http://beauty.yamnul.com/making-mineral-make-up?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
This is the kind of thing that i just don't understand about the indie mineral makeup business. The combining of Serecite mica- and colored micas- will NOT result in an eyeshadow. Period! It will be a very light, translucent sparkly bit of color that will stick to your eyelids for about 5 minutes before floating right off again. If you glue it on with everyone's favorite Urban Decay primer Potion (which I think is myeh, but that's my opinion) you might get it to approximate eyeshadow for awhile. The truth is, your shadow should stick to your lids with OR without primer adhering it there, if it can't then is NOT a high enough quality eyeshadow, and your money would be better spent elsewhere.
Frankly that goes for foundation as well. A very popular Youtuber- Koren Zander- of Enkore- recently did a review of mineral foundation- and plainly said that mineral foundation doesn't last more than a few hours, and requires several touchups during the day. I take exception to this, as it is one of the MOST often commented properties of my foundation- that once it's on- it wears all day- and rarely needs touch-ups.
My peeve is that- you CAN make fabulous, high quality, long wearing- as in. "all day until you take it off" mineral cosmetics- but NOT like that!
I've said before, and I'll say again, it took me YEARS to develop formulas that work as well as, and often BETTER than commercial and even many professional products currently on the market. The makeup should work- whether or not you use a primer, or otherwise.
But, in order to do this, there are properties that must be considered when creating cosmetics. Let's discuss eyeshadow- since that was the topic here.
Do you want plenty of color, or would you like a translucent wash of color? Do you want adhesion?, Do you want opacity?, how's the Slip, What texture- creamy? Dry?, Do you want Matte or Satin, or Shimmer, Or Sparkle? everything you want to achieve with your shadow is a consideration for HOW you then create said shadow...
Adhesion is a necessity in any shadow- if you put it on, it should stay on-period. To do that mineral ingredients that are known for their adhesion have to be added to an eyeshadow base before any color is even added. In the ingredients list things such as Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Myristate, Boron Nitride, Waxes such as carnauba or jojoba, Stearates (which are oils, most typically palm oil), even kaolin Clay can offer some adhesion-. Many of these do double or triple duty- the oxides & kaolin can offer opacity, adhesion, AND work as colorants. The waxes improve slip (which is the ease of speadability and feel of the product going onto the skin), as well as helping to prevent oxidation of the product on the skin. The Stearates or oils help with both slip, texture, and to press the product into a pan, if desired. magnesium Myristate & Boron Nitride are known for adhesive properties- and often times are used because they improve adhesion without affecting the overall color. I personally do not use them- but many mineral companies do.
Now let's get to the process of making them. if you are using any of these base ingredients- they must be ground together. They cannot simply be shaken, stirred, or squished in a baggie, as is so often seen in tutorials. Only straight up micas will blend that way. If you want matte shadow- only oxides, carmine, Ultramarines, Manganese colors, etc. (or dyes, but we're talking minerals here) ground into a base will achieve a matte colored cosmetic. These mineral pigments actually offer opacity and some adhesion themselves, but they also add a dryer feel, which creates drag on the skin (the opposite of slip) and must be balanced with ingredients to improve that slip- and that's only one aspect of adding that ingredient that must be addressed....
Then FDA maximum usage rates MUST be considered. You can't just throw in a little more Tio2 (Titanium Dioxide) because it needs to stick better- the maximum usage rate for Tio2 is 25%. Period.
Yup- now comes the math! All my formulas are weighed to within 1/100th (.01g) of a gram- which are then converted into percentages. With the addition of even .01g everything must be re-totaled- and re-converted to ensure that I am not exceeding any ingredients FDA determined maximum usage rate.
I could go on....and ON! There is so much more- my 3 day boot camp that I teach on this subject isn't enough to cover all there is to know about this!
I don't even want to start on the bogus mineral formulators using repackaged stuff they claim as their own- where they're not even sure WHAT'S in it, and how it will perform, or maybe they just don't care and slap a label over it, or sell it without educating themselves! And I'm also not going into the use of unapproved Dyes being used at all (such as soap dyes) or Dyes unapproved for certain parts- such as Red #33, a known eye carcinogen, being used- or even appearing on the label of ANY eye cosmetic!
Just one of the reasons I don't use dyes- oxides are approved for eyes, face, lips, and nails. I also only uses colored micas that are approved for all four. Carmine- which, not being a Vegan company, but rather a naturally based company, I do use - is also approved for all 4. Only Ultramarine Blue is labelled, in the U.S. only, as not lip approved, and if a product of mine has it in it- it's clearly labelled "Not lip Safe" on the top- and has it included in the ingredients label on the bottom. I welcome questions, comments, anything- short of giving you my actual formulations I gladly answer these because I believe the consumer has a right to know what they're putting on their face, what ingredients the company uses and WHY? It's why I include an ingredients page at my website- so you can read up on each ingredient I use, and why I use it! yes it does open me up to people stealing my formulations, or buying them, and reverse engineering them, but my clients deserve the information! If you're choosing mineral cosmetics over the standard makeup, chances are it's because you are looking to reduce the number of ingredients you are putting on your face everyday. That's my company Philosophy- "To create outstanding makeup from the fewest, and finest ingredients possible."
I also believe the products should Work! No, they're not magic, but they should be high quality, and high performing. When you're spending your hard earned dollar, you should be getting more than something that just looks pretty in the jar!
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