In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make matte eyeshadows, and the same formula can be used for blushes & contour shades too. I created a video of the process, but I know some people prefer reading to watching, so this blog post will be the written version.
So, pigments on their own can’t be used as makeup straight away. You’ll find that they’re gritty, streaky, and won’t stick to your face. Even if you’re using a loose powder formula, you’ll need some sort of base to make the pigment usable as makeup.
Out of all the bases I’ve experimented with, I found that one of the best formulas for matte products is TKB Trading’s Matte Texture Base. If you’re starting out with making cosmetics, I suggest getting this. TKB Trading is my favourite place to get my raw ingredients for making cosmetics, just because they offer sample sizes so I can try out a LOT of colours. TKB Trading’s sample sizes are generally about $1.50 for 6g, and 6g will get you about 4-8 average eyeshadow pans, depending on how much base you use. That’s more than enough for me, since I’m making these for my personal use.
Tools & Ingredients
- Ziplock bags (1 for each colour you’ll make)
- Small measuring spoons/coffee stirring spoons (as many as you need)
- Alcohol for disinfecting
- TKB Trading’s Matte Texture Base
- Matte Pigments
The basic steps for creating matte products are:
- Wear gloves & a mask, keep your hair out of your face & sterilize everything. If you look like you’re about to murder someone, you’re on the right track.
- Mix the pigments & base in the ratio recommended below in a ziplock bag
- Keep squishing the ziplock bag until the pigment is thoroughly mixed with the base. You may need to grind hard with matte pigments.
Matte pigments come in dyes, oxides, ultramarines, ferric ferrocyanide, manganese violet & carmine. The recommended ratio for the mix depends on what kind of matte pigment you’re working with, and these are the ratios that I find works best for me through years of experimenting. Of course, you may prefer a different ratio, so feel free to experiment!
I’m skipping over carmine because I haven’t worked with it yet, just because it’s so expensive.
Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ultramarines & Manganese Violet
These ingredients are pretty difficult to work with, since they can be gritty and streaky. Make sure you grind them well. They’re also more fickle when you’re pressing them into pressed products, and that’s a reason why a lot of purple eyeshadows just suck.
Mixing Ratio:
- 1 part pigment
- 2 parts base
Oxides
These are all the ingredients that have “Oxide” in them…so Chromium Oxide, Titanium Dioxide & Iron Oxide.
Mixing Ratio:
- 1 part pigment
- 1 part base
These are the easiest to work with, and they’re so easy, you can even get a good result with just grinding it with sericite mica alone in a 4:1 sericite mica to oxide ratio. I personally prefer the result I get from the TKB Trading base since I find it more blendable, but if you’re in the mood for experimenting, you can try out using sericite mica alone and see how you like the formula.
Dyes
These are ingredients that usually go [Colour][#Number], like Blue #1, Red #33, etc. They’re very vibrant & have the tendency to stain. Not all dyes are safe to use on every part of your face, so make sure you read TKB Trading’s ingredient info carefully to see where you can use them.
Mixing Ratio:
- 1 part pigment
- 2 parts base
FAQs:
Why does some ingredients say that it’s safe for eye use in the EU, but not in the US?
Some ingredients have been tested and deemed safe for use around the eyes in the EU, but they haven’t gotten tested for FDA approval in the US. So it’s not that they’re dangerous and will melt your eyes out of your head, they just have not been submitted for testing yet. That’s why Urban Decay’s Electric palette is officially called a “Pressed Pigment Palette” instead of an eyeshadow palette, even though they’re marketed as eyeshadows. It’s because some of their pigments are not FDA approved to be used around the eyes yet.
How do you use loose powder pigments?
I got you:
I hate using loose powder pigments. How do I press these?
Not only am I going to show you how it’s done, I’ll teach you how to make *~fancy~* lace eyeshadows:
