Have you found that you love mineral makeup, but you can’t find just the right shades for your skin from your favorite companies? Or are you just a do-it-yourself-er who loves mineral makeup but wants to take it to the next level? You may even be someone who has such a passion for mineral makeup that you are considering starting your own mineral cosmetics company. If you’re any or all of these, we have good news. With the recent explosion in the popularity of mineral makeup, now is a better time than ever to try making your own mineral makeup. Basic ingredients are readily available and economically priced.

What You’ll Need To Get Started

Mortar and Pestle or The Magic Bullet, for blending ingredients
Measuring Spoons and /or a Gram Scale, for measuring ingredients
Micronized Titanium Dioxide, for coverage and UV protection
Zinc Oxide, for UV protection

Serecite Mica, for matte finish
A variety of oxide, mica, and ultramarine pigments, for coloring
Sifter Jars, for application

Cosmetic brushes, for application

Optional Mineral Makeup Ingredients

A Color Wheel, for color relationships and study
Bismuth Oxychloride*, for shimmer, light refraction, and adhesion
Magnesium Stearate, for coverage and adhesion
Emollient Oils
Essential Oils

* Bismuth oxychloride is considered an unnecessary ingredient by many and can irritate those with acne prone skin, eczema, rosacea, and sensitive skin

Mineral Makeup Recipes

Mineral makeup recipes seem to be hard to come by…at least for free. However, Ponte Vedra Soap has a very good starting point recipe for making loose mineral foundation powder. Somerset Cosmetics also has a recipe for loose mineral foundation.

Remember, you have leeway to do whatever you’d like with your own recipe, which is what makes making your own mineral makeup so fun. Use these recipes as jumping off points, to get ideas about ingredient ratios, and take it from there. Leave out those ingredients, such as bismuth oxychloride, that won’t work on your skin or which you feel are unnecessary. The most important and fun thing is to experiment in order to find what works for you.

Once you formulate a foundation, it will be easy for you to branch out and create blushes and eye shadows, which consist of the same basic ingredients but will use different pigments to create typical blush and eyeshadow shades. Finishing powder is typically serecite, so that one’s easy! Combine mica and titanium dioxide to create illuminating powders. You can see where we’re going here. The key is to do your color and ingredient research and, again, to experiment.

Pre-made Bulk Mineral Makeup

If you’re not quite ready to make your own mineral makeup from scratch, but you would still like to create custom formulations, consider buying pre-made bulk mineral makeup and custom blending shades. The color possibilities are endless – you could create an entirely unique line by custom blending pre-made and tinted mineral makeup.

Essential Wholesale has a large variety of pre-made bulk mineral makeup, available in 4 oz. and pound increments. If you don’t want to make that large a commitment, you can also purchase samples of their mineral makeup to get started.

EBay is a treasure trove for bulk and sample sized pre-made mineral makeup, as well as items such as sifter jars and gram scales.

Hopefully, we’ve given you a starting point in your mineral makeup making adventures. Before you know it, you’ll be an expert at making your own mineral makeup and will probably be fielding custom makeup requests from all of your friends and family!

Copyright 2007, Mineral Makeup Central. Reprinting of this article is prohibited without permission.

Tags: essential wholesale, how to make mineral makeup, oxide, serecite mica, sifter jar