Homemade Powder Foundation

Coming up with a homemade powder foundation has been a bit trickier than some of the other homemade makeups that I have tried so far. I found a few suggestions on how to get started (here and here). There was a third idea that I wondered about but it called for a type of clay, which isn't something I had at hand... so I experimented with stuff from my kitchen. (I always suggest using what you have, right?)

I have to say that while food-grade items are safer than a lot of chemicals in store-bought makeup, applying them to one's face requires caution! Obviously, don't use anything you know you are allergic to or don't tolerate well. (One of the above bloggers suggested nutmeg as a potential face powder ingredient, but after having it cause instant itchiness when making eye shadow, I decided against trying that one again.)

The next thing that is difficult about making your own powder foundation is getting the right color. It's not like making blush when one easy to create color will suit most any skin tone. My first attempt was something I came up with all on my own: arrowroot and turmeric (which I was surprised to find in an organic line at Walmart, oddly enough). I had seen this as an ingredient when researching how to make eye shadow, and I thought that if mixed with arrowroot, it would make a nice pale peach powder. Since I am extremely fair-skinned, I thought this would be more subtle than, say, cocoa powder. When mixed up and applied to the inside of my wrist it was a near-perfect match to my skin tone. Now for the real test.

It looked good on my face at first but then the powders seemed to separate and I was embarrassed to catch my reflection one day (after wearing this in public for a few days in a row! Why couldn't I have noticed that sooner?!). Unless the Oompa Loompa look is in this season I had really missed the boat! Needless to say, there is a reason none of the other bloggers out there are recommending the use of turmeric in a homemade foundation.

{Homemade Powder Foundation Experiments}

Fortunately, my second attempt was much better. Cinnamon and cocoa powder were suggested by both of the blog posts I had read, so it made since to try them out. I was a bit nervous about using cinnamon on my skin, fearing an itchy reaction, but luckily that did not happen. This powder looks a lot darker and I was worried that it would look like I was trying to fake a tan, but it actually went on quite natural. It wore well, keeping shine at bay. (I am thinking the arrowroot powder is to thank for that.) It's not as great at concealing blemishes as my store-bought stuff, but overall, this worked for a powder foundation. The best part was that it smelled incredibly delicious and I half expected people to ask me where I bought my Christmas cookie perfume. (I used 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder + 1/8 teaspoon cocoa powder + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Proportions can be adjusted as needed, and I suggest starting with small amounts and adding more as desired.)

Even thought that second formulation worked well, I wanted to try yet another concoction. This time, I added ginger to see if the yellow tint would tone down the overly dark cocoa powder to create a more suitable shade of powder foundation. Again, I was slightly apprehensive about whether or not there would be an itch factor, and I was relived that this was not an issue. My main complaint about the ginger, though, is that it tends to tickle my nose when inhaled, making me sneeze. (Kind of like my second blush experiment -- I ultimately nixed that version, in part because of this.) This third mixture is what I have been wearing most recently, but I am thinking that I will go back to the cocoa powder and cinnamon mixture. I am not sure that the ginger is really working for me, but I will say that this works well as a translucent powder, similar to the second variation. (I used 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Proportions can be adjusted as needed, and I suggest starting with small amounts and adding more as desired.)

In case you're wondering, I have been wearing food on my face for the past two and half weeks and nobody has noticed -- or if they have, they have been kind enough not to mention it. (I'm especially thinking of when I realized my face was splotchy orange while out to brunch with a bunch of people from church!) I'm not sure that I have found the perfect recipe yet, but I do seem to be on the right track. If you want to save some money and know exactly what is contained in your foundation, it is possible to make your own at home. Finding the perfect match for your skin tone and type, well, that's a whole other issue!

{Modeling my 3rd Foundation Attempt}

What do you think? This was a picture that I took of myself yesterday, which just happened to be my birthday. Brett informed everyone at church that I was turning "29 again." Here I am wearing a full face of homemade makeup: cocoa powder eye shadow, activated charcoal eye liner, beet root blush, beet root lip gloss, and my latest attempt at homemade mascara (more on that soon). Maybe I am delusional, but I really do think that I could pass for 29!

Homemade Eye Shadow Experiment

These are my first experiments with homemade eye shadows (and probably not my last because they are not quite right). I started with the basic idea and recipes found on Love Your Body, and then tweaked them to suit my preferences. This meant using less of the stuff that made the most color -- beet root powder and cocoa powder. I'm not even going to note the proportions that I used for a second experimental shade of brown, which called for nutmeg. I will just say that nutmeg felt tingly on my eyelids I quickly removed it with my homemade eye makeup remover before it had a chance to cause any real issues! (After that, I decided it was not worth it to experiment with the other recipe that called for allspice. That one made me nervous.)

{Beet Root, Failed Nutmeg, Cocoa Powder}

Pinkish-Mauve
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon beet root powder
1/8 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon shea butter

Brown
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon shea butter

Directions: 

1. Combine arrowroot powder in a small bowl with your desired pigmented ingredients. (I used cocoa powder, beet root powder, and the not-as-good nutmeg.) A spoon is all you need to mix them well. Tip: You can increase the amount of arrowroot powder for lighter shades and add more of the other ingredients for more vibrant and darker colors.
2. Add some shea butter to the mixture and use the spoon to cream it into the powder until thoroughly combined. (Note: I am slightly skeptical about whether or not this actually helps. The author of Love Your Body says that this will help it stay in place on eyelids. I found it to be kind of clumpy and the application was not as smooth as I had hoped for.)
3. Store your eye shadow in an airtight container, or multiple containers if you are making more than one color. 
4. Application: I am still trying to figure out the best way to do this. A wet brush produced too bright of colors on my eyelids. Using a regular sponge tip eye shadow applicator did not work with the texture of this eye shadow. It just fell off. The best luck I had was with an eye shadow brush and many sweeping motions. However, I still had eye shadow that seemed gritty and I had to take a damp cloth and wipe my face beneath my eyes, not something I normally do with commercial eye shadow application. Once on, though, the colors were nice and natural, so this gives me hope that further experiments will yield more desirable results with homemade eye shadows.

{Modeling my all-natural homemade eye shadow.}