DIY Matte Lipstick

Let's talk LIPS!

SO what do you do if you are on a budget and you are obsessed with matte lipstick, or you just already found your perfect red shade, you just wish it came in matte as well? Well then hopefully this video below will solve all of your problems!

Oh and something else that's great, mattifying your lipstick also makes it last much longer. It's perfect if you are going into a situation where you probably won't be able to re-apply for a while.

 

Before you watch the video, please excuse the rampant mess and dissgusting walls...I know I know, it's gross, I'm so sorry, please just ignore it! Enjoy (-:

 

 

 

ELF High Definition Powder here.

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm/Stain in Sweatheart here.

 

If you want to make your own lip plump you can look at my post on DIY Lip Plump here.

No time to make your own lip plump?

I also use Salley Hansen Vita-C Lip Plump which you can get here. I got it at Walgreens for $4.

 

Also, if you made your own Mineral Veil/Face Powder from my post here, you can also use that to mattify your lipstick.

 

In my matte post I talked about the NARS Lip Pencil in Cruella. This is a great blue-red and looks especially nice against light skin. NARS also has other great matte colors in this same lip pencil. You can check them out here. Below is a picture of the NARS in Cruella.

 

I know I know, I'm sooo white.

 

 

I also love love love Tarte's LipSurgence because it's like the Revlon Just Bitten. It is a lip stain and a balm in one AND it's MATTE--at the same time!! SOO awesome!

 BUT the Revlon Just Bitten Balm/Stain is around $7 while the Tarte stains are more pricey like the NARS, both being around $24. You can check out Tarte here. WARNING: You will be tempted to buy all of the colors!

 





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/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!

 

 



DIY Face Powder / Mineral Veil

As promised, DIY Mineral Veil/Face Powder...

#1 Arrowroot:  This natural product is light and smooth and is really great to use as a finishing powder. While it does absorb oil, it does not dry out skin. This ingredient is safe and gentle and ok to use on sensitive skin--better to use for sensitive skin than cornstarch. BUT if you do have sensitive skin, I ALWAYS recommend doing a patch test first to make sure. Try also to always use ORGANIC products on your skin.



#2 Kaolin: Kaolin is a product that is used in so much face makeup. It has really great covering ability and also absorbs oil. It is really great for acne prone skin because it can help to clear up break outs and also to sooth skin that is irritated. It also refines pores...wow, the more I talk about it, the more I realize this is just a great mineral! I always get my supplies from the cosmetic supply webite www.makingcosmetics.com. The are not over-priced and they seriously have everything you could every think of wanting when it comes to makeup ingredients.You can get a bag of kaolin here. A little goes a very, very long way. Really, all you need to buy is the 4oz bag.

#3 Mica: Mica is seriously in everything--from face makeup to eyeshadow to lipstick. You can get mica powder here. Remember, again, a little goes a long way. Mica powder is a texterizer and helps to aid in making the powder adhere to your face and in making the different ingredients adhere to each other. Simply put, 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. Be careful--you don't want to accidentally buy green mica powder..that is, of course, unless you want to try also making your own eyeshadow (-: .

SOOO there are the very basic ingredients I use to make finishing powder, but, if you click on the website (www.makingcosmetics.com) and start to browse all of their products you will definitely be VERY VERY OVERWHELMED. Or perhaps you will start to get extremely excited about creating your own makeup--I was both. But these are the basic ingredients. Nothing fancy.

I use a mortar and pestle to combine all of my ingredients, but it is not necessary. If you do want a mortar and pestle, you can get one here.

To be honest, I do not have exact measurements when it comes to making my mineral veil--each batch is slightly different. This is difficult to pin-point because it depends on how much you want to make and various details like that. But I can tell you a rough estimate:

for about every

 

3 teaspoons of arrowroot powder

I use about

1 teaspoon of kaolin

and 1/2 teaspoon of mica powder.

I hesitate to tell y'all measurements because I think that it is good to experiment and find out what works best for you--but remember that you can always add more, you cannot take away an ingredient once it's added. Measurements will also vary depending on what kind of skin you have. If you have very acneic skin (hi, me) then you are probably going to want to use more kaolin than others.

I usually use left-over, empty jars from buying makeup, but you can buy powder containers for your own makeup here.

Let me know if you have any questions, and, as always, let me know how it goes!!!