One of my favourite questions that I often get via e-mail is “I would love to make all my own make-up—what on earth should I be buying?” Awesome! I love to hear that you’re interested in making all the colourful powders you used to buy. You’ll have tons of fun, you’ll get exactly what you want, and you’ll ditch heaps of packaging. That’s fantastic.
And yes, I understand that all the various ingredients that you can buy are numerous, confusing, and potentially quite expensive. So! Here is my guide to which ingredients do what, which ones you ought to have, and how much you should be paying for them. (Before you read this, check out my entry on the different properties the different cosmetics have—I know you’ll find it most useful).
(You will likely find you need some of the ingredients I talk about here as well.)
Titanium Dioxide—both oil & water-soluble
Expect to pay ~$15/kg
Titanium dioxide is a light, fluffy, white powder (500g is approximately a cubic liter of the loose powder). It appears in a lot of recipes because it is responsible for brightness and opacity. As you can probably guess, it’s a wonderfully versatile ingredient. In soap, it works beautifully to whiten and brighten bars. In face powders, blushes, and eye shadows it gives you a bright, opaque base to build other colours on top of—it is the canvas for your concealers, your tone eveners, and whatever else you like. It is the “white-out” of cosmetics. From here you can go anywhere, as it were.
Titanium dioxide is something I would definitely recommend having on hand. It is available in both water and oil soluble/dispersible versions. For powdered cosmetics it doesn’t really matter which one you get. It should be quite inexpensive, so if you have the option of getting a relatively small amount (~100g) of each from the same supplier, I’d recommend that. Otherwise, I would choose oil soluble first as it is useful for soaps and any solely oil-based cosmetics (like my Brightlighter) that need it.
Zinc Oxide
Expect to pay ~$9/kg
Zinc Oxide performs the same role as Titanium Dioxide, except it is insoluble in both water and oil. I haven’t noticed that it performs significantly differently than Titanium Dioxide in powdered cosmetics, but I sure like it in some creams and masks (zinc oxide is the active ingredient in diaper cream). Worth getting, I suppose—at least it’s pretty inexpensive, and 500g will last ages.
Magnesium Stearate
Expect to pay ~$3/100g
This moderately clumpy white stuff is all about slip. If you rub a bit between your fingers you will find it to be surprisingly creamy and smooth—not at all like titanium dioxide. It’s pretty cool, actually. A small amount of it gives face powders and eye shadows a delightfully creamy, smooth feel. It is oil soluble and melts at 120°C, so I include it in both powder recipes (like eye shadow and mineral make-up) and oil based recipes (like lipstick and brightlighter).
Since it is both so useful and so cheap, I’d definitely recommend having magnesium stearate in your cosmetics cupboard.
Iron Oxides
Expect to pay ~$3.50/30g
Unless you are both albino and colour blind, you’ll find that you want a wide assortment of iron oxides—they are what give you colour! I’d recommend starting with the primary colours (red, yellow, and blue), plus black and brown, as that will give you most everything you could want (yay for elementary school colour theory).
Iron oxides are powders, and you will find a little goes quite a long way (as such many of my recipes contain rather imprecise measurements like “pinches” and “specks”). Depending on the colour you will pay $3–5/30g, but that generally amounts to approximately ¼ cup of the powder, and when it is measured out in quarters to thirty-seconds of a teaspoon, you’ll find that will last you ages.
Starches
These should be very cheap—check your local Asian or bulk bins grocer first
Starches are bulking agents—corn, wheat, arrowroot, rice, potato, tapioca, or whatever else you have access to. They are inert, translucent, and relatively unremarkable. I use them to dilute the opacity of titanium dioxide and/or the vibrancy of iron oxides.
They are both cheap and useful, so there is no reason not to keep one or two around. I regard one starch as much the same as any other, so simply choose one or two that you have easy and inexpensive access to (and are not sensitive to), and keep them on hand. You will likely find them quite useful in cooking as well.
Clays
Expect to pay $10–$14/500g
I love clays—they are like iron oxides’ cheaper, more versatile cousins, but married with the starches. They provide both colour and body, while contributing beneficial minerals and detoxing effects.
While available in fewer colours than oxides (generally restricted to white, brown, and the pinks/reds), they are fantastic in nearly everything. I use French Red for dry shampoo, lipstick, and blush. Australian Reef Red makes a beautiful lipstick, eyeliner, blush, and mascara. I love ultrafine zeolite for its proximity to my skin tone, making it a beautiful base for face powders and concealer (I’m sure you can find a clay, or combination of clays, that matches your skin tone). Australian black clay is great for eyeliners and mascaras. Kaolin, in all its white, pasty glory, makes a great semi-opaque filler than can be coloured as desired with iron oxides.
While clays are generally more expensive in the initial investment as they often aren’t sold in units smaller than 500g, you’ll find they offer more bang for your buck than oxides (especially the Australian clays, which are highly pigmented). I can’t recommend having clays around enough. Start with kaolin (the white one) and a clay that matches your skin tone. Add a red or pink one if you’re interested in lipstick and/or blush, and go from there as the addiction takes over (don’t say I didn’t warn you!).
Liquid Oils
Prices vary wildly
Most powdered make-up recipes will call for a few drops of a liquid oil to complete them. Jojoba oil (~$40/L) is usually the most popular choice as it is technically a liquid wax and therefore has a very long shelf life. You can really use any oil you like here as long as it isn’t highly volatile (prone to expire in no time flat). The oil mostly adds a bit of moisture to the final product (which definitely improves the feel of it) and keep the final product from being so dusty that you inhale more of it than you apply. It also contributes some of its nourishing properties to the final product.
Carmine
Expect to pay ~$14/10g
This bright red colourant is derived from the shells of beetles. Grimace all you like, you’ve likely used it in a wide variety of products without your knowledge for most of your life (it’s frequently masked by a “natural colourants” label in ingredient lists). I figure if you’ll swat a fly or squash a mosquito (as I certainly will—I vacation in Manitoba!), you should be totally a-ok with using carmine. Anyhow, this delightfully potent red colourant is really only uniquely useful for one thing, and that’s lip stain. It’s water soluble, meaning you can use clays or oxides just as easily (and far more cheaply) in lipsticks. It is, however, the only thing I have found that will work for lip stain—and I have tried a lot of alternatives, from oxides, to clays, to beetroot and rosehip extracts. Carmine is, quite seriously, the only thing that will work that isn’t a coal tar derived dye. So, if you like lip stain, buy carmine. Otherwise, you can use something else.
Micas
Expect to pay $3.50–$5.50/30g
If you like a bit of sparkle and shimmer in your final products, you’ll need some micas! They come in a wide variety of colours, but the easiest/cheapest thing to do is to buy silver, and then colour it with your oxides.
Sericite Mica
Expect to pay$2.50/30g
Sericite mica isn’t quite the same thing as straight up micas—it isn’t crazy glitter sparkly. It’s used as a diffuser in powdered products. That is, it diffuses the light around your skin to slightly blur it, disguising imperfections without smothering them. It’s a must have!
Did I miss anything? What’s your favourite cosmetics ingredient?
Thank you so much for sharing this! Excited to start making my own products!
Awesome! I’m always happy to help if you’ve got any other questions as well 🙂
Great post! I’ve been making soap and body care products for years, but I’ve not tried creating my own make-up… yet! Your information is so well-organized and inspiring; it makes me really want to jump in and get started. Thank you!
Awesome! Do it 😀 You’ll love it, I promise 😛 Feel free to ask if you’ve got any other questions!
I shockingly have everything but the titanium dioxide and carmine (and some of more pigmented clays). I guess this means I have no more excuses! I’ve made blush so far, but I’m hell-bent on finishing up my store-bought version first before using it. Thanks for clarifying a bit WHAT the weird things I bought actually do 😉
Nice—what’s your next project? I can’t recommend my airbrushing powder enough, I just luuuuuuuurve it. And brightlighter! So much love. Also, I have a clay problem, and I do not expect anybody else to be as irresponsible with their collection as I am 😛
I am so excited! I just bought a ton (much to my husbands dismay) of products from NDA! I think I will have most it not all of the times I need to start making my one cosmetics and soaps. Most of what I got are the smallest sizes and I will stock up as I use them up. I can’t wait to check my mail in about 2 weeks! Just wanted to share my excitement with someone, an my husband just doesn’t understand hahaha!
Heheheh, I totally know the feeling, Ashley! Pure glee 🙂 I will enjoy your ingredients glee vicariously as I am trying to stick to my ingredients diet for a while 😛 I have an overflowing cupboard, haha.
Have you tried beet juice for a vegan lip stain? I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve seen several recipes using it. I’m just getting started making my own products, and you seem to have a lot of tried-and-true answers.
I have. Total fail 🙁 It just kind of sits on your skin as a slightly brownish thin watery liquid. Think of using tea as lip stain… it was about that effective.
I love reading your blog.
im just starting to make DIY skin products, i ordered some carrier oil, essential oil, Hydrolats.
I want to make some as skin moisturizer, but i also read some blog said, they recommend to make it as ‘cream’.
Can you also write a article on what kinds of raw material for making skin care? those like antioxidant, Emulsifiers…. are very confused me.
And do u add ingredient like Hyaluronic Acid?
I am living in Hong kong, it is kind of humid in summer time, i just start apply oil on my face at night, but it feels ‘weird’. Please help 🙂
Hey May! Thanks for reading 🙂 For moisturizing my skin I use a combination of straight up oils, body butters, and lotions (or creams). The first two are 100% oils, and lotions/creams are emulsions (I use emulsifying wax to make the emulsion). I have already written an article on DIY ingredients, I linked it earlier in this article, but it’s also here. I don’t even know what Hyaluronic Acid is, so I think I can safely say I’ve never used it 😛
Hey Marie! What’s the difference between an extract and an essential oil? I noticed in a past blog post you mentioned using an extract opposed to an essential oil and it got me wondering. Thank in advance!
Hey Heather! The difference is a pretty easy one 🙂 Essential oils are, well, essential oils. Highly concentrated oil-like substances that are extracted from plants and what not. Extracts (with the exception of cooking extracts, like vanilla), are powders that are extracted from a plant (not every plant has both extract and EO available). So my rosehip extract is a bright pink powder, and my peppermint extract is a brownish powder. Hope that helps!
Hey there. 🙂 I was looking at the Saffire blue site that you linked…I’ve never heard of this Bamboo BioFerment….have you ever tried it for slip as it suggests? It looks absolutely AMAZING and I think I want to experiment now! lol I know of some people that put silicone in their shadows to help with the fallout etc… Do you think it would need a preservative? Sorry if you don’t know the answers I’m bombarding you with, I just saw it and now want to scour the site to see if they ship to the USA lol
Hi Malora! So, I bought some Bamboo BioFerment, and I made something with it for the first time last night (terrible, I know). It’s certainly not 100% silicone-y, as you might think from reading the description. It doesn’t feel anything like those silicone laden super pricy hair “serums” you can buy—all slimy and slippery like. So, last night I made a hair mist with it, and so far I’m loving it. I haven’t had a chance to try it in a powder, yet. It’s on the list, though! I really want to try and refine & perfect my eye shadow recipe, and it’s definitely on the list of things to experiment with. So… stay tuned, I guess? I’d grab some anyways, it’s not that expensive 😛 And I’m liking the results for my hair so far. Also, I’m pretty sure they do ship to the USA as they list 2 American distribution centres on their website 🙂
Hi Marie,
I’m intrigued by your bamboo hair mist…..is that for hair conditioning? I’ve never made or used one. If you don’t mind too much, could you spell out in detail (with proportions etc.) how you made it? I make skin creams, bath oils, lip balms etc. and am always interested in learning to make more “cosmetic” items! So if you have the time and don’t mind, I’d love to know how to make this!
Thanks!
I’ve scheduled the recipe to come out at the end of the month, so stay tuned 🙂 I still need to give it a good testing, plus, if I publish new recipes in the comments, most people will miss them!
Well the shipping is crazy high to the usa. 🙁 I was going to get the 2oz one but the cheapest shipping is like $24. I’m gong to see if there’s another place that varies it because it looks so amazing! That’s so great to see yours already working with it.
Damn! A quick Google search shows that these guys sell it in the USA, though.
Yes! I was looking at them last night and I think I’m going to put in an order. They have some nice natural preservatives that are specifically for powders and eye shadows it looks like. There’s an entire “line” of that type of preservatives, and it looks like some of them are specific to certain types of products…and is derived from the kimchi fermentation process. What! I’m stupid excited for this. lol
Very cool! And I totally get the excitement 🙂 Placing new orders always gets me super giddy, haha 😛
Hi marie! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience amd recipes!! It’s wonderfull to see what can we do, no need of a “industry” to look pretty!
Now i have a question, i am a girl that is startimg to became more natural, more aware about what i eat and use, and i know that the products of the make up industries are full of bad chemica,s and nasty minerals, bad for our body, so what about the ingredients that you mentiones here, what about the titanium it doesnt sound like something i want to put on my skin… Or the amounts of magnesium… I am just asking because i am new at all of these and i want to learn. Thank you very much from Argentina!
Hi Elen! Welcome to the natural/DIY world 🙂 You should really check out Skin Deep and start researching ingredients. They are an amazing resource and super helpful when you’re determining if you want an ingredient near your skin. As for the ingredients you mentioned, both are perfectly safe as long as you are not snorting lines of them off your counter top, lol.
where do you get your ingredients? I can’t find most of that stuff for those prices. then you factor in shipping…….. ouchie
Check the big grey box above the comments section—it contains links to all my favourite suppliers 🙂 They are also linked in the side bar.
While I was checking out your suppliers, I stumbled upon this little gem.
http://www.camdengrey.com/
I’ve actually purchased from Camden grey and never will again. Please save your money and stress levels and pay for good quality oils from a better source. http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/Camden-Grey+Essential+Oils new directions customer service is frustrating too…. but not like this. And honestly new directions has such great products you rarely have to contact them anyway.
Thank you so much for chiming in, Malora! I’ve never shopped with them before, so I had no idea. I’m surprised to hear NDA’s customer service is frustrating—I’ve never had to contact them, but their product is always so awesome I assumed their CS was as well. I’ve always had good experiences with them on Facebook, they’re always prompt there.
Thank you for the link, Malora. I went to the site, unfortunately, I only saw 3 reports , one from ’08, one from ’10, and the most recent one from Jan ’13. I personally don’t find that to be grounds to not try them out. I’m on a really tight budget and am only buying some basic ingredients for CP soap making, and C-G has the lowest price +shipping price that I could find. I’m gonna give them a shot, but I will also keep in mind the reports. I really do appreciate your input though. Thank you so much. I have ordered some things from BulkApothecary.com before, recieved my items very quickly, but for what I need to buy (trying my shot at Marie’s All-in-One shower bar, with a couple of tweaks) they wanted like $25 for the shipping. I just can’t afford that right now. I also like BrambleBerry, but again, shipping. so hard…… Sad Panda…….
Well here’s more. http://m.yelp.com/biz/camden-grey-essential-oils-doral
You’re obviously free to spend you money wherever you want to. And believe me I completely understand tight budgets. Ive purchased from many places with the same mentality and ended up wasting all the money I spent there because the product quality. They cut their essential oils with carrier oil.
Just keep in mind you get what you pay for. Was just trying to help. :/
Thanks for looking out for us, Malora—I’ve definitely put them in my “never ever” column.
Yes. I learned the hard way Unfortunately. The quality of essential oils from New directions really are amazing and the prices are cheaper in some instances such as wintergreen oil.
Oh! And on an unrelated note, I got my bamboo bioferment today! I got a rice one also which is supposed to be good for sebum regulation. I thought I’d experiment with a couple serums and foundations.
How exciting! I am really loving the hair mist I made with the bamboo bioferment, and I’m excited to play with it in other things 🙂 Let me know how the rice one works as well, that sounds super interesting!
Malora and Marie, you both make really great points, and I really appreciate your input. Gonna do some more looking around at different companies. The essential oils seem to be the most expensive part of diy skin and hair care. And, on an awesome note, my husband told me to pick out a sewing machine for my x-mas gift, and I asked him if I could get soaping stuff instead, and he said yes , if that is what I would rather get. I really do want the sewing machine, but I think I want my soaping stuff more. I think this has turned into an obsession.
Good idea—I don’t want you to have a bad experience 🙁 If you’re in the States there are TONS of companies you can order from. So, so many more than I can up in Canada. And shipping is pretty much always way cheaper because USPS is much cheaper than Canada Post. I’ve heard good things about Mountain Rose Herbs as well, though I haven’t tried them.
Happy early Christmas! How exciting! I finally managed to get a sewing machine after years of devoting my hobby income to soaping alone. I went with an older Elna (from the 60’s, I think). It’s all metal, so it’s pretty much immortal, and it works like a charm. Best of all, it was only $150 and it came with all the original bits and bobs (even the 50+ year old instruction manual!), the bomb proof carry case, and a table that it’s built right into. So, yeah, go used if you can with sewing machines… I feel like once you get into plastic parts and microchips, you’re getting something that’ll just cost you more and more money for ever and ever. Just my $0.02, anyways, I love old things 😛
I have gathered that you like old things. I, myself, have always felt like I was born in the wrong era. I don’t even have a crafting budget, I buy stuff when I happen to have some extra money that isn’t needed for bills, food, or something for either of my 2 kids. Doesn’t happen very often, though it has been happening more frequently.
Haha, yes, I’m not exactly hiding it with my Everyday Edwardian series, eh? 😛 What era do you feel you should have been born into?
One of the nice things about a crafting budget going into soaping and similar stuff is that is does help you save money in other areas… eventually. The initial investment is definitely a bit higher, but when you start turning out shampoo and soap at about $0.30/bar instead of buying it (what does a bottle of shampoo even cost these days, lol? It’s been ages since I’ve bought some….) it’ll start paying for itself. Lotion, too, and then you can get into things like laundry detergent, which can be pretty pricey from the store in my experience. So at least there’s that? A fun hobby that can kind of pay for itself in household savings…
I feel like I should have been coming from the Edwardian/Victorian/Flapper Eras. I’m a full time mommy of 2, my husband had 2 jobs, is now working 1, I homeschool my eldest, and I already make our Laundry detergent. It costs me about $25-30 per batch, but the batch will last me most of the year, having 7 people using it. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I have recently decided to let my hair grow out and stop using chemical dyes, though I was only able to dye 1-2 times a year. I’m looking to start using Henna to color my hair, had a friend in High School that did and it was gorgeous. So, Long, naturally colored RED hair is in my future. 😀 so excited.
I’m with you there! Edwardian, specifically—if I could have been born in 1890–95 or so I think that would have been just about perfect, haha. Old enough to sail on the Titanic and love it, and to take advantage of all the wonderful clothes through the years. Alas. At least I get to skip the World Wars this way…
You sound like you have an incredibly busy life! I admire your ability to DIY with so much on your plate. My only “baby” is this blog, and it only needs to be “fed” a few times a week, haha. I need to make some more laundry detergent this weekend. I find I end up using the powder for many things other than laundry. I’ve found it’s absolutely fantastic for getting tea stains/gunk off of tea filters and tea mugs and the like, among other things.
Henna red hair is SO beautiful! I absolutely adore it. I doubt I’ll head that way while my natural colour holds, but I’ll definitely join you in henna world when I start going grey. I’ve loved red hair ever since Titanic—sigh!
I did a quick price check, and their prices aren’t really any better than New Direction Aromatics. I can’t speak for the quality of Camden Grey, but it would seem they have angered a lot of people, so my instinct would be to stay away, especially if you’re on a tight budget and will be stuck with the product, regardless of its quality.
Hmm… I’ve never heard of them, but I would definitely listen to Malora on this one!
just reading through these posts & wanted to add from my own experience that mountain rose herbs is great!! the quality of products is excellent, customer service is great & they have lots of recipes available on their site & youtube channel. 🙂
Thanks, Jana! Since ordering from them would require pricey cross-border shipping it’s always nice to get input from people who have tried them 🙂
What’s the difference between French clays and Australian clay? Also is mica natural?
Well, there are several different kinds of both Australian and French clays, so it’s hard to define any all-encompassing differences, but the Australian clays do tend to be much more strongly pigmented than the French ones (but again, that’s a generalization). It’s best to research them on a clay-by-clay basis, which you can do pretty easily at NDA (the reviews are also very useful).
Micas are surprisingly natural, though I suspect the brightly coloured ones have a bit of outside help. Mica is basically ground highly brittle silicate minerals, and have been used in ancient times to decorate pottery in places like India.
I guess what I meant to say was can I use French clay in the mascara recipe instead of Australian?
And thanks for all your replys! 😉
For the mascara, no, unless you are looking for a light brown, green, or red mascara. I’m using the Australian clays for their colour as well as their clay-ness in the mascara (and no, iron oxides cannot make up the difference, sadly, as they absolutely hate water and will never mix in with the rest of it). I am working on another mascara recipe that won’t use 2 different kinds of clay, but for now, that’s what I’ve got 😛
How about french clay and activated charcoal for black mascara? Sorry to kick a dead horse but i can only find one source for australian clay and with shipping itll set me back a pretty penny!
I haven’t tried that particular combination, so I can’t speak to it one way or the other. It sounds like it should work, though. I am working on a different formula for mascara that won’t require so many fancy clays as well 🙂 If the black aus clay is that steep I’d just skip it and wait/try the French clay/activated charcoal route and see how that goes.
Hi 🙂 I love your blog!! Just wondering if you’ve ever used small amounts of cocoa powder as a coloring agent instead of some of the oxides?
Hi Kaitie! I’ve used cocoa powder in dry shampoo and soap before, but when it comes to make-up I find nothing offers the colour punch that oxides do. They are so concentrated that a very small amount goes a long way, meaning the proportions of your recipe don’t skew much when you start adding colours. Cocoa powder would probably work well in something like bronzer, but if you wanted opacity in it, I suspect the cocoa powder would dilute your opacity before you achieved the colour you wanted (since opacity means starting with bright white). The other benefit of oxides is that they are insoluble—my hot chocolate soap is quite gritty from the cocoa powder, which works nicely in soap, but isn’t an attractive quality in something like a lipstick 😛 Let me know if you experiment with it 🙂
Hi,
I love your blog and am a “aspiring cosmetics wizard!”, and wanted to ask a question, what do you usually do in the way of preservatives? a lot of DIY products go bad very quickly, especially in the way of cosmetics, do you refrigerate most of yours? I heard someone else say that it is very hard to make a foundation that will not mold and grow bacteria? but i made my own BB cream once a it never went bad, maybe there was something I put in there that preserved it. are there any natural preservatives that you use? just wondered what your thoughts were concerning this subject.
Thanks!
Hi Laura! I’ve chatted about preservatives in my FAQ 🙂 My general philosophy is make small, use fast 😉
This is just what I’ve been looking for. I stumbled upon your site the other day and am hooked. I’ve been collecting DIY recipes for a few years now & have made several. I wasn’t thrilled with any of the make up to date and I cannot wait to make a shopping list and order products. You have done a lovely job with your site and am so grateful for the time you’ve invested. I was the black sheep of my Esthetics class because I was always looking up product ingredients to see whether or not it was something I actually wanted on my (or client’s) skin. My teachers were less than thrilled. So, thank you for all your effort!
Hi Elle! Welcome to my blog 🙂 I’m so happy to be able to help you jump onto the clean DIY cosmetics train! I’m sure your skin (and your clients’) will thank you 🙂
Hey! I am interested in doing some of your recipes, and I was wondering, what different clays are skin toned? Thanks!
Hi Selah! Look for ones with ivory and beige in the name, but also look at the photos supplied by the seller as the colours can vary hugely within the clay category 🙂
Hey Marie!
I was wondering if you had tried saffron oil stain or Red Ochre as a substitute to Carmine in lip stains. I read people used to use them to stain their lips in ancient times.
Thanks, Abi 🙂
I haven’t—I’ve never seen either available for sale to try 🙂
Hello 🙂 I know this post is old by now, but I really, really love it! I wondered if you know of anything that has about the same properties as Sericite Mica? Not exactly the same of course, but something I might use as a replacement? I live in Germany and it seems there is just no way of getting it for a bearable price… I would be really glad if you could help me out…
Hey Paul! Silica microspheres would be the closest thing, though they definitely won’t be less expensive, and you can’t grind them in with everything or you’ll ruin their shape and feel—you have to stir them in by hand at the end. You could try a blend of white kaolin and starch to fulfill the “filler” role of sericite, but that won’t have the light diffusing properties. Hope that helps!
Hello! i can actually get sericite mica quite cheaply here in China, but finding it a wee bit difficult for some other items on the list. Australian black clay and bamboo bioferment to name two. If yo fancy a swap I’m game!
I am so grateful to you for the recipes and information on carmine. I absolutely love carmine; it makes the most wonderful lippies. It is now a completely essential item in my recipe toolbox. I love it! And you are so right; there is nothing like it.
Thanks, Karyn! Glad to have made another carmine convert 😉 That stuff is magic!
I look for buying carmine at Sapphire blue like your and no it was 56$ for 10gr do you now other place to buy
Try TKB Trading 🙂
Pre-ordered your Make It Up book from Amazon.com USA, unfortunately the current estimated delivery date is now Dec 30 to Jan 5th 2017! Does anywhere else in the US have it sooner? I Pre-ordered in October!
Hmm 🙁 Somebody in Texas told me their copy shipped earlier this week, so there’s hope, but that is such a bummer, and very different from what my publisher told me. Booo.
Hi Marie, I have your book and have made some of the recipes already, which are fantastic. I live in New Zealand and I’m having trouble buying some of the ingredients. I’ve tried Go Native, Pure Nature, Zen Designs and some others (all the places I usually buy ingredients). The ones I can’t find are Magnesium Stearate, Magnesium Myristate, Silica Microspheres, Boron Nitride and Carmine. I did find some listings for the boron but they were for hex boron nitride and were talking about engine lubricants – is that right? I looked on Amazon and these products don’t seem to ship to New Zealand. I was wondering if maybe they had different names or you had some suggestions of where/how I can get these ingredients. Otherwise, I’m dead in the water. Thank you for any help you can offer. Please keep up the good work with your amazing blog and videos. Love to read/watch and then experiment. Thank you. Carol
I found these guys in Australia and they look to be your best bet—they have everything you mentioned except carmine, though they do have a wonderful selection of pink/red pigments 🙂 Happy making!
Oh, thank you so much Marie. Had actually decided to get the products sent to You Post (a NZ Post run address where they repackage things for customs and send them on to you) and hope that they got through Customs. These people look really good so I will try there and see what happens. Thank you so much and thank you for your amazing book. Love it and can’t wait to get started.
Best of luck and happy making! I definitely understand the challenge of not being in the USA; everything seems to be SO easy to get there, but it’s a crapshoot if you live anywhere else. Sigh 😛
Hello, it’s me Selena from the hidden comment thread on YouTube!
I’m going to start replying here from now on, as I believe it notifies you by email.
Now, on your comment you said to always check the INCIs. Usually I pretend to know what abbreviations stand for, but this seems important and I really don’t know what it means to “check” them.
Does it have anything at all to do with this website?:
http://www.cirs-reach.com/Cosmetic_Inventory/International_Nomenclature_of_Cosmetic_Ingredients_INCI.html
You said a good supplier will list the ingredients so I would know how the micas are colored. Do you think TKB Trading is trustworthy in this area? I looked at both their old website and the new one, and they seem pretty reliable!
Also, are FD&C dyes something that you trust? I think in one video you showed a Red #40 and I think that is an FD&C dye. So you are okay with using them? (Weird question: Do you eat food coloring or avoid it?)
I use Redmond Bentonite Clay and it actually has a label that says it is known to have trace amounts of lead. In this article, Wellness Mama talks about the lead in bentonite clay.:
https://wellnessmama.com/59694/lead-in-bentonite-clay/
Do you agree with this information?
I looked at the link you gave me.:
“Other color additives listed under regulations in 21 CFR Part 73, such as mica, titanium dioxide, and iron oxides, are not required to be batch-certified by FDA, although cosmetic manufacturers are still responsible for ensuring that the color additives used in their products meet FDA’s specifications.”
So are they saying that they don’t test micas, titanium dioxides, and iron oxides? :0 But they test the FD&C colors? I don’t understand why they do that.
Thank you for sending me the link to “The Lead Debate Made Simple” article. I understand there is lead in water and candy (I also don’t eat candy for other reasons, and would not give it to a child anyway), but my issue was that even though people say the lead is in such small amounts, it never leaves the body, or it does very slowly. That’s my issue. So if we do all of these things lead is just accumulating in our bodies. Isn’t there anything to do about that?
I guess it’s just right that those who believe in God should trust him to protect them from the bad things that end up in their bodies. The point is that no matter what we do, we can’t save ourselves. (However, I’m not sure if I should go out and buy loads of Jeffree Star liquid lipstick and drink a bucket of Blue 1 with that knowledge.)
Now I really don’t see the point of avoiding FD&C dyes. There must be some other problem with them if it isn’t lead. (Should I just go ahead and buy the rainbow micas then? Will iron oxide even make a beautiful yellow lipstick?)
Thanks for putting up with me. I sincerely value every single thing you have to say.
I’m not sure if I should apologize for all the questions just so I don’t feel bad about asking more, but you seem very interested in this subject so I think you don’t mind all that much. I could be wrong 😀 Hope I’m not.
– Selenaa
Hey Selena!
Yes, the INCI part is correct. It’s the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. In Canada, that is how ingredients must be listed on cosmetic labels. INCI terms are based off Latin; beeswax is cera alba, aloe vera is Aloe Barbadensis… and so and and so forth. Charts are not hard to find.
Any sort of composite ingredient (like a coloured mica or emulsifying wax) should have an ingredient list of INCI ingredients. A mica might be “Mica (77019), Titanium Dioxide (77891), Iron Oxide (77499), Carmine (75470), Boron Nitride”—and from looking at that you’d know that mica is coloured without FD&C dyes. Polawax (an emulsifying wax) is “Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-150 Stearate, Polysorbate 60, and Steareth-20”. From there you can research the individual components that make up the wax. Not all micas or e-waxes are the same, which is why the INCI is where all the info is!
TKB is amazing. Full stop. I wish they were Canadian!
I’m perfectly find using FD&C dyes and actually used FD&C Red No 7 a lot in the development of the book as a stand-in for carmine to keep costs down. There are some colours (mostly bright ones) you simply cannot achieve without them. If you start googling there is no shortage of websites asserting that some of these dyes (especially red #40) cause cancer/ADHD/sensitivites/all kinds of awful things, but I haven’t been able to find any legitimate sources on this.
I am not clear on why the FD&C is so uptight about batch certifying FD&C dyes; the best explanation I can offer is that the potential for harm is greater if these pigments are produced improperly. The FDA requires the testing of almost nothing, so the fact that they care about these dyes would indicate that it is important to get the real thing (FD&C Yellow 5 and NOT Tartrazine… technically chemically identical, but only one has been vetted), but that the real thing is quite safe. The Skin Deep database often gives FD&C dyes better safety ratings than iron oxides.
FD&C dyes often fall into the category of things people avoid simply because they are not natural enough; I will readily admit I once did the same. We’ve even got an entire logical fallacy for it—the “appeal to nature” fallacy—the (rather idiotic) notion that anything natural is safe, and anything unnatural is unsafe. Obviously if “natural-ness” is the only criteria for this sort of thing then avoid away, but I cannot find any compelling safety reason to avoid them, and safety should always rate above “natural-ness”! (Monday’s blog is about this and more—stay tuned!)
As with most (potentially) harmful things, my general philosophy is to make the best choices possible, and not worry about the rest or I will go insane. If I’m laying in bed worrying about a home invasion—Did I lock the doors? Did I do everything within my power to prevent it from happening? Yes? Well, then—stop worrying. Worrying isn’t helping at this point. Realistically speaking, death by lead poisoning isn’t terribly common these days—I am much more concerned about being hit by a car while I’m riding my bike.
Anyhow, I hope that all helps!
And for the Wellness Mama article—in general, I do not find that site to be particularly reliable. The argument that the amount is relatively insignificant is basically the same one we are making for oxides, but she fails to mention that lead levels in bentonite are not regulated or monitored, so the amount so mentions is not guaranteed. That number (11-12 ppm) is higher than the maximum allowed amount for iron oxides (10 ppm for cosmetics, and 5 ppm for food). If we then consider the quantities in which iron oxides can be ingested vs. clay—it’s more than likely completely fine for topical use (especially since we aren’t typically making bentonite lipstick, bentonite is generally a rise-off thing, and skin absorption is ~1%), but for heaven’s sake, don’t eat it!
I am not enough of a chemist/biologist to comment on the “not bio available” thing (honestly, I doubt Wellness Mama is either), but given the FDA has issued warnings about bentonite containing high levels of lead… I am inclined to believe it can still be hazardous if lead is present at high concentrations, “bio available” or not.
I guess that all circles around to “get it from a reliable source”. And don’t eat it!
(Also, there is some delightful irony in how this all circles back around to the “natural” debate… given that lead is natural and all!)
Yeah, I also don’t really trust some things that Wellness Mama says, which is why I stopped reading her blog. She failed to tell her readers that baking soda is a horrible idea in DIY deodorant and I, among others, was burned.
I think I should mention that up until a few weeks ago I was COMPLETELY into the natur-AL “craze”. Seriously, I even avoided people who were wearing perfume.
Right now, I’m more willing to use regular products (not going to unless someone makes me, but I am slightly more willing) and that’s why I am seriously thinking about getting that absolutely gorgeous “Lemon Pop” shade from TKB Trading. I mean, if colorants are petroleum derived and can be inflicted with impurities I won’t really absorb so much just by daily lipstick use? And yellow is the only color I’ll wear that has lake dyes.
I also completely understand that some natural things can very well kill us, and some synthetic versions of those natural things are significantly better.
Plus, I realize that the term “chemical-free” is absurd.
I should have mentioned that about me earlier, because now I think you think of me as a paranoid conspiracy theorist.
Well, I sort of am, but I mean, someone’s got to be!!
(Joking.) I just like to be careful in a few things, but I do realize that stuff like titanium dioxide will probably not kill me and is fine to eat.
Man I wonder why Skin Deep gave FD&C dyes a better rating! That EWG website keeps telling me everything is going to kill me.
Also, do you know if the sample size micas for TKB are big enough to make at least two lipsticks with some left over? I can’t figure out what 6 grams looks like and how it relates to ounces.
I swear I could talk about this all day every day. I’m hooked.
It’s such fun to be paranoid. 😉
In defense of baking soda deodorant, it isn’t awful for everybody—I’ve never had issues with it, and many people I know who have found it irritating have solved the problem with an acidic pit toner. That said, the dose/concentration obviously matters, and one should always stop using anything that is causing you pain!
I think a huge part of what draws many of us into this hobby is the all natural-ness (again, Monday’s blog—it’s a doozy!). It is SO appealing, it is not hard to see how the notion seduces us. It definitely got me! In lieu of extensive research it is so easy and so tempting to think “natural = safe” and just go with that everywhere. In many cases that’s not a bad thing (especially with food—apples trump apple flavoured skittles every time!), but it can be taken too far when it starts to be a blanket acceptance and rejection method without any critical thinking or research. As long as we are willing to recognize that safety is more important than natural-ness, and always willing to learn, I think we’re doing ok 🙂
Have you watched my video on oxides vs micas? If you want to make lipstick I would recommend getting a pure pigment rather than a mica as they are much more potent and much more flexible; I make all my lipsticks with pigments, not tinted micas. It is possible to use micas, but I haven’t done it and I’m not sure how my bases would work with THAT much mica added (if we guess a mica is 50% pigment then that means you’d need 2x as much powder in the base to get the same amount of pigment, and that is obviously going to impact the final product.
The Skin Deep database can be a good starting point for research, but definitely do not take it as the be-all-and-end-all. It can be very sensationalized.
A teaspoon of mica can range from 1.5–3.5g, so the volume you get will heavily depend on the mica itself.
When it comes to being devoted to everything being natural… I think we both agree that is impossible as we don’t even really know what “natural” is, but I also think it can be a bit like having an eating disorder—getting too obsessive about anything isn’t good. If you won’t use the hand soap at a restaurant before you eat, I think the impact of that conviction on your quality of life is starting to be more negative than positive.
Oh! Any one more thing. Those links Wellness Mama provides to those “safe, trustworthy” clays are affiliate links. Make of that what you will haha.
I agree that baking soda may work for some people and that it’s important to get the exact measurements and such.
I did not know the micas aren’t as opaque as the iron oxides. I remember I watched that video awhile ago but it never occurred to me that I might need that information so I forgot about it. xD
Someone told me that if I start with a white base (titanium dioxide) and then add in the micas it would be opaque. I suppose that would mean I’d need a lot more powder to get the color I want because the white would make it look lighter?
Also in that video, if you had just poured in the melted colors instead of waiting for it to thicken a bit, wouldn’t that mean the micas would float to the bottom of the tube? But if you let it thicken, I think it might be a bit harder to get in the tube, as well.
Also you never did say if using bentonite clay for toothpaste could potentially expose me to high levels of lead or not. ;-;
You do not need titanium dioxide for opacity in things like lipstick, eyeliner, and other similar high-pigment cosmetics—simply using a large amount of whatever pigments (amounts are in my book, but you can definitely sort that out with experiment as well) you’re using will generate opacity. In situations like that, use TD as white in your colour blends and expect it the impact them as if you were blending paints. In foundation and concealer you do need TD for opacity and coverage, but depending on your skin tone you may need more or less (the foundation blends I developed for darker women in the book use less). And yes, the mica would’ve settled out if I’d just left it—there is definitely a bit of an art for getting a feeling for the point where the pigments will stay suspended, but you can still pour the liquid-ish lipstick!
For the toothpaste—I don’t know. It would depend on the exact lead levels in the clay, and the concentration. I would assume likely not; given the low absorption rate that article cited and the fact that you are a) not eating it and b) spitting it out after a minute or two, it’s likely totally fine. (Unlike a lipstick, which you’d have on for hours on end (and even then, that risk is likely very low).)
Marie, I have either on hand or on order most of the ingredients you used in your Make it Up book, except for the magnesium myristate. Is there by any chance a substitute for this ingredient. This hobby has become fairly costly and this one ingredient seems to be elusive and where I have come upon it, shipping is unreasonable.
Many thanks
Lynne
There may well be, but I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know how well it would work. I obsessively tested all the recipes in the book as written, so if you change something, I really cannot speak for their performance. TKB calls it the magic bullet of adhesion, and they’re not kidding. Other than adhesion, many of the properties of MM are the same as Mag St, so you could try that, but adhesion will likely suffer. Sorry :/ If you’re in Canada, I do have two suppliers swearing they will have it in stock on this side of the border, and I’ll definitely announce it when they do! They both told me they’d get it before the book was out, which is why I included it in the book in the first place. Sigh.
Thanks for the info Marie. I’ve continued my search for this illusive item with little success. I did find a source in the States, Etsy,1 ounce for 8.87 plus 13.65 shipping 🙁 That seems like a lot of bucks for the little amount required in some of the formulas. Hopefully the Canadian suppliers will offer it soon or I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet. I don’t want to risk leaving an item out or try to sub it and have a failure.
Sigh. I am halfway to ordering a bunch of it myself and becoming the sole Canadian distributor :/
Hi Marie! I want to thank you for all the information you’ve been helping me figure out.
As always, I’ve got another question:
Is it true that serecite mica is an opacifier that won’t lighten the colors that it is being added to? And is it lip and eye safe? TKB Trading doesn’t have any information on that, and trust me I looked other places too!
Thanks in advance!
– selenaa
Hey! So… no. Not at all LOL. Sericite mica is pretty much completely sheer on the skin and gives absolutely no opacity whatsoever. I use it to thin out opacity lol. It won’t lighten colours, but it will dilute them. It is eye and lip safe, provided you are buying cosmetic grade from a reputable supplier 🙂 I love in in eyeshadows but I don’t think I’ve ever found a good reason to include it in lip products. Hope that helps!
Hi Marie,
First of all I love your website and am enjoying trying out all your recipes!
I find I’m having a hard time finding magnesium stearate at a reasonable price with Amazon (fellow Canadian here) or Saffire Blue (with their minimum order fee). New Directions Aromatics now only sells stearic acid and glyceryl stearate (same problem with Voyageur and Windy Point). Are any of those equivalent? Any other store suggestions or do I need to bite the bullet and order it at a higher cost?
Thank you!
Rarrr. Dangit, Canada. That used to be the easiest ingredient to get up here! I found it at Aquarius. I’ve never ordered from them, but I did find them from a list from a discussion group, so I assume somebody who’s used them suggested them. All the same… if you need much of anything, I encourage you to put together a cart at TKB, do the conversion, and see if it’s worth it. It often is, even with shipping. It’s kind of sad.
Seems like TKB will be my best bet here as they have many other ingredients I’ll be also needing. I’ll be able to combine it all and pay shipping only once. Pricing is definitely reasonable even with shipping. It IS kind of sad.
Thank you!
They are pretty awesome, though 🙂 Make sure to get some of the mica and glitter samplers while you’re ordering from them!
Could you please clarify if the australian reef red will “stain” the skin?
Anything that pigmented has the ability to stain the skin in high enough concentrations, which is why I always dilute it when I work with it 🙂
Hello ,
I started mixing cosmetics in December my self I started watching videos on you tube to figure out how to make the cosmetics, mix them and also where to buy the supplies. Of course now i am totally deep into making my own cosmetics. I do have trouble mixing colors to make the perfect color i want, I have tried using Titanium dioxide to whiten up the colors a bit but it does not always work, after pressing the shadows i seem to have problem with fall out as well….. I have looked around and tried to change my Matte Eyeshadow recipe, but found that the one i use is too good to change. So i wanted to also know do you recommend the Tkb Powder press machine? i have been debating on buying it. I have spend over $1500 on products first starting out and i am still spending money. places i have used for shopping : https://howtomakecosmetics.com/ , http://www.makingcosmetics.com/, http://u-makecosmetics.com/ Ive tried several times to shop from http://www.u-makeitup.com/ but they dont ship to the USA 🙁
I have over 4 coffee grinders, i have watched videos from other people who have put drops of their binder in the coffee grinder to mix, i have tried that as well and it comes out not so matte any more.
but i enjoy making matte liquid lipstick, and this will be my last question….. Been also thinking about buying the lipstick maker for the actual sticks , do you recommend i get a Lipstick maker or continue the liquid lipsticks ?
summary of questions : How do you know what to mix to make a certain color ? how do you prevent fall out? Do you use Alcohol? Do you know an alternative for Alcohol? Do you recommend the TKB Powder Press Machine? Do you recommend that i get the lipstick Mold or continue making the liquid lipsticks?
Sorry if i have been annoying 🙁 I have done my research and cant seem to find anyone who has actually made their own cosmetics using any of these products and i have read this thread and you sound very experienced in the making cosmetics world 😀
Hey! Honestly, I don’t have any of the machines you are looking at, and I figure if I can write a book on makeup without them, they probably aren’t necessary 😛 If you’re looking at production that’s another matter, and more of a cost/benefit analysis than anything else. Given you’ve already spent a small fortune I would recommend spending more time on formulating than presentation since you can do formulating without spending any more money 🙂
Colour blending is a skill that comes with time, and I’m sure my background as a professional graphic designer helps, but there’s always some trial and error. I’ve found a big part of avoiding fall out is simply not using too much eye shadow; it hasn’t been an issue with my eye shadows as long as I tap off the excess. I don’t use alcohol for anything other than cleaning, though I have no idea what you are asking about so I can’t suggest alternatives since I don’t know the purpose. Hope that helps!
Hi, another great supplier you do not have on your US list is Garden of Wisdom.
Thanks, I’ve added them!
Hello Marie!
I love your blog.
I’m from Argentina and its very difficult to get the pigments (micas and oxides). I was using cacao and beetroot powder, but isn’t the same.
Can I use any food powder colorant instead?
Sadly not—they really do not perform the same (or well) at all. You can read more about that here.
Hi Marie, I bought your Make it up book! Can’t wait to start! I just wanted to clarify a few ingredients with you. I live in South Africa and I’ve tried looking for the ingredients that you have listed online. Please could you confirm with me if these ingredients will also be suitable to use in place of your specified ones:
Broad spectrum preservative: Phenoxyethanol.
Isopropyl Myristate instead of magnesium myristate. Would these still work? Specifically for the mascara and eyeliners? Look forward to hearing from you! Kind regards, Nicole.
Hi Nicole! Please refer to this page for preservative info, and look up the two “myristate” ingredients in the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/) to learn more about them. Broadly speaking, though, I can’t recommend either for those purposes :/
Hi Marie, thank you very much for your response. I am totally unable to get Magnesium Myristate in South Africa. When I read the details on this ingredient, I saw that Magnesium Stearate is a possible option to use instead. But you mentioned that it would have to be increased. May I then ask, how much would I have to increase it by? The total of the Magnesium Stearate? Thank you again for your assistance, kind regards, Nicole.
I don’t have any specific guidelines, it’s just a suggestion of a thing to try. Good luck and happy making!