Makeup, makeup, MAKEUP!
The more you say that word, the less it sounds like a real word, am I right?
It might surprise you to find out that I’m one of those ladies who wears makeup everyday.
Most days I dare not leave my house without eyeliner and mascara.
My go-to makeups (that’s a real word, right?) are eyeliner, mascara and blush and, like my former skincare product addiction, I’ve always used the conventional makeup that promised to make me prettiest. Meaning, my makeup buying is based on television commercials and magazine ads.
After reading Liz Wolfe’s Skintervention Guide, I decided that if I was going to “paleoize” my skincare, why not “paleoize” my makeup too?
Yes, I’m aware that cave girls didn’t wear makeup.
But sometimes modern-day cave girls like to have that option.
So I experimented with some homemade blush and bronzer.
The Homemade Makeup Players: cinnamon, cocoa, beet powder and arrowroot. Not pictured: lavender essential oil.
Following the bronzer recipe from Thank Your Body, I added each shade of brown until it got to a shade that I liked. This one ended up being more of a foundation than a bronzer.
From Thank Your Body’s Recipe:
A few tips on the color:
Cinnamon provides glow.
Cocoa gives depth and darkness .
Nutmeg will give a sun-kissed brown.
Cornstarch spreads it all out and lightens it.
Essential oil keeps it together and thickens it.
For my blush, I needed some pink pigment. So I decided to make some beet powder. I started with some beets.
Of course, I saved the greens for later eatings.
I rinsed and sliced the beets…
and laid them in the dehydrator.
After about 10 hours at 140 F, the beets were dehydrated.
So, I popped them in my coffee grinder and ground them into a nice, pink powder
This is a picture of the L’Oreal Blush of yesteryear. You can tell I take really good care of my makeup, huh? This is the shade I was aiming to match with the cinnamon, cocoa and beet root powder.
I started out with a brownish base, and added beet root powder and cinnamon until it got to a shade that I liked.
Yay!
I put each different shade in a little jar on my bureau.
- 1 Tbsp Arrowroot powder
- Cocoa
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Beet root powder
- To make your beet root powder: thinly slice 4-5 beets and lay them on the dehydrator screen. Dehydrate at 140 F for 8 to 10 hours (or until crispy like chips). Place the dehydrated beet chips into a coffee grinder, and grind into a fine powder.
- Combine arrowroot, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg and beet root powder on a plate until you find the shade you like. I did this 1 -2 tsp at a time.
- Put your blush into a jar or old compact
I’m in love with homemade makeup.
AND now I can say “my face is beet-red…literally,” which is something I’ve always wanted to say…
It does take a different technique to get it on evenly– unlike conventional makeup that’s probably got special powers to help it brush on evenly. I’ve found that dabbing my brush in the powder, tapping some off, and then applying with a dabbing motion works best.
As for eyeliner and mascara, both Thank Your Body and Wellness Mama have some recipes for that.
I opted to buy some naturally made products…because I’m pretty sure I would blind myself if I tried to make anything other than eye shadow.
I went for the black mascara and eyeliner from Honey Bee Gardens.
I am so super dorked to try this! I LOVE IT. The beet powder especially how fun is that! I will report back!
Yay! Can’t wait to hear how it goes 😉
I would love to know how the makeup lasts, and how it might interact on your face if you sweat (aka glow) a little in the warm summertime?
Hi Jennifer! The makeup doesn’t last as long as conventional make-up– I hear that adding a little more arrowroot, or setting your make up with arrowroot powder helps with this (I haven’t actually experimented with this yet: http://www.minimalistbeauty.com/diy-translucent-face-powder.). I have the feeling that if you glow, the makeup will stay put BUT if you’re sweating buckets, it’s gonna run, girl. I actually don’t anticipate using it much in the summer– I wear blush more in the winter when I feel as pale as a ghost 😉
It definitely doesn’t go on as evenly as conventional makeup and it took me a little while to figure out how to apply it without looking like a clown. Less is more. Dabbing is better than brush-stroking. I usually dab some on the apples of my cheeks and attempt to blend it with a little more dabbing.
What is arrowroot powder and where do you find it?
Hi Nancy! Arrowroot powder is pure starch– just like corn starch. Bob’s Red Mill makes the brand that I use– you can usually find that in the “natural foods section” of any grocery store. BUT if you can’t find it in the store, you can definitely get it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Natural-Arrowroot/dp/B003K8Q04O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360251365&sr=8-3&keywords=arrowroot+powder
That looks interesting, I’ve been going through all my natural skin care books I’m going to take a class on making lotion I buy it from the lady that teachs the class it’s the best.
Yay! Homemade lotion sounds like fun! If it turns out anything like your soap, I know it’s going to be amazing 😉
This is great! I’m getting rid of my store bought make-up (they have lots of nasty chemicals), and I want to makemy own make-up now. Any ideas on what I could use to give the blush a more orange-ish tone? Thanks <3
What am I doing wrong?
I LOVE the idea of making my own makeup. I’ve made this recipe and can’t even get it to stay on my face. It doesn’t seem to be powdery enough, although I’ve run it thru my coffee grinder and Ninja.
Secondly I’ve tried mixing it with a bit of olive oil to make a cheek stain but it goes on very grainy.
(I’ve mixed regular makeup powder with olive oil to make a liquid foundation and it works great!)
So how do you get the powder to be powdery enough?
Hi Sara– This blush will not stick to your cheeks as well as conventional blush. You could try adding some more arrowroot powder, or using pure arrowroot powder to “set” the blush after you apply. It took me a while to get used to wearing this make up because its so different from what I was used to…
OMG THIS IS GENIUS! CAN YOU DEHYDRATE AND GRIND OTHER FRUITS AND VEGGIES AS WELL FOR PIGMENT? 🙂 LOVE THIS IDEA!