When my mineral powder foundation ran out on Black Friday, I figured I had to decide between ordering online to avoid a hellish in-store shopping experience and just hoping my face didn't experience a break-out before the new year. Of course, with holiday parties and pictures plentiful, I didn't want to run the risk of getting a huge dark spot and not being able to resort to makeup — so I decided to investigate how to make powder foundation on my own. After all, each time I made a public announcements to go to Sephora where I announced to anyone and everyone my plan, I would inevitably end up cozied up in my room with a marathon of Forensic Files — which is way more my speed than a crowded store with bumping holiday remixes and tempting sales. DIY was, as usual, the way to go.
It's not the first time that DIY makeup had crossed my mind, but it had taken me a long time to find a powder that wouldn't irritate my face and I was definitely nervous about a homemade foundation agitating my sensitive skin. Once I perused a variety of recipes and settled on my base ingredient, I couldn't wait to get down to business. Making your own makeup powder is incredibly easy and affordable, but is it worth all the extra effort?
After making my own mineral powder, I have to say that it depends on what you use foundation for. If you are someone who just uses cover-up as a bronzer or to cover up a small area, then this DIY powder is totally worth it. However, if you rely heavily on foundation to give you long-lasting wear and hold-up through a sweaty dance party, you may not be as psyched about the results. Fortunately, it's not exactly a huge investment as, say, trying a new, expensive, store-bought foundation that doesn't hold up. At the very least, give the DIY method a try because I'm pretty sure the only reason the cast of the Walking Dead looks so good during an apocalypse is because SOMEONE is clearly making them homemade coverup. I mean, seriously, there is no way they are getting all the vitamins and nutrients it takes to have clear skin while sharing a single peach.
Here's how to make your own powder at home; this recipe can also be used for blush and bronzer too!
1. Choose Your Base
Let's get started: First thing you need to do is settle on your base powder, which should be fairly easy if you've ever seen a mirror before. Since I was fairly certain I am brown, I went with cocoa powder. For fair skin you should choose a light base, like arrowroot. It doesn't matter if your base is NOT your exact skin tone because you'll be adding in different powders to get the perfect mix.
2. Formulate Your Skin Tone
This part definitely involved some mixing, frowning, and more mixing until I got a tone that was similar to my own. Since I wanted to lighten the cocoa powder, I added arrowroot powder. Then, I realized that while the color was lighter, the shade was just not even close to my skin. I added a bunch of cinnamon (because it was closer to my skin color), which added the nice, warm undertone I needed.
If you have fair skin, start by putting in a teaspoon of cocoa powder to your arrowroot. This will darken the powder dramatically, so balance it out with more arrowroot until you get the perfect color level. Cinnamon and nutmeg are both excellent additions to tweak the tone of your powder, but you don't want to just have a base of either as they don't hold up well by themselves.
3. Check Those Undertones
Your undertones are going to be the determining factor in what other powders you should use to get your foundation as close as possible to your skin tone. I have slightly pinkish undertones and I swear there is something very orange about my face. With that in mind, I used dried rose petals (I happened to be procrastinating a potpourri project) for a slightly pinkish tint. You can also use beet root powder to get reddish tints. I also added a pinch of turmeric to get a little dash of orange in my mix.
4. Mix Your Ingredients Together
Throwing your ingredients in a blender will ensure your ingredients are completely mixed, especially if you're adding those dried rose petals, because you won't be able to mix them into the powders completely with your bare hands. I used my trusty Nutribullet for my powder and was super pleased with the results! Store your new foundation in a sealable jar for future use.
Final verdict? Though I'll probably still stock up on my favorite Bare Minerals products in 2015, this DIY recipe is great for touching up your face throughout the day. I didn't experience any irritation and the powder was easy to remove (which is a plus for me). It's also a perfect solution when you run out of your fave makeup and need a quick fix!
Image: Kristin Collins Jackson; Giphy
