Homemade Mascara

How to Make Your Own Homemade Mascara

Not everything can be a success, I guess! But that won't stop me from trying again :) ... which I did and found a recipe I that works! Be sure to see the update at the end of this post.

I've been very unmotivated to try this recipe between needing additional ingredients; reusing or not reusing my mascara container, it is it going to hurt my eyes, and will it even work?!?!? 

A few weeks back I finally purchased the final ingredient, step one done ... but then I was torn between whether or not I should reuse my current mascara container. I've heard horror stories about bacteria growing in makeup but since part of my challenge has been to also minimize waste, I decided I would try to clean out my old container before buying new containers. However, I didn't think all the way through this plan before cleaning out my almost gone mascara that could have last me another week or so before making sure my homemades mascara was going to meet my expectations. Let's just say I have a few options now: go without mascara (this is definitely the most extreme choice), find a new recipe that works, or buy a new tube of mascara. Decisions, decisions!

I'm sure some of you are like "I knew it! There's no way she could make mascara that works like the real stuff." I haven't given up but this is going to be a challenge for sure!

Right away I wasn't pleased with the consistency of the mascara and it definitely didn't coat my lashes like I was hoping, but I figured I needed to test out the stay-power. So today I gave it a shot to see  how it would withstand a typical day and I'm sad to admit it lasted only still about 9:30. After a few smudges, I realized the stay-power of this homemade mascara isn't going to suffice. :(

So enough with the let downs of my first homemade mascara attempt and onto the recipe that will need to be tweaked. The original recipe came from Robin at Thank Your Body and was a great starting point.

notice the stopper, if reusing your mascara container be sure to remove the
stopper and use a small bottle brush to clean out all the old mascara.
Dr. Brown's Natural Cleaning Brush from my baby bottle days worked wonders!

Homemade Mascara

empty mascara container (a new one or a cleaned reused one)

4 tsp aloe vera gel

2 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp grated beeswax

1 to 2 capsules of activated charcoal (1/4-1/2 tsp cocoa powder can be substituted for brown mascara)

Combine aloe vera gel, coconut oil, and beeswax in a small saucepan and heat over low until melted. Add activated charcoal. Whisk until thickened. Place mascara into a small plastic baggie and seal. Push all the mascara to one corner (like a frosting piping bag). Cut the tip to form a small opening. Squeeze mascara in to mascara tube that has had the stopper removed. Replace the stopper. Insert wand and use as desired. 

For the next batch I will be trying one (or both) of these recipes from 'Simple Life Mom'.

UPDATED 1/27/16
'Simple Life Mom' had a recipe that worked great!

Homemade (Egg Yolk) Mascara

1 egg yolk

1 to 2 capsules of activated charcoal (1/4-1/2 tsp cocoa powder can be substituted for brown mascara)

Whisk together until a smooth consistency is formed. Place in a small container with a lid. Apply using a clean mascara wand. Refrigerate between uses. 

I used 1 capsule of activated charcoal and 1/4 tsp of cocoa powder

When my first attempt was far from a success, I did a little more searching and came across this recipe and believe me my first thoughts were ... "What egg yolk on my eyelashes ALL day?!?!?" After a few days of no mascara and being too lazy to leave me cozy office over my lunch break to run to the store and buy any, I decided what do I have to lose. So I glad I got past the idea of wearing egg yolk on my lashes, not only did it cover great, but it last all day with the added bonus of all the extra nutrients from the egg yolk. 

Additional cost: $5.93 for activated charcoal or possibly no additional cost if you use all cocoa powder 

Cost Comparison: $3 to $30 depending on brand for store bought vs. less than $0.25 for homemade per batch

Homemade Powder Foundation

How to Make Your Own Powder Foundation

I've been wanting to make this for weeks now, but have been procrastinating on buying some arrowroot powder. Arrowroot powder is very similar to cornstarch and can be used interchangeably but after reading some different recipes arrowroot powder gave a better overall result than cornstarch. However, the only place I've seen it in stores is at Meijer with the spices for $7 for a small bottle; and I'm trying to respect the Mr.'s request to "lay off the Amazon orders" ;-). Yes, the $7 dollars would be much cheaper than the almost $9 'Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Loose Powder' I usually purchase; BUT not if I don't like the results! 

So, when I finally ran out of my face powder' my choices were to go buy some more OR make some using what I had ... cornstarch it is! My starting point was a recipe I found at 'My Merry Messy Life' and then tweaked it until I had a color I could work with. She has some additional information that would be worth reading if you'd be interested in trying the homemade powder foundation ... including how to make it into a pressed powder! I will be trying that also!

the final product ... needs to be slightly darker for my skin tone

Homemade Powder Foundation

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

5 drops of palmarosa (or other oil of your liking)

Mix all ingredients together. 

After reading over the few ingredients most of the face powders contained, I went to my kitchen cupboard and started investigating some other options for coloring! 

the few options I liked from my cupboard

Seeing them all together really gives you a great idea of what undertones each of these spices have and which ones would work better for your own skin. I did notice the finer the spices the better the blended to make an even colored powder. I think a mortar and pestle just made it onto my Christmas list! There have been a handful of times I would have used one of these sets and making some of these spices finer would just be another reason why I would use one. 

Some pros about making my own powder foundation - CHEAP, it smells really good, easy to adjust the color, and of course healthier for your skin. Some cons or things I'm concerned about - finding the perfect color, overall coverage, and stay power, Now if this becomes something I like well enough to experiment more and really fine the perfect shade, then it's going to take some time!

I am a little nervous to be putting this out there because I am sure I will get some very curious attention about how my make-up (which is bare minimal to begin with) looks up close. If you happen to see me out and about I'd love (well maybe, heehee) hear your feedback. So far I have been fairly impressed other than the fact I need to make it slightly darker. My make-up goes on once (if that) and I'm not one to touch up it up throughout the day, let alone remember to glance in the mirror before walking out the door (unless I'm off to work or a function) and when I do it's through the rear-view mirror as I'm pulling out of the drive so it's at the point-of-no-return and we just have to go with it! 

Here's a starting point for different undertones, I was rather surprised at how much different the colors were! You'll notice the nutmeg is the lightest but also used the most spice, this would partially be due to the fact my nutmeg wasn't has fine as the cinnamon so didn't blend as well.

a little comparison before mixing spices 

Well, this was my fun for the week! The recipe for homemade powder foundation filled my old powder container; so the amounts are fairly equivalent for the cost comparison. 

Cost Comparison: Under $0.15 for homemade powder foundation vs. $9 Physician Formula Mineral Wear