Written by Jessica Chan, Four Green Steps

There are a number of benefits to making your own home-made cosmetics.  For one, it is MUCH cheaper to make your own than it is to buy at the store.  Secondly, the ingredients used are usually ingredients that you already have lying around your house, and require no added chemicals that you are going to be putting on your skin.

Lips

• Different types of produce, like beets, berries and pomegranates, make for a good lip stain.  Just mash up a bit of the ingredient, and mix the juices with a little petroleum jelly or olive oil and apply to lips.
• If you would rather eat the produce instead, another alternative would be Jello or Kool-aid packets, also mixed in with some petroleum jelly or olive oil.  If you want to go that extra step, add some essential oils to the mix.

Eyes

• Eyes are a very sensitive area, and even store bought make-up can irritate them.  A way to make your own eye shadow is to mix a bit of unscented baby powder with a bit of food coloring powder (any color).  After it’s been blended well, apply to eyes.  To make an eye shadow cream, just add some petroleum jelly till it’s a creamy consistency.  To create eyeliner, add more petroleum jelly for a thicker spread.

Face

• Unscented baby powder can also be used as a face powder for fair-skinned women.  Just dab a cotton ball in some baby powder and smooth it out over your face until the white is gone.
• To make a blush, take that lip stain (with petroleum jelly) and smooth it in your cheeks.
• To make a home-made bronzer, mix the unscented baby power with some cinnamon (add more cinnamon for a deeper bronzer, and less for a light bronzer, which ever you need for your face).  Mix it well and add a few drops of essential oil to bind the mixture.  Brush on with a face brush.

Skin

• A very easy and simple recipe for an all natural exfoliate is to simply mix extra virgin olive oil with some white granulated sugar until it becomes a thick paste.  Have some coffee grounds lying around? Substitute the granulated sugar for coffee grounds, and apply the same process.
• To make your own lotion that is completely natural, and is water based, what you will need is: distilled water, olive oil, lecithin (an emulsifier) and essential oils.  Mix equal parts water and oil with lecithin (1 cup of water and oil needs 1 tablespoon of lecithin) and a few drops of essential oil.  Blend the ingredients in a blender until it is a thick cream.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons

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