Eyeshadow Follow-up

After yesterday's post I went a bit nuts and cream-i-fied pretty much all the powders I had that had enough room in their jars, using the oil & alcohol method. The diffferent powders all react a bit differently to the process- some mix easily, some definitely do not, some have dried well, some are still very liquidy (which might have to do with how much oil I added vs how much stuff was left vs the texture of the powder vs whoknowswhatelse.)

All are fairly usable, though I'm going to let a few dry out a bit more before I put the caps on.

On the top is the dry powder, bottom is the new cream. 

Bathroom Chemistry: Cream Shadows from Powders

I have a really hard time finding affordable cream eyeshadows that don't contain yicky ingredients. I thought I'd hit paydirt when I found this etsy seller, but unfortunately she puts a sizable amount of fragrance in every batch and it's too strong for me to use (which sucks because I bought a LOT of it. If it weren't for the perfuminess, I'd love the heck out of it- it works well. But seriously, why does eyeshadow need to have a smell!?! *Weep* But it's my own fault for not reading carefully.) 

Anyway, I thought maybe it would be easy to turn some of my mineral powders into creams. You can always mix them with water right before you put it on, but that's not the same and requires an extra step... I know I'd use them more if they were creams. Googling around, I found two methods: the alcohol and oil method, and a bunch of people just mixing the shadow with primer. I grabbed two powders that I like but don't use that often and gave them each a whirl. 

  The Powders: 

 

 Both are loose mineral powders from Shiro Cosmetics (don't click that unless you want your money to leave you in a hurry. So. Sparkly. So. Pretty. So. Nerdy.) The one on the left of the tattoo-line is Impossible, on the right is More Sugar. Both are very sheer when applied dry- Impossible is basically just a faint shimmer. 

Alcohol and Oil Method:

I used grapeseed oil, because it has a pretty long shelf life and shouldn't go rancid before I finish using up the shadow. My rubbing alcohol was only 70% but, y'know, use what you have, right? I followed the directions, mixing everything up in the original container with a fondue fork, which was... a tad messy. I'm not sure if I really got to the "smooth liquid/paste starting to separate from the alcohol and look lumpy and curd-like" stage, because I ran out of room in the container and couldn't add more oil. I figured it'd just end up being a little on the dry side maybe. It also never reached a point where I could "tip off the excess alcohol" and several hours later was still looking odd and soupy, but the next day....

 

That's totally how it's supposed to look! Omg!

 

It must have just taken forever to evaporate because my alcohol wasn't very high-proof or whatever. But it totally works! The shimmer + oil gives it a "wet shine" kinda look which can be sort of intense but isn't too overpowering in such a light color. I look forward to trying it with some serious-business colors though. 

Pros:

It works

You get to feel like a mad scientist

The ingredients are cheap and nontoxic (once the alcohol evaporates)

Removes easily with soap, make up remover, or whatever else you'd use on a mineral shadow

Cons:

Definite waiting period fraught with uncertainty

Will eventually go rancid if I don't use it up

Alcohol smells bad (not a problem once it evaporates, just when you're using it.) 

Involves fiddly meting out of liquids into tiny containers

 Just Mix it With Primer Method:

I don't usually use primer but I had a little tube of this that came with a shadow set, so that's what I used. It has fewer nasty ingredients than most primers do, but it's also a very thick gel, which turned out to be a big mistake. It was NOT stirrable. I made a huge mess trying to mix it in before finally giving up and putting the whole shebang in a bigger container, where I continued to make a huge mess. It was thick enough that it really needed to be kneaded in, by tiny little fairy hands, or perhaps by these guys. But since I had no baby loris handy, I just hacked away awkwardly with my fondue fork, and basically ended up with powder-covered wads of primer surrounded by chunks of powder.

   

Also I spilled some of the "Impossible" earlier. Eyeshadow everywhere.

 Applied, it does resemble something like a cream shadow....

   

... but too chunky and uncontrollable to be useful. I might sacrifice an old paintbrush later and see if I can't mix it together more uniformly. I think, though, that with a thinner primer, this might have worked well. (It was also a nightmare to get off. Actually some of it is still on there.)

Pros:

Probably would work with a thinner primer

Immediate results

Easy, since there are only two ingredients

Shouldn't really ever go bad

Will stay on for.ev.er. 

Cons:

Does NOT work well with thick primer

Is only as non-toxic as the ingredients in the primer (and usually they're horrible)

You don't get to feel like a fancy alchemist

Will stay on for.ev.er. 

In conclusion: My husband is a wonderful and tolerant man and I hope that the fact that our bathroom looks like the scene of a brutal fairy murder will not be a dealbreaker, because that shit is not easy to get off when it's glued on with primers and oils. 

(Also, I like the first method better.) 

Foilin' yer plans

So I'm going to be doing most of the makeup for Doomsday Knits, in all likelihood... so I've been sort of homeschooling myself in the fine cosmetic arts. Yesterday was "play with foiling" day!

(Foiling involves using loose mineral pigments and either mixing them with water/liquid or applying them with a wet brush to make them very shiny and intense and opaque. I talked about it a bit here.)

Also, I've been watching Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race. 

So, this happened.

In conclusion, foiling is fun. 

Also, dark lipstick enhances my chin and makes me look like a most-likely-male glam rocker. Good to know. 

Making Mineral Eye Shadow Your Bitch

So when the girls at NMDL put me off products with talc at just about the time Pinterest put me onto fancy eyeshadows, I started looking around for talc-free formulas. This is not particularly easy, or cheap. Then I found out about the wide world of homemade loose mineral eyeshadows that chicks hawk on etsy for like, $3-5 a pot. And then I got super excited, and then I spent $50 on eyeshadows. If you like your makeup named after Hunger Games characters, you're particularly in luck.

Turns out these little bastards, as pretty and affordable and nontoxic as they are, can be sort of a pain in the ass to use. I'm starting to get a handle on it, though, so I thought I'd share my experience.

The absolute most important thing to know about mineral shadows is this: Mineral shadow + water = paint. This totally changes the game when it comes to application and removal.

- Did you fuck up? Don't try to wipe it away with water. Oil, soap, and make-up remover will take this stuff off no problem, but water will make it stick harder. Oil is great at the end of the day (I use my jojoba mixture) but you're going to want some decent non-oily make-up remover for fixing mistakes. I'm using BWC and it works like a charm (I've heard it's less effective on conventional makeup, but it's fine for what I use.) My main makeup application strategy is to get it all over myself so I look like an uncoordinated clown and then clean up the edges when I'm done, so I was really suffering before I found the BWC stuff. (A lot of makeup removers and remover wipes have parabens which are no good, so, watch out for that.)

- The moisture on your hands will also make it stick a little, which is a major bummer if you're a devoted finger-smudger like me. Wrapping a little piece of tissue around my finger seems to work, or you can just smudge with brushes/sponges/q-tips, etc.

- If you manage to screw your shadow up while you're out and about, you either will have to smudge it around with some tissue, mess with some soap, or you can take the cheater way out like I do and just sort of cover it up with face powder. You could carry makeup remover with you but I'd be worried it would leak. Maybe someday I'll make some homemade wipes. I haven't had too much trouble with it smudging while I'm out, though.

- Now the upside of this water phenomenon: foiling! Mix the shadow with water or use a wet brush to apply it, and you'll get an amazing, opaque, intense color. It's fantastic for lining eyes (and I am traditionally a huge eyeliner-fucker-upper so you know it's easy.) Once it's dried on there, you can soften the edges with some dry powder or try to smudge it a bit to make it a little more subtle. It'll be pretty set on there, though.

(From the top: Star-Crossed from Shiro Cosmetics applied dry, Katniss from Bad Bitch Cosmetics applied dry, Star-Crossed applied wet, Katniss applied wet. BIG DIFFERENCE.)

- If you use the powder dry, it will be pretty subtle until you've built up a few layers. Just FYI. That's not always a bad thing, though.

- Loose powder is fiesty! Tap your brush on the container and then on your arm to get the extra off before you go near your eyelid. That's especially true if you have a wet brush- the dry excess will fall off when you're trying to paint and sprinkle your face. You'll probably sprinkle your face no matter what, so I recommend doing eyes before foundation and blush or anything like that.

- On primer: I don't use that shit. Whatever. Maybe I should? I only ever want the stuff to last a few hours while I go out and so far, it's been fine.

- Practice with the stuff before you actually have to go somewhere. That's probably common sense but that doesn't mean I do it, so maybe you don't either. But do.

Where to buy it
I bought my buttload of mineral shadows from:
BadBitchCosmetics (tons of super fun colors. Some have toxic ingredients, so pay attention. "Bowie" and "Black Swan" are gorgeous, and "Dime Piece" is a great liner color. Does awesome tiny sampler sizes.)
BLSoaps (lots of lovely neutrals.)
Shiro Cosmetics (Pretty colors, geeky themes, cult following. I am not in love with the sifter containers that they come in, but you can take the sift-y part out and just make it a regular container. I just wasn't getting enough out through the holes.)

Honestly, it seems like most of the homemade shadows are similar in terms of ingredients and efficacy- pay attention to the price vs. the size of the container vs. how awesome the colors are, because those are the things that vary.


How to make it
This is something I'd like to try someday- it seems easy enough, though you have to shell out for all the materials. Maybe I'll find someone who wants to go in on it with me. If I do get around to it, I'll report back.

I think that's it- if you guys have any useful tips I missed, let's hear 'em!