We did our first-ever DIY Mineral Make Up class at Otion. Throughout the 3 hour class, I kept telling the class attendees that the process was super simple. At the beginning of the class, they looked dubious. But, by the end of the class, everyone agreed and was excitedly chatting on about what they were going to make next. Blush was on most attendee’s to-do list.

The biggest success of the day was definitely the foundations portion of the class. Mixing a truly custom blended foundation can be absolutely daunting and take up to 45 minutes. An intricate understanding of the Color Wheel is essential for a successful foundation match. Thankfully, fabulous Johanna co-taught the class with me and she is pure genius with mixing and matching.

To make things just a little easier, we had each of the foundation base mixes in the “Making Mineral MakeUp Guide” pre-mixed for everyone. There are 12 different blends in the book. Amazingly, everyone left with perfectly blended foundation and only 2 people needed some extra oxides added to the basic bases to get the perfect blend. So, perhaps that need for a truly custom blended foundation is nil because most everyone found their perfect match in our handy pre-made recipes.

Eye Shadow was the big crowd pleaser. It’s the easiest to make and of course, with eye shadow, anything goes so there were some fun and crazy colors that were made.

Everyone left with 4 eye shadows they made in class, 1 custom color match foundation, make up applicators and the Mineral MakeUp Guide. More importantly, they left with the knowledge on how to create all of these goodies for themselves at home.

If you want to do this yourself at home, you can! It’s easy (I swear). Buy the book here.

We have named our second free Mineral Makeup Eyeshadow recipe in our Holiday series Champagne Glimmer. It’s a shimmery pink blend with nice peachy undertones that seems to complement many skintones.

The recipe:
3 parts Sericite
2 parts Peach Shimmer mica
1 part Sparkle Violet mica (Sparkle Violet Mica will be discontinued when supplies run out. You can use Super Pearly White Mica instead).
1 part Rose Pearl mica

We used our mini pigment scoops for the parts – but you can use whatever measuring tool you have handy.

Blending directions: Place everything in your container (we like to use the classy black lip pots) and mix well. That’s it!

Foiling Technique: Here’s how you can get a little extra shimmer and shine from your handmade eyeshadow blends.

Dip your makeup brush in water and then in the eyeshadow. The eyeshadow powder will stick to your brush. Then use a surface (like the lid of the container) to blend up the eyeshadow and water. You want a smooth flowing blend, not a paste.

Step 1: Apply your favorite foundation to your eyelids and around your eyes – blend in well. If you have more mature eyes, a dab of moisturizer under the foundation will help the foundation go on more smooth and even.
Step 2: Paint the wet Champagne Glimmer onto the upper lid. Be sure to look down until it dries so you don’t get eyeshadow where you don’t want it!

Step 3: Apply liquid liner to the the upper lid (for the example real life photo, we used a blend of our brown oxide and black oxide and used the same foiling technique with water). Smudge a deep brown eyeshadow along the lower lash line and apply Mascara.

And that’s it! I have to admit, this isn’t a look I’ll be sporting this season. But maybe some of you more adventurous types will give it a shot and send us photos?

I can hardly wait for the Holiday season to start. All the parties me a great excuse to get dressed up and try interesting make up options that I normally don’t wear.

So, we spent this weekend creating 3 new eyeshadow recipes that should be perfect for Holiday celebrations. We’ve named them “Deep Moss,” “Champagne Blush,” and “Pumpkin Shimmer.”
Along with the simple recipes, I’ll also show you an idea for how to apply the eyeshadow to make dramatic looks as easy as making the eye shadows.

The first recipe and technique is a smoky eye look using the Deep Moss blend.

Recipe:

2 mini scoops Cappuccino Mica
3 mini scoops Patina Sheen Mica
1 mini scoop Blue Green Mica
2 mini scoops Green Chrome oxide

We used our mini .15cc scoops when creating this recipe – but you can use any measurement you want. Just keep the proportions the same.

Directions: It is so simple and easy to make this eyeshadow. Just place all of your measured mica into a container (we like to use our classy black lip balm pots) and mix it together. And it’s ready to use! If you missed the YouTube video of me making eye shadow on Better TV, click here to watch it.

step one – I like to put a little foundation and face powder on my eyelids (while I’m doing the rest of my face) before starting for a nice base. This helps with a smooth application and also to make the eyeshadow last and last.

step two – Using the Pearly Silver eyeshadow (recipe found in our Mineral Makeup Guide), apply to the entire upper lid and about half way up to the eyebrow. Use a nice soft fluffy brush to blend this in well.

step three – Apply the deep moss color to the upper eyelid and along the lower lash line. Be sure to not miss the inner corner of the eye as well. The key to this look is soft and smoky so be sure to blend the edges so you don’t have any harsh lines.

step four – Apply a dark brown or black eyeliner to the top and bottom lid. Finish with mascara and you are ready to hit the town!