Being a beauty-obsessed yet strictly budgeted college student, it was only a matter of time before I attempted to make my own cosmetics. It’s a great way to save money, especially being that most of the ingredients are common household items and cosmetic products are traditionally overpriced. Additionally, this way you know exactly what is going into your products. So there will be no harshly manipulated ingredients disguised as ‘skin sensitive’ makeup to irritate your skin. Lastly, using cruelty-free cosmetics is extremely important to me, but sometimes I buy products without researching them first. Making your own make up is fun, and you can use it knowing no animals were harmed in the process. (Discovering that your favorite new lip color is hurting bunnies in a testing laboratory makes for some very intense inner-turmoil.)
There is an overwhelmingly large wealth of tutorials and readings available online for DIY cosmetics. So, I did the dirty work of sorting through (a decent amount of) them and working through some flaws in the recipes. And now, I present to you: A Guide to DIY Cosmetics.
EyelinerLooking Good Naturally shared a great baseline for making your own liquid/gel eyeliner, but I have a few alterations to the formula they provide. Also, I say “liquid/gel” because you can alter the consistency based on the ratio of ingredients you choose to use. As far as ingredients go, they only list activated charcoal (easily bought in the form of capsules from CVS) and coconut oil. I followed their recipe but found the eyeliner was too fluid and oily. It was easy to apply but smudged almost immediately. To combat this, I added cornstarch to the mixture (and some additional charcoal). This made the liner more gel-like and helped it stay put when applied with an angled brush. I suggest adding the cornstarch gradually, in very small amounts, until you reach the desired consistency.
Also note, charcoal is great for any homemade cosmetic needing a dramatic pigment. Other sources of color to try out include cocoa powder and beet root powder.
A similar website, A Blossoming Life, explains how to make an all-natural eyebrow filler. Again, they provide a great starting point, but it is up to you to fiddle with the ingredients, especially because this one needs to match your natural eyebrow color! Playing with varying amounts of cocoa powder and charcoal powder should yield satisfying results for most darker-haired beauties.
I found the link to this tutorial on Pinterest, but the website itself was irritating and glitchy. To save you the trouble, I will summarize the instructions here. To make these lipsticks, all you need is coconut oil and crayons! Use a stovetop on low heat to warm water in a pot. Then place a ceramic or glass bowl in this warmed water (this bowl will be where you melt and mix the ingredients). I suggest using 1 tablespoon of coconut oil per 1 1/2 crayons because I like the consistency. Melt the measured coconut oil in the mixing bowl. Select the colors of crayons you want to mix. To prepare the crayons, peel off the paper labels and break them into smaller pieces. You can then add them to the mixing bowl. Once your mixture is completely melted, mix and adjust the color by adding other bits of crayon. When you are happy with the color, pour the mixture into a small container (such as an eyeshadow tin). Speed up the solidification process by setting it in the freezer for a few minutes.
Turns out you can make a ton of awesome cosmetics out of empty EOS chapstick containers! I stumbled upon this YouTube tutorial on how to turn an empty EOS container into a convenient little deodorant stick. You can also just use the recipe for the deodorant itself, but this is far more exciting. A note on this tutorial, I found I needed far more cornstarch than indicated in the video. I nearly doubled the called-for measurement (1/4 cup) of cornstarch to achieve the consistency I desired. Also, be careful when dismantling your EOS container. They can be stubborn and knifes are dangerous (tweezers work better)!
I saved my favorite for last! I followed this recipe exactly as stated and I love how it turned out. Also, I highly recommend adding tea tree oil. The smell is lovely and so soothing. Other makeup removers leave my skin dry and irritated, but this is so different.
–Dara Hofman