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Spent my morning making do it yourself homemade foundation. I’ve been slowly changing a lot of aspects of my life to more natural options and after running out of my current store bought foundation I decided to switch to a homemade foundation. Plus it has zinc in it! It has an SPF of ~20. I used it and am pretty impressed with the results.
I don’t use a lot of makeup so I’m thrilled with the coverage amount. It’s very light and doesn’t feel caked on. I also put frankincense and lavender in it for the awesome skin benefits of those essential oils.
DIY Homemade Foundation with Essential Oils
Step #1
Gather your ingredients.
- .5oz Shea Butter
- .25oz Cocoa Butter
- .75oz Sweet Almond Oil
- .25 Zinc Oxide
- 1/8tsp Vitamin E
– The one I show in the picture is from my local Grocery store. I haven’t used the Vitamin E from this brand but I am satisfied with their other products.
- .25oz Beeswax
- 25 drops Essential Oils (will take you to my Young Living page if you would like to learn more about essential oils!)
Other ingredients (not pictured) that you will need:
- Green Clay – my skin has a lot of reddish undertones. If your skin has more of a yellow undertone then you might want to use Ginger instead of the green clay.
- Cocoa Powder
– to darken the mixture.
- Cinnamon Powder
– As you can tell from the picture this isn’t the cocoa powder I used. I am slowly replacing products in my home with DIY or organic options. This link is something I would purchase to replace my cinnamon when I run out. It is worth a mention that if you have sensitive skin the cinnamon might not be a good choice for you. It’s just to add in some darkening like the cocoa powder.
More on amounts of the above three ingredients later!
DIY Homemade Foundation
Step #2
You want to add the shea butter, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, vitamin E, and beeswax first. I used a scale to measure ingredients since I was dealing in smaller amounts. You can either hit the tare button between ingredients or just add it up.
DIY Homemade Foundation
Step #3
All my ingredients are hanging out in my homemade double boiler. Set a pan of water on the stove and let it start to simmer then put the ingredients in a glass bowl inside. You don’t want the bottom of the bowl to touch the water.
DIY Homemade Foundation
Step #4
All melted. WAIT. Let it cool a couple minutes (comfortable for you to touch) before going on to step #5.
Step #5
Set the bowl on your scale and hit the tare button. Add in the .25oz Zinc Oxide. (Forgot to take a picture of this step sorry!) This is the base for your foundation.
DIY Homemade Foundation
Step #6
This is where the fun begins! Add in about 1/8t green clay 1/8t cinnamon mixing thoroughly so each ingredient is well-combined. Then slowly add in cocoa powder until you reach your desired shade. I used a little bit less than 1/2t cocoa powder. I have very fair skin you may need more or less that’s why I recommend you add it slowly! (Update 1/24/2015: don’t be like me and put in too little cocoa powder like I described above. My boyfriend came downstairs after I made this the first day and said “What did you do to your face?” LOL according to him I looked like a Geisha! I put in a little more cocoa powder and cinnamon and returned for his approval and he said “much better” I had it on at work yesterday and a coworker said it looked really good and blended with my skin nicely. Win! Make sure you are looking at it when testing shades under all types of lighting get a friend or significant other who will be honest to tell you if it looks good.)
Next add in your essential oils. I used about 10 drops Lavender and 15 drops Frankincense. Stir to combine. Transfer to a vessel of your choice. If I had a tin I would have used that or an old (cleaned) makeup container.
Below is my finished product in a little jar. I made a small amount. I might adjust things in my next batch. Stay tuned – I might be adding pictures of it in use!
DIY Homemade Foundation
I read a lot of blog articles before I attempted this recipe. My main inspiration was Scratch Mommy’s Foundation. I changed her Homemade Foundation recipe a bit and added essential oils in with mine.
Why Did I Choose Frankincense & Lavender For My Homemade Foundation?
Sacred Frankincense Boswellia sacra – has many of the same qualities as Boswellia carterii may help with the integumentary system.
Lavender Lavendula angustifolia – may be helpful in assisting with the integumentary system. If you look up René-Maurice Gattefossé you’ll find some interesting info on lavender.
(Note: essential oils are very concentrated and a little goes along way so make your own judgement on how much to use!)
If you are interested in purchasing essential oils through me check out my Young Living page to see the awesome offer I have going on or email me sarah@graceinoils.com and I can help you with pricing & info.
Happy DIYing!
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