Being the makeup addict that I am does not prevent me from being constantly surprised (and slightly disgusted) with the consumerism of the world we live in. When my gaze fell upon the rows and rows of eyeshadows that I unpacked on my own vanity after moving house this weekend, my thoughts turned to how disgusted previous generations would have been with this blatant over indulgence.
I wonder whether this constant ream of products is in some way due to the search for the perfect ‘whatever’ – we buy hundreds of off the rack dresses because we no longer go to dressmakers – perhaps a more handmade, couture society will stop this rampant spending. So is there such a thing as couture makeup? Naturally, if you pay enough money (or are an A-list celebrity) you can get anything made especially for you. Jade Jagger famously commissioned a nail varnish from Leighton Denny in order to set off her Garrad diamonds, leading to the highly glamourous Diamond Diva which is now available for us mere mortals to purchase. |
Leighton Denny’s Diamond Diva |
There are however easier to infiltrate options. Color Lab offers a colour matching service, just send them your favourite lipstick and they will use all that technology has to offer to replicate the colour as perfectly as possible. Color Lab’s custom lipsticks are $35 for one, or $50 for two tubes. Couture? Not quite, as they can only replicate, not innovate – but useful non-the-less. 3 color cosmetics offers a similar service, but offers to ‘edit’ the formula slightly
if you want to add glitter or sheen. A much more affordable method of couture cosmetics is the more old-fashioned approach of DIY. I have always been rather intrigued by the idea of making one’s own cosmetics, and I am a frequent vistor to aromantic.co.uk and The Personal Formulator – which stock the the chemicals and natural ingredients that you need. While the initial splurge on equipment, ingredients and pigments may be expensive, from then So, what do you actually need to make a your own cosmetics? Eyeshadows are now reasonably easy. You can purchase a range of mineral based eyeshadow powders from wholesalers like Coastal Scents which can be blended together to form your perfect shade. For the professional (and less messy) |
Colorlab custom lipstick |
Simply purchase some empty pans (or get hold of some cheap eyeshadows, like the $1 E.L.F. shadows and push out the contents), mix the loose eyeshadow with a few drops of rubbing alcohol (enough to form a thick paste) and press into the pans. Leave for a few minutes, then use a coin covered in cloth to press the contents of the pan down. Finally leave the pan (with the coin top) in a cool dry place to dry naturally over night. Lipsticks require a bit more financial input. You will either need to buy a hot-pour lipstick tube or a mold with separate tubes. The hot-pour are cheaper for beginners, but buying a mold will give the professional ‘bullet’ finish. Either way, you will need a lipstick ‘base’ as the carrier for the pigments. For the less adventuress of you, these bases can be purchased ready made – try Whole Sale Colors Lipstick Base – $1.50 for 1/2 Ounce. However, budding chemists will prefer to make their own. |
Hot Pour lipstick dispenser from aromantic.co.uk |
To make 12 lipsticks (and fill the Whole Sale Colors mold), melt 30.5ml of Castor Oil; 3 grams of beeswax; 3 grams of Carnauba Wax and 4 grams of Shea Butter (or Cocoa butter) together in a double boiler (or over a bain-marie), stir in the pre-mixed pigments slowly (ensure that it is properly distributed so that you don’t get ‘colour lumps’ of intense pigment in the lipsticks. Add any fragrance or flavouring that you desire then pour into either the hot pour tube directly, or into the mold. Allow to cool (if using the mold, remove the top when cool then push each container onto the exposed edges of the bullet and draw out slowly). Voila!
Of course, your recipe can be edited to find the perfect formula for your colour, add extra caster oil for shine and softness, or extra beeswax for a matte or firm finish. Experiment with adding different oils, concentrations of pigment, scents, glitter etc – you are only limited by your creativity! |
Lipstick mold – $250 from wholesalecolors.com |
It seems I may be getting my lipstick lab sooner than expected ;o) _________________________________________ Just wanted to add something, I commented on this on a message board and feel this may be relevant: the alcohol method of pressing eyeshadows can result in them being brittle – and it is sometimes hard to press matte colours. “manafacters actually use a cream or oil to press eyeshadows (for instance B Never uses jojoba oil) – I actually prefer cream as it makes the eyeshadow both stronger and a more buttery finish. Instead of making the cream from scratch, you can just use a regular face moisteriser – as long as it is very light and thin (I used SIMPLE’s light moisteriser) – just crush the broken eyeshadow until it is a fine powder with no lumps, mix in a dollop of cream and form a paste, with a flat knife or a spatula put the cream into the now empty pan then leave to dry out a little bit otherwise the next stage is very messy (an hour or so will do) – cover with tisse/loo roll/kitchen paper folded over several times and then place a coin over the pan (as close a match in size as possible) followed by a weight (a heavy hardback book, or a thin book with a perfume bottle on top) and leave. It will take up to two days to dry fully, carefully replace the tissuse when the dampness spreads out the the edges (but not for at least 4-5 hours otherwise you will ruin the surface of the eyeshadow). You make worry about this being a bacteria’s dream – but remember that the moisteriser already has preservatives, and once it is dried out, it will be like any other eyeshadow. If you are unhappy with the results – just recrush and start again. the surface of the eyeshadow may not be perfectly smooth – but after a few uses you’ll not be able to tell the difference.” hope that helps somewhat – if anyone would like to ask any further questions regarding this, then you can email me at info@thevanity.co.uk |
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