Melissa Corkhill

By Melissa Corkhill

15th July 2016

Katie at Wellness Mama shares her recipes for homemade natural make up. 'I get a lot of questions about natural makeup options, and this was definitely one of the tougher things for me to find natural alternatives for. In college, I practically collected makeup, and had endless tubes and compacts that never even got half used. While there are some good natural alternatives that you can buy (see list below), the cheapest, easiest and most natural way is to just make your own, and you might have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already!'

Melissa Corkhill

By Melissa Corkhill

15th July 2016

Melissa Corkhill

By Melissa Corkhill

15th July 2016

Natural Foundation
At the recommendation of a friend who had used cocoa powder for natural bronzer, I started experimenting with natural foundation options, and came up with a recipe similar to a mineral make-up.

I start with a base of arrowroot powder and zinc oxide (can also use cornstarch, but arrowroot works better) and then slowly add in cocoa powder and finely ground cinnamon powder until you get a shade close to your skin tone. You can then store in a jar or old powder container and use a brush to apply. It took me a few tries of mixing to get the color correct for my skin tone, but most days, a quick brush of this is all I need. I later discovered that adding gold mica powder gave it an even smoother texture and made skin radiant.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons zinc oxide (Can use arrowroot powder instead if desired, but it will not offer quite as much coverage)
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (optional)
1 teaspoon gold mica dust
½ – 1 tsp of desired natural clay powder (optional) I used a pinch of White cosmetic clay, Fuller’s Earth Clay and french green clay
up to 1 teaspoon finely ground cocoa powder OR bonze mica powder (or both) to get desired color
Optional: 1 teaspoon of translucent mica powder can help for really oily skin
What to do:
Mix all ingredients to get desired color and coverage.
Zinc oxide will give coverage and matte finish.
Colored mica powders, natural clays and cocoa powder will give color. Start slowly and add as needed, testing on inner-arm as you go to find your shade.
Store in a small glass jar with a lid.

Note: If you prefer, just arrowroot powder (or white cosmetic clay), cocoa powder, and (optional) cinnamon powder can be used. This will create a great and completely natural/edible foundation but it will not stay as long as a powder containing zinc oxide and mica. I personally feel safe using zinc oxide on my skin (non nano and uncoated) but if you don’t, just stick to the arrowroot version.

There is a lot of variation in this recipe… creating homemade makeup is more of an art than a science and your exact color and base combinations will depend on the amount of coverage and color you want. Zinc oxide as a base will create a makeup very similar to store bought mineral makeups and adding mica powder will give skin a natural “glow.”

If you don’t have or aren’t comfortable with those ingredients, a simple mix of arrowroot and a small amount of cocoa powder and cinnamon will work really well but won’t offer as much coverage.

Natural Bronzer/Blush
Similar to above, natural bronzer and blush can be easily made with a base of arrowroot and by adding more cocoa powder and cinnamon to get a darker shade. I’ve also tried powdering dried beet root (in the dehydrator) or dried hibiscus flowers to add a pink tone which works well as long as you can very finely powder them. Store in a shaker make-up container or an old compact.

Natural Eye Liner and Shadow
Always be careful when using any products, even natural ones, near the eyes. I mix up several colors of eye shadow using cocoa powder (brown shades) Spirulina (green shades) and arrowroot (light shades). My favorite is just cocoa powder with a tiny bit of arrowroot mixed in for smoothness.

For eye-liner, I either use a tiny bit of cocoa powder mixed with coconut oil, or a tiny dab or activated charcoal and whipped shea butter. Be careful not to get either one in the eye. I store the eye shadow in an old powdered eye shadow container and apply with my finger or a very slightly damp brush.

To make a smoother eyeliner, I mix equal parts of coconut oil and shea butter (about 1/2 ounce of each) and add about 1/2 tsp of activated charcoal to make a black eyeliner that is thicker. You can also do this with cocoa powder for a brown hue.

Natural Mascara
I don’t wear mascara most days, but when I want a natural option, it is an easy one to make. In a small bowl, I just mix a few drops of Aloe Vera Gel from Mountain Rose Herbs, a couple drops of Vitamin E oil, and a pinch of activated charcoal (not very precise… I know). I mix it up as I use it, though you could also make and store in an old mascara container or in a small jar and just clean the mascara wand between uses. I brush it on with a clean mascara brush.

Happy creating!

Find plenty of Katie’s ideas, inspiration and recipes over at wellnessmama.com.

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