How to Make Mineral Makeup

Making Mineral Foundation

In a small bowl, mix your base minerals. These will create the base color for your foundation. Here is what you will need: 8 teaspoons titanium dioxide 1 tablespoon sericite mica 4 teaspoons zinc oxide 1 teaspoon magnesium stearate

Add some undertones with oxides. There are two undertones for skin: warm and cool. Adding oxides to your base will give you just that: warm and cool undertones. Don't worry if this doesn't match your skin tone just yet, however; you will be adjusting it further later on. Here's what you should start with: ¾ to 1 teaspoon yellow iron oxide ⅛ teaspoon brown iron oxide 1 small pinch red iron oxide

Press the powders through a fine sieve a few times to mix the powders and break up any clumps. Place a fine sieve over a clean bowl, and pour the powder through it. Use the back of a metal spoon to help press the powder through the sieve. Next, place the sieve back over your original bowl, and pour the powder through it again. Do this 2 to 3 more times.

Test the foundation on the inside of your wrist, and make adjustments. The foundation you have just made would give you a basic skin color, but it there are hundreds of different skin tones, and each one is unique. Adjust the foundation using the suggestions below: If you need it to be lighter, add more titanium dioxide. If you need it to be darker, add more brown iron oxide. If you need it to be more pink, add more red oxide. If you need it to be more yellow, add more yellow oxide. If the foundation is too sheer, add more zinc oxide. Be careful, however; too much zinc oxide will make your foundation look dull.

Add ¼ teaspoon of jojoba oil and 5 drops of vitamin E oil. These will help hold your foundation together as well as make it more nourishing for your skin.

Stir the oils into the powder, then pass the powder back and forth through the fine sieve once again. This will ensure that the oils are evenly mixed into the powder. It will also help break up any clumps.

Consider adding some 99% isopropyl alcohol and leaving it to dry overnight if you want pressed powder foundation. At this point, your loose powder foundation is done. If you want it to be pressed, like compact makeup, you will need to add some 99% isopropyl alcohol . Here's what you need to do: Stir in enough 99% isopropyl alcohol to make a paste. Smooth the paste down into a clean, empty compact. Press it down with a coin wrapped in clean, cotton fabric. Leave the compact open overnight, or until the powder dries.

Making Mineral Blush

Place your base ingredients into a small bowl. These will create the base for your blush. It may not be pink enough for you at first, but don't worry; you will be fixing that later. Here is what you should start out with: 2 tablespoons sericite mica ½ tablespoon titanium dioxide 1 teaspoon red iron oxide ⅛ teaspoon white mica powder

Pass the ingredients back and forth through a fine sieve. This will help break up any lumps and clumps. Place a fine sieve over a clean bowl, and pour your powders through the sieve. Use the back of a small spoon to scrape the powders against the sieve. Next, place the sieve back over your first bowl, and repeat. Do this about 2 more times.

Test the blush, then add ¼ teaspoon of pink-toned mica powder, if desired. The blush may already be pink enough for you. If it isn't, stir in a pink-toned mica powder, such as hot pink. Be sure to pass the powder through your sieve a few times to ensure that everything is evenly incorporated.

Pour the blush into a clean fist jar. A sifter jar is what companies use to store loose powder makeup. It's a basic jar, with a lid-like insert that has holes in it. This will help you pick up just the right amount of blush with your brush when you go to use it.

Making Mineral Eyeshadow

Start with ¼ teaspoon sericite in a small, clean bowl.. This will be your base, and will help make your eyeshadow smoother.

Add your mica powders. You will need about 2 teaspoons worth of mica powder. You can use all one color, or a combination of different colors. At this point, you can also add more sericite if you'd like a lighter color. Many mica powders also come with measuring scoops as well. Here are some color combination ideas to get you started: Light brown: ⅛ teaspoon honeyed beige mica, 1 mini scoop patina sheen mica, 1 mini scoop cappuccino mica, and 3 mini scoops pearly white mica. Dark brown: ⅛ teaspoon honeyed beige mica, 1 mini scoop patina sheen mica, 7 mini scoops cappuccino mica, and 4 mini scoops luster black mica. Pearly-white: 1 ¾ teaspoon sericite and ½ teaspoon pearly white mica. Golden-pink: 2 teaspoons rose-gold mica. Shimmering green: ¾ teaspoon sericite and ½ teaspoon shamrock green mica.

Mix the powders well until there are no clumps left. Because mica powders are so fine, sifting them through a sieve won't work very well. Simply stir them with a small spoon or stir stick until they are evenly mixed together.

Add ½ teaspoon of 99% isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol will help clump all of the ingredients together. It will eventually evaporate, leaving behind a compact eyeshadow.

Scoop the paste into mini jars or a clean makeup compact. If you'd like a more professional finish, press the paste flat with a coin wrapped in cotton fabric. This will create that nice texture that many store-bought eyeshadows have.

Leave the container open overnight. Once the alcohol evaporates and the powder dries, your eyeshadow is ready to use. Keep in mind that the eyeshadow will still be fragile, and won't hold up to being kept in a purse or bag, where it is knocked around.