for example), and some people are worried about titanium dioxide, I’ve switched to omitting the titanium, and just using zinc and I still really like the coverage. But definitely don’t use micronized for this, since that changes the coverage significantly.
I shall leave this to your far more chemistry inclined and educated brain! I quit chem after the 12th grade and went on to study graphic design, so needless to say, what little I did know has mostly leaked out of my brain by now 😛 I do want to play with the cornstarch, though, and see if I can make them change colours that way. Hmmmmm.
Alright, so I haven’t quite been able to figure out the cornstarch mystery, but I’ve made significant progress in the foundation quest, so I thought you might appreciate the update 🙂 First, having looked into everything I possibly can about oxides, I’ve come back to your original theory that the color morphing relates to oils. The term they use is “wetting out” and the layman’s definition is that oxides aren’t really reaching their full color potential until they are oiled. The pH does not seem to be the culprit. The cornstarch seems to just dilute the oxide so that there is less available to morph colors, making the color a bit “truer” although it will still morph some. Arrowroot has the same affect, and I found that I prefer the skin feel and appearance of arrowroot. Once I figured out the oils thing, I tried mixing my oxide into some jojoba and then coloring the foundation base by drops that way… unfortunately, the makeup I made that way actually turned lighter on my face (rather than darker)… so I mulled over this a long time…. and finally! I think some of my white pigments were wetting out the sane way, thus whitening on contact with oil… so… I played with the wetting out potentials of both colored oxides and whitening ingredients until they balanced each other (this took forever!). I ended up with 1/2 teaspoon of oil soluble titanium dioxide (NOT micronized – the micronized version is more sheer and doesn’t balance the pigments as well), 1/4 teaspoon zinc oxide, 1/4 teaspoon carnauba wax treated sericite (plain might work as well, but I found that plain sericite makes my skin itch. The carnauba treated kind I found at TKB Trading and it doesn’t irritate at all). Then I added 3 scoops of yellow (I have a 0.15 ml scoop) and 1 scoop of brown (1/2 brown and 1/2 red should roughly match your recipe). This mix looked the right color dry and when applied to oily skin did not morph at all. The coverage was quite heavy, so I added 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot. This didn’t change the appearance the the dry powder, but brought it down to a medium coverage. Another 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot again didn’t change the color of the dry powder, but now caused the foundation to be a light coverage. This is what I’ve been using daily and I love it! I never have to worry about color morphing anymore! I have also added jojoba oil to the blend to make an oil-based liquid foundation that I’ve used as concealer for under eye dark circles etc. Hope all of my endless experiments might prove useful to someone else!
Hi Abby,
This is SO helpful – thanks so much for keeping us updated! I’m waiting for my ingredients to come in the mail as we speak – this couldn’t have come at a better time 🙂 except I realized I don’t have any tiny scoops for the oxides so I’m going to have to find something or improvise lol. Did you just use the same about of jojoba oil Marie used here in this recipe? I use jojoba oil as my moisturizer before I use my makeup and I’m wondering how that will impact the “wetting” and pigmentation of the minerals. I guess I’ll just have to see!
Thanks again!
Hey Laura, the proportions that I used are actually pretty similar to Marie’s original just in tiny amounts… I’ll take a look and see if I can convert my measurements into teaspoons/tablespoons for you. I found myself making so many batches that I decided to make tiny batches to conserve my ingredients so I could test more. When working in batch sizes this small, a coffee grinder doesn’t work well for mixing, but I found that putting all the ingredients in a ziplock bag and then squishing it a bunch mixed the pigments well. Just don’t assume you need more pigment right away – keep squishing! 🙂 Because I was squishing ingredients into a baggie, it wasn’t really practical to add any jojoba oil at all. However, I also like to use jojoba or argan to moisturize immediately before applying makeup, so that’s exactly what I wanted to overcome. If you try a similar recipe, I definitely like the lightest coverage the best (with about half arrowroot). I find that it stills covers really well, but doesn’t feel super “made up” – I use the medium/heavy coverage as a concealer. I haven’t added the magnesium stearate to mine yet cause I’ve been spending so much time trying to get the basics right, but I’m excited to see what it will add to the mix 🙂 good luck! Keep us posted on how yours turns out! 🙂
I agree with Laura – this has been super helpful! Thanks for updating us Abby! One question – you mentioned that you made a liquid foundation. How much jojoba oil did you add to do this? Is it more of a cream? I have some dry patches on my face, so a creamy formulation would work much better for me (I use argan oil as my moisturizer but in this harsh, dry winter nothing seems to help!)
Unfortunately, I didn’t measure how much jojoba I used 🙁 I just took a small amount of my powder, and added a bit a jojoba until I could mix it all together nicely. I would imagine that if you used a smaller amount of oil that the foundation would have thicker coverage and more oil would mean thinner coverage. I can’t speak to how well this works or how long it lasts because I haven’t tested it much. It might also be possible to mix this powder into a lotion base rather than straight oil, but again, I haven’t tested this and can’t confirm. All I know is that it works really well at retaining it’s original color in spite of oil. If you have any luck, please update us! 🙂
Thanks Abby! I have thought about mixing it with a lotion base. I’ll let you know how it goes! (Sorry for hijacking your comment thread Marie!)
Alright, so I went back and compared measurements, and as best as I can tell, my “recipe” is pretty much identical to Marie’s original lol 🙂 Way to go Marie on nailing it the first time! Haha 🙂 my measurements are basically the same proportions, just in a smaller quantity. The only thing I can add through my experiments is that the micronized titanium dioxide is not a good choice if you’re worried about pigment wetting. Also, don’t eliminate the titanium dioxide or lessen the amount in favor of sericite or zinc oxide if you want lighter coverage, because it’s super important to balance the other pigments. Instead, just “water down” the final recipe with cornstarch or arrowroot (I prefer arrowroot). I don’t know if plain sericite vs carnauba treated makes a difference (since I quit using plain), but if the plain doesn’t seem to be working try using the wax treated kind instead. Best of luck to all!
Fantastic! I love the wee lab that’s happening in this comment thread 😛
No worries, I love it!
I’ll have to experiment with this approach for liquid foundation as well… hmmm 😀 My biggest problem with liquid foundation has been it flaking/peeling off the face after a little while—yuck :/
Have you tried weekly face masks to help with the dry patches? I find my face starts to flake in spots in the winter without one, and the mask helps exfoliate away dry skin and leave it happy and able to be moisturized… for 5–7 days, at least 😛
I have been looking at a few of your masks but haven’t actually made any of them yet. I’ve just been mixing some sugar or baking soda with my face wash at night, which seems to help a little. This winter has been soooooo long and has wreaked havoc on my skin!
Oh heavens, I know! It’s so dry here that my face and eyebrows seem to have dandruff :/ I am NOT amused! It’s supposed to be nice here next week, though… though they could be lying to us to try and stave off riots…
I love the idea of having different coverage versions of the same thing once you’ve got the colour perfected—no more trying to match concealer and foundation!
I look forward to hearing how it works out for you, Laura 🙂
Hi Abby and Marie!
I finally got my ingredients in the mail and gave it a go with Abby’s smaller proportions. I’ve been testing this for 2 or 3 days now and NO COLOUR MORPHING! I’m so excited!! I added one 1/2 tsp of arrowroot to bring down the coverage, and while it’s more coverage than I’m used to, I’m loving how flawless it makes my skin look. This is my first time ever using mineral foundation, and at least I knew to buy a kabuki brush for it, but does it need to be “set” with another powder? The only thing I’m not liking is that over the day I find it settling in a few creases, but then again I can just wipe that away. I think next time I make a small batch I will add a 2nd 1/2 of arrowroot, for comparison. I’m not used to being so “made up” but it hardly takes longer to apply than what I used to do. Especially because I’ve found I don’t need to use a separate concealer, but just concentrate the powder on areas I would normally use concealer. I’m loving this!!! Thanks for all the hard work Abby 🙂
Laura
Fantastic! Three cheers for Abby and her amazing experimenting/DIYing 🙂 I love to set my powders with this setting spray, but it’s totally optional.
WOW! Thank you so much for all your hard work and determination, Abby—this is amazing!
So… if I understand correctly… the recipe is more or less the same (in that it doesn’t include cornstarch/arrowroot for colour reasons, but for coverage reasons), but your colour blending process is what changed, to compensate for the wetting out?
This is so awesome! And super weird, haha. Who would have guessed that cornstarch was the magic ingredient? I wonder what it has in common with your skin. The internet says the pH of cornstarch is between 4–7, which is a huge range, but that’s actually the same range I’m finding for skin, so I suppose that could be it. I wonder if a touch of citric acid would have the same effect? Hmmmm. But, mystery aside, I’m thrilled you figured it out and found something that works for you. Fantastic sleuthing!
So I tried mixing it in a lotion base but it was just ok, not great. There wasn’t enough coverage so maybe I just didn’t use enough of the mineral makeup. As an aside though, I just heard that bare minerals has come out with a liquid foundation – apparently they use something called coconut alkane as a base. However a quick search on nda and saffire blue didn’t turn up anything. Since I prefer to diy and not spend ridiculous amounts of money on small bottles of skincare and cosmetics I’m just going to continue using this! (And because it’s fantastic) well…until Marie finally cracks the case of making liquid foundations! 😉 no pressure of course! 🙂 keep up the good work Marie!
Hmm, very intriguing. I’ve never heard of coconut alkane either. Wikipedia says it’s a saturated hydrocarbon, which tells me I will need to do some more chemistry research to get that one sorted. Either way, though, it sounds like something that requires some lab based wizardry to produce, so I doubt that’ll end up in my foundation. Hmm. Must keep trying! I’ve got something else on the slate for this weekend, we’ll see how that goes 😉 Fingers crossed!
I’m researching about making mineral makeup . Question is.. according to my Bare Minerals ingredients and also other brands, there is no magnesium stearate. This is listed as an ingredient in your recipe. What does this do to the recipe or am I missing something. Also.. Bismuth Oxychloride is listed as an ingredient on BM..This I know can cause allergic reactions in some, plus I could not find it at New Directions Aromatics.com anyway.
Magnesium stearate is for slip, it makes the powder feel much nicer going on. It’s definitely a must in my experience. It looks like Bismuth Oxychloride is for shimmer and can be physically irritating to people because of its physical structure, which is basically “pokey” lol. I find you get a nice shimmer from the sericite mica alone, but if you ever wanted more you could add a teeeny bit of another mica (copper would be a good choice).
Hey Marie!
I can’t wait to DIY my makeup now! I use a bb cream and find its light coverage is good enough for me, but I want to use something else as it has ingredients I’m not so keen on. This recipe is essentially like a foundation though, isn’t it? It looks like it has a lot of coverage. I don’t need much coverage – if I want to tone down and make it less opaque, what would I reduce and what could I use as a filler instead? Would it be the titanium dioxide or the zinc? Could I use arrowroot powder to fill it or would you recommend something else?
Thanks!
Laura
Laura – it sounds like you might be looking for something similar to Marie’s “mineral veil” recipe. Try checking that one if you haven’t already 🙂
Exactly what I was going to say, Abby 🙂
Hi Laura! My favourite make-up recipe is my DIY Airbrushing Powder, which provides very light coverage, but uses a bit of a trick of the light to make the skin appear smooth and flawless. I love it 😀 Give it a go!
I am absolutely amazed! This turned out fantastic. I can’t believe I made makeup! 🙂 You never cease to amaze me. Although I made the classic mistake of forgetting to write down the measurements of the coloured oxides (even though that was in your advice to beginners post) so I have no idea how I reached my colour! The recipe makes a lot anyway so this will last me quite awhile before I have to make some more. Thank you so much!!
Awesome! I’m so thrilled to hear it worked out wonderfully for you 🙂 Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me!
I made this recipe earlier this eve! At first, in the mixing bowl I thought the powder looked too warm and dark for me; kind of a sandy caramel biscuit colour (I only used the lower value of yellow oxide, too). I divided the mixture into 2, and added three and a half 0.05ml scoops of blue oxide, to try to dial down the warmth.
That didn’t seem to change the colour at all, to my eye, but I brushed this powder over half of my clean, unmade face and it actually looks great! Smooth, even, with good coverage of red blotches. If I hadn’t left the other half of my face au natural you’d be hard pushed to tell that I was wearing makeup at all, which is amazing considering the good coverage! Even my boyfriend is impressed! 😀
Just wondering: I forgot to add the jojoba. Does it perform an important function, or can I leave it out? I do moisturise with argan oil before applying makeup in the morning, so…?
Also, what tweaks would you make to this recipe if you wanted it paler and more of a nude/pink tone? The biscuit seems an ideal match for slightly sunkissed skin for this time of year, but I’m thinking Winter might need something less warm..
Yay! I’m so thrilled you DIYed up a storm and like the results 🙂 I should make another batch of this…
The jojoba helps keep the powder from flying up and poufing out, so you don’t inhale it (or as much), which is something you don’t want to do (inhale it, that is). It also makes for a creamier final product, and if you add a more oil than is called for (working slowly) you’ll get to a point where you can pack the powder down and have a bit of a cake make-up.
If you want to tweak the colour, I’d recommend testing it before you add any of the coloured oxides—that’ll give you a feel for how pale it is without colouring (very). Then you can start slowly blending in colours until you get what you want 🙂
Hi Marie! Once again, have to say how much I love your website and recipes 🙂 I was all set to make this one but recently learned a few things about zinc and titanium dioxide that aren’t good. According to Dr. Elizabeth Plourde, a cancer and DNA researcher, titanium dioxide photo degrades rapidly with sun exposure and may cause the production of free radicals in the process (she has a few books, one in particular called “Sunscreen – Biohazard” that is very enlightening). And when using zinc, you want to be sure to use a “non nano” version as nano particles are small enough to penetrate the skin and become widely distributed in tissues, crossing the blood brain barrier and entering the liver. Yikes! Titanium dioxide I wouldn’t use at all, but have no idea how to go about making a suitable foundation without it 🙁 But I”ll keep reading and researching. Almost afraid of what I’ll learn in the process! :/
Hi Colleen! From what I’ve figured out with my experimenting, zinc oxide is generally a good swap for TD—give it a go and see what you think 🙂
Hi Marie! Love your recipes and can’t wait to make mineral make-up.
I just have one quick question before i place my order for ingredients. What would you recommend as an alternative to Magnesium Stearate. I rather not use it as it’s either from an animal source or derived from palm oil.
Thanks so much!
Hi Sabina! I haven’t done any experimenting yet, but two ingredients I am looking at trying for slip (which is what magnesium stearate adss) are Silica Microspheres and arrowroot powder 🙂
Hi there! I just found your blog and I am looking into getting the ingredients to make this! I have recently made the switch to completely natural personal care; changing out everything in my bathroom. I tossed all my drugstore makeup and started focusing on completely natural skin care! I use argan oil too and I love it. I tried the “food-grade, edible foundation” using bentonite clay, mustard powder ( I am a pale, yellow undertone) arrowroot, cocoa, and some essential oils. It is really just a setting powder, no coverage, which I need right now because my skin is moderately flawed with blemishes and dark spots. I am working on clearing what is left of cystic acne and healing the spots. I am so glad to have found your blog and all the details you provide to make DIY makeup and skincare, thank you for sharing! I am concerned about titanium dioxide, however, and would like to exclude it. Do you know if this recipe works without it, just using the zinc oxide? 8 tsp of TD is a lot and I would still like the coverage I see in an early “half-n-half” photo you posted, I need it! Any ideas on increasing coverage? I am very fair with some stronger yellow undertones so a lighter, pale foundation is okay! Thank you!
Hi Ashlynn! I have not tried this recipe using only zinc oxide. The danger around titanium dioxide is really just to do with inhaling, so as long as you aren’t snorting lines of it (lol), it is quite safe (inhalation is mostly problematic when using a coffee grinder—I wear a dust mask for that part). Once you’ve blended in the bit of liquid oil at the end this powder isn’t very poofy and you aren’t likely to be inhaling it.
If you do try swapping all the TD for ZO, I’d love to hear how it turns out. I’m still working on finishing off my first batch!
Hey Ashlynn, I played with this recipe quite a bit a while back, hoping to do exactly what you described – eliminate titanium dioxide in exchange for zinc oxide but keep a good coverage. The short version of what I found is that it simply couldn’t be done. At least I couldn’t lol 🙂 However, based on all the research I could find, titanium dioxide has the most potential for harm when it’s in micronized form. Non-micronized TD has much fewer risks associated. Lucky for us, the non-micronized form also has the best coverage for blemishes! If you are able to come up with anything else that works as well, please share! Meanwhile, this recipe, exactly as written, using only the non-micronized TD is the best coverage I have found in any recipe I’ve tried.
Thank you for the information ladies! And thank you Abby for the details! I just ordered my supplies to make my first foundation and I am so excited! I went ahead and ordered Titanium Dioxide and it is non-nano. My next question is, do you have any issues with oxidization? Should I make this slightly lighter for this reason? I use argan oil to moisturize so I am afraid that the oxides will darken when I apply it over oil. I do let it soak in for about 10 minutes before I apply makeup so it isn’t “wet.” Let me know what you have experienced! Thank you!
Ashlynn – I also moisturize with an oil (jojoba) and when I first made this recipe I had problems with the oxides darkening, which is what lead to lots and lots of experimenting. However, I used micronized TD that first time. Although the oxides can darken with oil, TD will “whiten” with oil, and the non micronized form does this significantly more. So basically, the “big” particles of TD exactly counter the oxides, so that the color that you mix should stay true, even on oil exposure. Zinc oxide and non micronized TD, while both whitening, are not “strong” enough to counter the effect, and in my experience using those as your only whitening agents will lead to a color shift with oil exposure. I hope that all made sense! In short, use “big” TD and follow the recipe, and your color should stay true even with your argan! 🙂
Abby, thank you for your input, that was very helpful! I currently use samples from Alima pure and Monave, to find a great match for my skin that I can then replicate as close to possible, for color. I will be using this recipe though! These samples consist of : TD, zinc oxide, iron oxides, and mica. They do not oxidize much, only a slight tad darker after an hour which actually blends it in even smoother with my skin tone. When I put them on, they are a tad too light and I just use bronzer and contour, just a bit to even it out. So I am thinking I may make it a tad light at first, because I can always add a little more color if need be?
I love jojoba! sadly, it does cause little white heads to pop up! Argan is the only oil that has worked so far and after trying a few, I would rather stick with it and not experiment anymore! I did discover, however, that DILUTED clove oil with lavender works absolute wonders on acne, even cystic, which no other oil has helped yet. I use this in my argan at night and geranium in the morning to help with the scars =) I am so excited to see how this foundation does on top of my skincare!
Also, could I use a coffee grinder for this?
Thanks 🙂
You can definitely use a coffee grinder! In fact, I highly recommend it. The only reason I didn’t is because I didn’t have one, but I promptly bought one and went back and re-processed this recipe to get it nice and smooth 🙂
😀 Brilliant detective work 😉
I personally don’t experience any wetting out with this make-up, but I have quite dry skin 🙂 I know Abby did loads of experiments on this for more oily skin—you can read up on them in the comments above.
Thanks so much for chiming in, Abby—I think you have probably worked with this recipe far more than I have at this point 🙂
Hi there!
I made this powder this weekend and it’s awesome. I do like arrowroot for separate pot of the makeup for work days when I don’t need so much coverage. A question though, With the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in here…do I need to be worrying about breathing it in while I apply it on my face with the kabuki brush? Also, would this powder work with a premade lotion to make a light coverage liquid foundation?
Hi Liz! I’m so glad you’re liking the powder 🙂 A big part of the reason I include some liquid oil in this recipe is the keep it from becoming airborne too easily, but in general, the amounts you’d be applying to your face shouldn’t be worrysome. Don’t snort a line of it, though 😉
I haven’t had a huge amount of luck adding this mixture to lotion for a super-simple liquid foundation, sadly. The texture goes all funny and it sort of peels off the face in my experience :/
I gave it a shot and mixed with some plain moisturizer that I had. It had the “peeling” effect when I put too much of the powder into it, I think maybe because the clay dries it out too fast? I added a little more moisturizer to it, so it makes a light coverage foundation as long as I move quickly with it. Would be interesting to find a version of this that could be more coverage, but honestly the mineral powder does a pretty awesome job, so I don’t think I’d need it now 🙂
Yep—yuck! I don’t think it’s the clay, though, as there is no clay in this recipe 🙂
I omitted the clay from my current recipe and actually like it better. I found the clay is just too heavy on my skin 🙁 But, I also found that when you mix it with a bit of moisturizer and facial oil such as rose hip or jojoba, argan, etc. It doesn’t dry out! It will be more dewy though. But it’s beautiful!
I’m confuddled—what recipe are we talking about? This one doesn’t have any clay in it to omit…
I just made this foundation last night, only without the oils because I use almond oil with geranium essential oil to moisturize, and sometimes argan oil. It is absolutely wonderful! The color measurements were actually perfect for me! I did have to add a tad more yellow, but I love it so much! It glides on so smoothly and it stays on! I do have a question about the airbrushing powder you make, could it be applied as a setting powder to this?
Thank you!
Hi Ashlynn! I really would recommend adding the liquid oils to your powder—they help weigh it down, making it harder to inhale 🙂 I’m so glad you’ve got just the right colour—that’s so satisfying!
I generally don’t need a setting powder for this, but you definitely could if you wanted to 🙂
I made your mineral foundation a few days ago, and though it is so lovely for coverage, it tends to break me out at the end of the day. I have looong days with makeup on! I apply at 5:30am and I don’t get it off until I get home at 7pm =( It lasts SO well through the day though with no blotchiness! I end up a little oily by the end of the day, probably due to so many hours! I think it is a bit heavy for what my skin likes, or it is just too long to wear any kind of makeup, which in that case I am out of luck 😉 I applied it with an Eco tools flat top brush for most coverage. Perhaps it was the brush poking that caused it so instead of stippling it on, I lightly brushed it on. Same thing just not as bad of a breakout. So, Then I used a regular powder brush and brushed on less, without buffing and rubbing it in. Less coverage but lighter feel. just a few breakouts. Now I have a few cystic spots! I don’t think it is this foundation, perhaps it is a brush or the long wear. I even washed my brushes and I use good quality soft brushes. I am thinking it could possibly be the oil I used? I used almond oil. I do have a question though, have you tried any formulation that is “lighter” so to speak? More like light to medium coverage, less Titanium Dioxide perhaps?
Hmmmmm. An interesting dilemma, to be sure. Clean brushes would generally be my first thought, but you’re on top of that. Have you thought about wiping your face down with an anti-acne toner before application, and after washing your face? Something astringent could help close your pores up, making them less likely to clog.
You could also look at adding an anti-acne oil like rosehip or seabuckthorn to your powder. For lighter coverage there’s my Airbrushing powder (which I see you’ve tried!)—you could try blending this and the airbrushing powder together half and half and see what you think 🙂
It is interesting indeed! I just started using an apple cider vinegar/aloe gel toner so I will see how that does. I also got grapefruit essential oil to mix in my moisturizer of argan oil. I have found that sweet almond, jojoba, and even rosehip (thought the least offender) to all clog my pores!! I was surprised at rosehip and jojoba because they are so well known for anti-acne properties. I will have to try seabuckthorne. I know that argan is okay though so I may just stick to that 😉 I will try mixing some of the foundation with this airbrush powder. Though it wouldn’t be as much coverage, I have found that anything that covers flaws fully is usually too heavy and clogs my pores. Yay for ultra sensitive skin! So, in order to heal my acne, I have settled with minimal coverage (hard to do!) and a positive attitude. Beauty is more than skin deep 😉 I really love this airbrushing powder though.. even though it doesn’t cover, it still minimizes flaws, I love it! I tried concealer over my spots with this powder but it just made them worse because it is a drugstore concealer… I am also treating internally as well, since my acne is hormonal. Thanks for all of your help and suggestions! I enjoy your blog very much and will definitely be trying the mauka honey mask you just posted!
Be careful with the grapefruit EO! As with all citrus essential oils it’s photosensitizing (in basically any concentration from my experience), so if you apply it in the morning the chances of getting a sunburn when you go out are really quite high.
I’m so glad you’re having fun and enjoying my recipes 🙂
Absolutely! It is winter here in north Idaho and no sun exposure for me, since I work in an office and there IS no sun here in winter. Grapefruit is not something I will add any other time of the year! I like my fair skin 😉 I have switched back to frankincense, lavender, and cypress though since these really work the best for me.
🙂
Would magnesium myristrate work in place of magnesium stearate? The description on TKB trading looks about right, and they’re out of magnesium stearate. 😛
http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=757
For powdery applications it looks like a good alternative 🙂 Let me know if you end up trying it!
I finally made this foundation – it’s the first foundation that’s ever matched my skin perfectly!!! It’s so smooth and creamy… much nicer feeling (and looking) then any that I’ve ever bought. The coverage works really well for my acne prone skin, too. The magnesium myristrate substitution went fine, along with sunflower oil instead of jojoba and the addition of lavender and tea tree E.O. I owe you big time, Marie, for posting this recipe. 😉
Wonderful! I’m so thrilled you’re loving it 🙂
I found this recipe for bb cream. It looks so much better than a lot of recipes out there, so perhaps it’ll actually work. What do you think? Does it seem to you to be something worthwhile, or another of those things that start flaking and peeling after a while? Your opinion is invaluable – especially since you’ve tried making this sort of thing before. 🙂
http://everybodybeautyblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-make-bb-cream-from-scratch.html
Hmm—well, my first thought is that it looks a lot like a lot of things I’ve tried before that haven’t worked. I don’t see anything that’s hugely different, so if it does work, it’s likely a small variation/ a proportion thing. Basically, I’d have to try it to know. Let me know if you do!
I’ve been having a problem with this where it “melts” off of my face after a couple hours. I have, well, pretty normal not-dry yet not-oily skin, but after a couple hours this gets a an oily slick, starts sliding around, and looks all grainy. Anybody have any ideas as to whats wrong? I used oil-soluble tit. dioxide and subbed magnesium mystrate… could that have done it?
This is super weird—it’s not something I’ve heard from anybody else, or ever experienced myself. It sounds like the magnesium mystrate is the only thing you changed, and from my reading it shouldn’t behave this way. Most recommended usages included it at up to 10%, which this recipe certainly does not surpass, so you aren’t over-using it. How much are you applying? Are you applying it over anything?
I’ve tried it with 2 different moisturizers and then nothing under it. Tried applying varying amounts, from a very little to a ton. Always the same result. I did sub sunflower oil as well, but that’s it for changes. Could that have done it? If not I possibly could have added a bit too much oil. Would that change things?
I guess I’ll try remaking with jojoba oil and be really careful to get the measurements right. Hopefully that will solve things.
Hmm. That is really odd. Can you wear Bare Minerals or other mineral cosmetics without this happening? Are you buffing the powder into your skin thoroughly? Have you tried a setting powder (cornstarch, basically)?
I tried buffing it in for a really long time this morning, and it did better then usual, but still had issues. I’ll try whipping up some kind of setting powder and see if that helps, too. I’ve used a few different mineral powders before and never had this issue, which is weird because their ingredients were pretty similar.
This is so interesting. I really wonder what it is. Perhaps you can try making this recipe the exact method with the exact ingredients here and see if you get the same result. Did you add any essential oils? I am not sure if the comment above is also from you, stating that lavender and tea tree oils were added. My guess is that it could be too much oil or too heavy an oil? When I mix this foundation with a little oil to get a liquid type foundation, it looks great for about 4 hours, then it starts to slide off and look grainy too. Just a thought!
Thanks for your input, Ashlynn!
Hmmm. Well, progress is progress? Perhaps try mixing a portion of your mineral make-up with some arrowroot starch and see if that helps?
Whoops. Those italics were weird. Must’ve mixed up my HTML tags. 😛
You forgot your closing tag 😛 Also, the em variation is more standard these days 🙂
Hi Marie!
I was wondering if you have an “updated” recipe or suggestions for this foundation? I have been working on my formula and found a couple nice variations, I can’t help but experiment it’s so fun! Just curious if you have messed with it or come up with any promising new face products =)
Have a lovely day!
Hi Ashlynn! I have been toying, but I don’t have anything I want to publish quite yet 😉 And hey, a girl’s got to have some secrets!
Hi Marie! Thank you for this recipe. I’m having difficulty sourcing sericite mica (now that NDA have discontinued it) and I was wondering if you could recommend a substitute?
Hmm. CRAP. NDA, stop discontinuing awesome ingredients that my readers need! Hrmph. So, sericite mica is really unique. It brings brilliant blend of slip, adhesion, and complexion perfecting (by creating a “soft focus” over the skin). So, we’d need to replace/replicate all those things. This and this look promising for that soft focus element, perhaps in combination with some arrowroot starch (which is mostly transparent and has wonderful slip), though it’s hard to say how sparkly/glittery they might be (we don’t want sparkle, but a bit of a pearl effect is ok). I wouldn’t worry too much about adhesion as other ingredients in this mineral make-up have lots of adhesion properties, so that should be ok.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
If you live in the US then you can buy sericite from Brambleberry. Not sure if they are the same thing tho. If you live in Canada then Voyaguer carries it. If you live in another country then I’m sorry I can’t be of anymore help. Good luck finding it.
Where do you buy the zeolite clay? I checked NDA and Saffire Blue and they do not have it. I did find some on Amazon but I am very hesitant about buying ingredients there.
NDA discontinued it, sadly, and I’ve yet to find it elsewhere. Check out the Australian clays for some pale skin tone alternatives 🙂
Hi there Marie! I just made this recipe tonight and it’s awesome! Due to the fact that there are so many comments on this one particular recipe, I didn’t have the patience to read every single one to find out what the SPF of this mix might be. I’m thinking that it must be about a 20 SPF? I live in sunny California and would like to keep my face protected. Another question, would it be necessary to reapply this make up in order to keep its SPF factor?
Hey Carrie! I’ve written on a blog on DIY SPF here 🙂
Thanks for your response Marie! It makes perfect sense. A little trick I’ve been using with the mineral powder is to take a pinch of it and place it into the palm of my hand. I take one or two drops of argon oil and mix it into the powder, essentially making a smooth paste. I place the mix under my eyes as a concealer and it works perfectly! It doesn’t sink in to fine lines and it keeps my under eyes hydrated!
I’ve been doing this, too—it makes a fantastic liquid foundation 😉
Hi Marie,
Thank you for all the good ideas you have been giving on your sites. I can’t wait to have your book.
One question, how do you make this recipe darker for dark brown and black skin.
Maguy
Hey Maguy! I’ve covered this in my upcoming book, but due to my publishing contract I can’t share that information for free online. It is 100% possible with the oxides listed in the recipe, though, so just start experimenting!
Thank you Marie for your response. I will be waiting for your book.
Thanks so much! 😀
I wasn’t quite sure where to ask this question, so I’m just going to throw it in here, hope that’s okay! I’ve been wearing mineral makeup for a while now and like it a lot. I’d like to someday try making my own, but right now is not the best time to start this endeavor. However, I have been buying a primer that I use before applying my makeup. Looking at the ingredients they are simply mica and arrowroot, and the powder is simply white. This seems pretty straightforward to make, and would be way cheaper if I could make myself. I was just wondering if you have any suggestions about making this? Have you every made your own primer? And I see so many options for mica so was wondering what might be best. And also, any thoughts on the ratio of mica to arrowroot? Thanks so much!
Hey Jana! The primer you’re using doesn’t really sound like a primer from the ingredients; it sounds more like a lightweight setting powder. Most primers are designed to really smooth out the skin and combat oil (they’re usually silicone based, so they just create a film between your skin and your makeup so it wears well without any interference from your bothersome, breathing, living body! LOL). Your powder would have some oil management from the starch, but not much… hence my thinking it looks like a setting powder 😛
Anywho! I digress. You can absolutely, 100% make your own. When they say mica they’re just talking about sericite mica (which is very different from the sparkly micas—check this out for more info). I’d probably start with a 1:1 ratio, and blend that together in your DIY only coffee grinder (don’t forget your dust mask!). If you want more oil control, add more arrowroot, and if you want more of an airbrushing effect, add more sericite 🙂 Hope that helps, and happy making!
I can’t wait for your book! When is it coming out??
End of the year! I’ll release more details when I have ’em 🙂
HI Marie,
I’ve got all the ingredients for this recipe! I have light to medium beige skin color–do you think that I will have to do much tweaking of this recipe? I guess I am a little unsure of how to tweak this recipe to match my skin tone, which color oxides to use first. I am excited for your upcoming book–congratulations, Marie!
Hey Carolyn! I wrote at least two pages on this exact thing in my book, so suffice it to say a quick blog comment is not going to be of much help. I recommend just checking out that section in my book! There are also more starting blends 🙂
Hello! I’ve tried this recipe for the first time, and I’ve had some trouble. I don’t feel like i have very large pores, but for some reason, the minute I put it on my face, there are HUGE Pores. It seems like the more I put on, the bigger the pores. Truthfully, I am not very experienced with makeup and almost never wear it. I would like to start, but I can’t figure out how to without it sinking into my pores (also wrinkles!) Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of the pores or how do I wear makeup so they don’t stand out? Thank you!
That’s… odd. How closely are you looking? The sericite mica should cause a blurring effect from ~1 foot away or more. Are you using any sort of primer?
Hi Marie, I just made some mineral makeup from the recipe in your book (I love it by the way!) and I was going to use argan oil to turn it into a liquid foundation. But I’m worried that the oil will make me more likely to get a sunburn. I’m a redhead, very fair and burn very easily. I usually wear a moisturizer and makeup with sunscreen in it. Do you think if I just have a moisturizer with a high SPF, the makeup will be ok? In the winter it wouldn’t be a problem but I know I often get bad burns in the spring if I forget my sunscreen.
Hey Laurel! I’m very fair as well and I’ve never found having oils on my skin makes me burn faster; they absorb and then it’s like they aren’t even there. I did some research into how tanning oils work and the best scientific explanation I’ve been able to find is that they smooth down scales in the skin, reducing reflection and therefore increasing absorption of UV rays. That is talking about mineral oil, though, which doesn’t absorb like argan oil, which is why people all slicked up in tanning oil are so darn shiny haha. Also, I do wonder if any sort of moisturizer would give that smoothing effect…
Anyhow, no, I don’t think it will make you burn more easily. Wear your normal SPF under it (that’s what I do), and you should be fine. I did that all last summer and my skin tone barely changed (and I know that because my foundation formula barely changed, haha). Hope that helps!
Hi Marie, I made this a few days ago and absolutely love it. I was a bit disappointed with it the first day but then I realised that silly me forgot my setting powder. It lasts all day and has amazing coverage. I don’t need to use concealer anymore! I would definitely recommend everyone makes it. The initial ingredients are expensive but I’m pretty sure I now have enough to make it for the next ten years lol.
I have the same coffee grinder as you and I’m just wondering how you clean it when you’ve finished. It took me a long time with hot water and dishwashing liquid and I’m just wondering if you have any tips. Thanks for sharing all your amazing creations, I look forward to making more
Hey Naomi! I’m so glad you’re loving it 🙂 You should buy my book 😉 You already have a big chunk of the ingredients, and it includes all kinds of clean-up tips 😉 For the coffee grinder, run some plain rice through it 😉
Thanks for the tip. I am planning to buy your book
Thanks! I think you’ll love it 🙂
Hi Marie,
I made the Essential Mineral Makeup Powder Base from your book using the measurements for the pigment based on your skin tone (as mine is similar)… It looks kinda dark though. Can you tell me how to lighten it up? I don’t want to lose this batch!
Thank you! Love the book!
Oh I missed the page in the book on Tips on Color Blending…I see it now!
It looks darker in the grinder than on my skin as you said! I also see that one cannot lighten a concoction once one adds pigment!
Trial and error I guess are the keys! Thank you!
Ah good, you found it! That’s where I was going to send you 🙂 If the other one is just a titch too dark it may work for you once you have a summer tan, so don’t throw it away 😉 Happy colour blending!
Well, I declare! The color matches my skin tone perfectly! It looks so dark in powder form! Can’t wait to make foundation and concealer from this!
Just wanted to give you an update (and anyone else reading this who got scared like I did!).
YAY!!! I’m so glad 😀 Wahoo! *happy dance* Enjoy the makeup, and stay tuned for Monday’s recipe; it also uses your pre-made mineral makeup 😉 Thanks so much for DIYing with me!
Marie,
I have an apology to make: I’m sorry. I made the mineral makeup following your recipe in your book and followed the colour for the Marie colour as I figured you look about the same skin tone as me. When I’d made it up, it looked too dark and although I read that you said it would look too dark in the pot, I thought “I know better, this is too dark”. So I played with it until it was lighter.
It was too light. You were right. The Marie colour is perfect for me. All is not lost however, as my modified colour works well as a concealer.
I’m loving the book. I bought two by mistake, so I’m going to have to return one, but the copy I’m using already has loads of pencil notes in the margins and I’m starting to dupe high-end products!
Thank you for making my makeup life interesting again.
Ha! No apologies required, Judi 🙂 It’s such an easy mistake to make! I had to make it a lot of times to realize what I was doing and write it down, haha. I’m so glad you got the perfect foundation in the end, though—hello, skin twin 😉 Thank you so much for buying my book, for sharing your experiences, and for DIYing with me!
Help! I am not sure what I did but my minéral makeup is grey in colour. What colours should I add to get rid of the grey?
If it looks sallow on you, you likely need more red. Have you checked out my book? It has several pages of colour blending tips and many starter blends!
I want to buy the book of yours.were can i buy this in pakistan or dubee please tell me the websit
This page has links to everywhere I’ve found it. I do not handle distribution, though (my publisher does), and I am not familiar with book stores in your country—you may have to try searching locally. Good luck and thanks for your interest!
I made the mineral makeup (which I adore!). After only a week I am getting a rancid smell. My jojoba oil is not supposed to expire until 2020, and my vitamin E oil shouldn’t expire until January 2019. Neither of the oils smell rancid by themselves. I can’t figure out what happened. Any suggestions? I know I can just dump it and start again, but I don’t know if I just need to get new oils or what. Thanks!
It is possibly just the smell of your powders? TD and ZO don’t ever smell particularly fresh 😛 It could be that you’re smelling something that isn’t quite… delightful… and it’s not rancidity, just one of the powders’ inherent scent.
I have made mineral makeup before (a different “recipe”, and it also contained TD and ZO. It never had this smell. But that recipe did not contain Vitamin E or jojoba, but it did have a little lavender essential. In the meantime, I have purchased new oils and will make a new batch and see what happens. I will let you know what happens. Thanks again!
Hmm. Odd indeed! I look forward to hearing how it goes with the new oils.
I have made several new batches with both new oils and no smell.
That’s fantastic! I’m glad you sussed out the problem and solved it 🙂
I love the idea of making my own cosmetics. I purchased your book (beautifully done) and purchased ingredients. My mineral makeup adheres great, but looks awful. The color is okay, but it makes the pores on my nose look huge. I do have mature skin. Any suggestions on changes to accommodate mature skin with large pores and wrinkles? Thanks and keep the recipes coming.
Hey Gail! Thanks for buying my book 🙂 From a makeup angle I’d suggest trying the liquid version—liquid/cream cosmetics often work better for more mature skin. From a skincare angle—how hydrated is your skin? Do you regularly apply serums/lotions to the skin that contain water? Dehydrated skin will exacerbate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, so that may also be a factor. Hope that helps!
Marie, I LOVE your website, recipes, tutorials, information, and book! (Though I must admit it’s like crack to a die-hard DIYer – I get lost for hours!) Anyway, I just got all my ingredients from TKB (they have serecite mica y’all- I don’t know if they ship outside the US) and am about to become a Mad Makeup Scientist, and a couple of questions are hanging me up. (I tried the forum and nobody responds, so I’m trying here…) In the book, for the Essential Mineral Makeup, you have the base ingredients, and the pigment ingredients, but it doesn’t say how much of each to mix together. Or is it all of each? Also, your proportions of titanium dioxide to zinc oxide on here (website) are different from the book. (Double TD to ZO here, even amounts in the book.) Which is the latest and best recipe?
And, unrelated to this post: 1. Do you have a picture of the Top Shelf Eye Shadow palette? (Of course the publisher left out the one I want to make!)
2. What is the difference between lipstick and lip paint? I don’t mean ingredients, but in terms of practical use?
Thank you soooo much for sharing your knowledge!
Hey Debbie!
The recipes in the book are better and more up-to-date than pre-book recipes here on the blog. Just look at the dates 🙂
Refer to the instructions in the book after “now it’s time to start adding pigment!”. You’ll need all the base ingredients and if you are fairer, you will need all of that second tsp of TD. For the other pigments, follow the recommendations in the instructions 🙂 I cannot tell you exactly how much of any of the pigments to add because I do not have your face here to test things on—you’ll have to do that yourself 😉 The starter blends are just that—places to start! The whole point is that you’re making something that is perfectly customized to your skin tone—it’s basically the colour version of “season to taste” 🙂
I probably do have a photo of top shelf somewhere in my archives, but that would be on a hard drive somewhere. You can send me an email and I can see if I can dig it up for you.
In terms of practical use I’d say the lip paint wears longer. It’s also easier/faster to make, and has more of a matte finish 🙂
Thanks for buying my book!
Reading through the comments, I see I’m not the only one with questions about magnesium stearate. According to Simple Skincare Science, ANYTHING ending in -ate is off limits. Except, for instance, calcium carbonATE… Magnesium stearate having a chemical formula with 18 carbons, but being a SALT… Is it OK for seb derm, or no? So confused. Help?
I’m afraid I have no idea, sorry! Perhaps try sending FC an email?
Ok! I feel like finding you on YouTube is a game/changer for sure! I’ve been using Ulta Mineral brand and they’ve recently switched out their top ingredient with Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate and I’ve been applying without realizing it! So my search for a healthier foundation turned into a search for DIY foundation after seeing the prices and googling ingredient prices!
But I feel like I need to be talked off the ledge here! Because in my research, I’ve found that Mica is a naturally accurring aluminum. I feel like there is something I just don’t know enough about. In the “crunchy” world of mine, aluminum is something that to stay away from because of its absorption properties. It can accumulate in the body and end up causing neurological issues, depending on your genetic makeup and ability to detox at a normal rate. That said, ALL of the brands promoted by the brands deemed healthiest contain Mica! They are promoted by the same people advocating for aluminum free deodorant. What am I missing???
Hello and welcome! I recommend giving this post on aluminum from Cosmetics Info a read—they say it all far better than I can 🙂 Happy making!
Sorry if this has already been asked, but I’m wondering if I can substitute the sericite mica for arrowroot powder? I’m having trouble finding a local supplier of sericite mica and already have a bag of arrowroot so wondering how these would swap out as a filler. I did find some white matte mica on eBay but wasn’t sure if this is the same as sericite mica, as it was in a listing with other micas of various colours and there wasn’t much more info on the listing! Thank you 🙂
You can try it, but I think this might be what you’re looking for? Happy making!
Oh thank you so much!
So I made this and first it was too light so I added more brown, then it was too yellow so I added more red, then it was too dark so I added more white base and now it’s just tooooooooooooo……….. hmmmm, can’t tell at this point -it’s just wrong for my face so now I have a TON of powder I can’t use…….HELP!!! i’m sure this happens all the time and wonder wonder if there’s a solution or did I just waste a ton of ingredients?
Honestly, the best advice I can give is to get my book 🙂 It has a bunch of starter blends and an entire spread of colour blending tips!
Yes, it’s on my birthday list. 2 more weeks!!!
Happy early birthday! 😀
Hi, i cant find yellow iron oxides anywhere locally and i am wondering if i can use some other colorant to replace it. Would a yellow mica work or some natural yellow dye/powder? And also can i use Just mica instead of the oxides ?
Nope, you need yellow iron oxide.
Hi Marie, I just received your book and I plan to order the ingredients to make the mineral makeup powder base and oxides. My first question is, when it comes to colour blending, how would I measure minuscule amounts such as 3/128 of a teaspoon or 7/64 of a teaspoon? I have a set of the mini measuring spoons but that doesn’t really help me with such small amounts like this. Can I weigh out the tiny amounts using a scale that measures as low as 0.01 grams? My second question is, after making the mineral makeup base, do I then add another 1 tsp of the titanium dioxide to the base, along with the coloured oxides??. Thank you!
When working with such tiny amounts, I find it very hard to get out of the coffee grinder and it gets clumpy when you add the oil.
I have your book and have the same problems with those formulas too.
I’ve a few times to work in the tiny amounts, but have given up because i find it next to impossible.
Do you have any tips ?
And can you recommend a mini coffee available in Canada, as the regular size ones are way too big for this kind of work?
Have you tried the cling film trick from the book? I use that with a pretty normal-sized coffee grinder and it works beautifully for batches around this size and smaller 🙂
Hi Marie! I have the same question Maureen had… but I don’t seem to find the answer. Is it safe to say that amounts such as 3/128 of a teaspoon or 7/64 are super tiny pinchs? Not sure where to start if I had to convert them to grams. Also, after making the mineral makeup base, do we then need to add another 1 tsp of the titanium dioxide to the base, along with the coloured oxides? Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us 🙂
Please read this and this 🙂
If the colour blend you think will work for you calls for more TD, then yes. Happy making!
I am very allergic to zinc, is there an alternative?
You could try using more titanium dioxide.