Blemish Powder

EyesLipsFace (ELF) has this Mineral Blemish Powder that I use every single day. It is awesome.

On the actual ELF site this product has mixed reviews, like most products, but I personally give it five stars. It in no way claims to be a concealer, so it doesn't have a lot of coverage and is very sheer. BUT it fades pimples and makes them less red and it is perfect to wear underneath any foundation/concealer. I feel like it almost creates a pimple-fighting barrier between my skin and my foundation when I wear it.

Sometimes if my skin is looking pretty good, or I am camping in the summer, I will wear it alone. It goes on looking very natural.

Best part?

It has TONS of awesome ingredients in it that give your blemished/acneic/oily skin great benefits.

Kaolin soothes irritated and blemished skin and helps to heal.

Willow Bark helps prevent acne and naturally contains salycilic acid.

Tea Tree Oil is an anti-bacterial and keeps pores clear of dirt and grime.

You can get ELF Mineral Blemish Powder here.

One of the great things about the ELF website is that every product has a video to go along with it. It shows you how to best use the product and also gives you a full list of ingredients.

Do I sound like a walking ad for ELF? Sorry!

But I have found that being a girl on a budget, ELF is such a great website because everything is just so dang cheap compared to other places. You get the most bang for your buck! Target carries some of their stuff, and sometimes so does Grocery Outlet, which is nice because then you don't have to pay for shipping, but sadly, I have not found the Blemish Powder in Target yet.

Anyways, pretty much all of the beneficial ingredients in the ELF Mineral Blemish Powder, you can use to make your own really great acne-fighting concealer. Refer to my post here. And also here for more info on the ingredients.

The one thing that the ELF Blemish Powder has that I don't use is Sulfur. Sulfur is beneficial for acne-prone skin, but not great for sensitive skin because it can be very harsh and irritating.

Hope all is well!

DIY Concealer Updated

Hey all, so I have updated the DIY Concealer/Foundation post. I was finally able to upload all of the pictures. You can check it out here.

I will be doing a DIY matte lipstick post as well as a DIY matte nailpolish post to follow up on my "Matte" post which you can check out here.

Happy Friday!!

Until next time, here is a photo I took on Mount Diablo last weekend.

DIY Herbal Concealer: Part 2 of 2



Your very own, home-made, cruelty-free, herbal concealer/foundation. For background information on these ingredients, refer to this post.

 

Concealer Formula:

1/4 rounded tsp of Organic CINNAMON

1/8 tsp rounded WHITE WILLOW BARK Powder

1/8 rounded tsp ROSEHIP Powder

1/8 rounded tsp WITCH HAZEL Powder

1/8 flattened tsp BURDOCK ROOT Powder

1/8 flattened tsp MARSHMALLOW ROOT Powder

1/4 rounded tsp MICA (translucent)

1/4 rounded tsp KAOLIN Powder

1/2 rounded tsp ARROWROOT Powder

 

 

Be careful with some of these herbs because they can give you a tone that you do not want. Marshmallow root powder can give your concealer/foundation a slightly sallow tinge if you use too much of it. Willow Bark can give a slightly grey tint if you use too much of it, and rosehips powder can easily overpower the concoction and give it too much of an orange color if too much is added.

 

These colors, used together in the right amount, work very well. You can also use these colored herbs to modify the color of your concealer. If you have yellow undertones to your complexion, then the marshmallow root's yellowish tint is great for you. I have pink undertones in my complexion, which is why I used mostly cinnamon to overpower the color of my concealer.
 

 

Make sure to really grind these ingredients into a fine powder. It is easy to miss some of those cinnamon grains--these will not blend if you do not really grind the ingredients into each other. I use a mortar and pestle which can be found here. 

 

I used the arrowroot powder to lighten the formula until it was the right light pink/beige for my skin. You may not have super light skin like me. If this is the case, you may either want to use more of the other colored herbs, or simply less arrowroot powder, but as an added ingredient, arrowroot powder is good for your skin and works really well at absorbing oil.

 

 

Mixing Stage

 

 

 

Containers for your DIY concealer/foundation can be found here but I would suggest just using an empty container from old makeup if you have one lying around.

 

Finished Product

If you would like to refer back to how to do DIY at-home Mineral Veil, refer to this post.

I hope you all give this a try and I hope it goes well!

Here is a picture of my bunny Lola and I...just for the heck of it (-:

 

**This post has been updated with pictures, sorry for the delay!**

 

DIY Concealer/Foundation DUO: PART 1 of 2

 

So this is part 1 of a 2-part post. I wanted to do this in two parts because there is too much information to pack in to one post. It would be overwhelming.

 

I like to make my own powdered concealer (you could also use it as a foundation though) because...

1. I know that it is a cruelty-free product, since I made it 

2. It is a lot cheaper than a lot of pricey concealer but just as good as say, BareMinerals and

3. I can use only natural ingredients that are great for my skin and that make my skin look fabulous

 

 

For this first part, I just want to intrduce the ingredients that I use for this project. But know that as I tell you about each ingredient and why I use it, you are also welcome to not use whatever ingredients you feel you do not need for your skin. I have tailored my formula around what benefits I think my skin is in need of. Your skin may very well have other needs, or not all the needs of my skin.

 

All these ingredients are herbs and I usually get them from Mountain Rose Herbs because they are organic and safe and they have a lot of fair trade options. You can visit their website here.

Here goes the list:

 

1. Witch Hazel Bark powder: Witch hazel that you can find at drugstores (liquid form) is extracted from the bark and twigs. Witch hazel is anti-inflammatory and helps with vericose veins and can also help tighten pores. Can be found here.

 



 

    2. White Willow Bark powder: White willow bark naturally contais salicylic acid which we know is found is almost all acne treatment products. It is anti-inflammatory and helps to reduce swelling and relieve sensitivity. Can be found here.

 

 

 

    3. Rose Hips powder: Rose hips naturally contain a lot of vitamin C. It hydrates the skin rather than drying it out and is contains antioxidants. It is good for anti-aging properties as well. Can be found here.

 

 

 

    4. Marshmallow Root powder: This root is anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic which is why it is used a lot on localized skin problems, like boils, burns and sores. It helps in healing wounds and irritations. I have found a website that lists a lot of the benefits of marshmallow root which you can check out here. You can find marshmallow root here.

 









 

 

    5. Burdock Root powder: Please visit this website here for awesome information on burdock root. This herb is great for detoxification and purification of the skin. I is used a lot to treat chronix skin problems and also, like rose hip powder, contains tons of vitamin C which is a great anti-oxidant and anti-againg vitamin for the skin. Can be found here.

 

 

 



     6. Cinnamon: Yes, I know, quite unusual...if you do not feel comfortable putting cinnamon on your face, no one is making you, but this is a great, natural way to get the right color for your DIY concealer. Cinnamon can bring blood and oxygen to the skin surface which can help with blood flow. This helps with acne and healing. BUT cinnamon can also be drying and irritating. My skin is very sensitive, but I do not use enough of it in my concealer formula to irritate my skin or to dry it out. Chances are, if it doesn't irritate my skin, it probably won't irritate yours--but there is always that chance, so I suggest spot-testing this concealer before you use it all over your face. You can get cinnamon at any grocery store. Use organic cinnamon only on your skin. This is the one that I use:

 

 

 

 

For these last three products, you can also reference my post on DIY mineral veil here.

 

    7. Arrowroot Powder: This starch can be found at any health food store, even many regular grocery stores carry this product. Arrowroot powder nourishes and moisturizes the skin while absorbing oil. Most powder products on the market use modified cornstarch. Arrowroot powder essetially has the same effects but it is even better for your skin and is really great for sensitive skin. I also use this as a base in my DIY mineral veil powder.

 



 

    8. Kaolin: Kaolin is a product that is used in a lot of makeup products. It has really great covering ability and also absorbs oil. It's real main purpose for me is that it helps to clear up break outs and also sooths irritated, blemished skin. It also refines pores. You can get a bag of kaolin here.



 

 

    9. Mica: Mica powder is a texterizer and helps to aid in making the powder adhere to your face while also not irritating your skin. It also helps the different ingredient adhere to each other. It prolongs the staying power of the powder. There are tons of color options when it comes to buying mica. For face makeup, buy the translucent powder. You can get mica powder here.

 

 

 

So there you have all of the ingredients. Check back in about a day or so. I will be posting the exact formula for the concealer that I use. Remember, though, that I have really light skin. Your formula may vary from mine according to your skin color. I will explain more about how to experiment with color in my next post. All the best!