**UPDATE** Making Cosmetics for Fun or Profit? (8/16/24)

**UPDATE**

After hyping a certain site for years, I have to cut ties. 

I no longer use Making Cosmetics and have not for about 3 years now. I think the last thing I bought from them was some silk protein or something.

The reason I have had to find other suppliers is that M.C. got too pricey and wishy-washy. I could buy something one day in a certain size or quantity then, as soon as the item got popular (maybe), either the price would shoot up or else the minimum quantity would. 

Also, I figured out long ago that I could find similar (quality or ingredients) products elsewhere. A huge example of this is the Repair Vita Oil I once loved so much. When the price shot up on that one, I found something as good (and, in some ways, better). There are several products similar to the Repair Vita Oil, but I think my favorite one is Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Coconut Monoi Luminous Hydration Facial Oil (I can get this at Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc.). Why would I sell an arm and half a leg to buy the M.C. stuff when I can get the Palmer's Oil for under $15?

Also, I think I was just loyal to M.C. and it took me a while to look around at other sources. There are lots of other sources out there, believe me. I found 10 without even looking hard.

The main reason I used M.C. was to be frugal. With that out the door, I can take my pennies elsewhere.

Things for my skin and haircare are luxuries (when I get past the basic hygiene items) and I do not have a luxury budget. So... goodby Making Cosmetics.

WHY THIS POST?

I have blogged here before about a site I occasionally shop from or just use for info. I think this was my very first post about Making Cosmetics. I have only ordered from their site a few times - including for the most recent purchase but I got very my first M.C. product from their Amazon storefront. That was before I knew they had their own site.

Anyway...

That's the Nars looking reddish

Since I have been fussing and ranting these past few weeks about not being able to find a good drugstore foundation with a red undertone in it, I finally decided it was DIY time again. The first M.C. item I purchased was some Wrinkle Blur powder as a substitute for an expensive O.T.C. product that I loved. I can't believe I didn't think of the site from the start of my foundation troubles.

Other than the so-perfect-but-unaffordable Nars, I think I have 4 foundations that I can make work for my skin tone but that would be awesomely perfect if they had that tiny bit of red undertone that the Nars Khartoum does. Well, I am not throwing that stuff out like somebody with more money than sense. If I have to, I will keep wearing a little of my Butter blush underneath the foundation even though it's a real pain to get just right. Right now, foundations all leave me with a nice finish but are just a little bit... off from my natural coloring. One of the best quality foundations makes me look a whole other race. I priced some of those shade-adjusting drops and couldn't even find the colors I needed. That left me in a ditch. I have makeup for days but none of it is absolute perfection.

LOVE this blush for
 cheeks and lips

So... I could use up all my blush to tint my foundation or I could try something else. (My blush is Butter London Cheeky Cream Blush that is not even sold on their site anymore and which I got as a gift from my late sister some years back while visiting Arizona... Yeah. I don't want to use it all up. The blush is more than a product I just don't want to run out of; it represents memories and love and it is also as cute as heck.)

The "something else option" that I figured out is the best way to go. It's also the cheapest way. (Took me forever to get here, didn't it?)

So. I've ordered three items from Making Cosmetics that I can use to customize my foundations to my liking. (I hope.) In the MC category of Colors and Color Blends, this is what I'm going to use:

• Iron Oxide Brown (Liquid) - Makeup Brown Pigment Blend Dispersed in Oil (to deepen the shades that are currently slightly too light).
• Iron Oxide Red (Liquid) - Makeup Brown Pigment Blend Dispersed in Oil (to add to the red tones in some of the items).
• Mica Blackstar Red - Fine Dark Red Lustre (For adding some red to the other products).

I know that I will have to experiment. I figure that I might even end up blending together some of the red colorants with the brown pigment to get a shade I can add to a couple of the foundations. To be as frugal as possible, I only got a teaspoon of each colorant. I love that I could order such a tiny amount. Apparently, from what I've researched (hi, Google), it won't take much for what I need. And if I have to go back for different colors/pigments later, I will stick to my teaspoon quantity. (Too bad brands won't sell foundation by the teaspoon so we could find a good shade without going broke.)

Anyway.

See my plan here? If I have to, I will start just getting the stuff to make my own foundation from scratch...

All told, I spent fourteen dollars to (again, hopefully) try fixing at least fifty dollars worth of makeup. Maybe one day I will try making my own line of foundation. It's totally possible.

THE FOR FUN and/or PROFIT PART

Now, I mainly wrote this post to let other women know about the items available on Making Cosmetics. I have never had a problem with them (except when they discontinued some fragrances I loved) as far as quality or customer service. Also, they have a points reward type system based on dollars spent.

Making Cosmetics has been the only place I get items to DIY it with my makeup but they have potential competition. Here are some other places to check out for ingredients or just products that might be hard to find for some reason:

• Inolex (a "specialty ingredients company") I really need to look this one over.
• Althea (for "getting you K-beauty fix outside of Korea" they ship to the USA and elsewhere) I saw a Water Sleeping Mask in the skincare section and...
• Lucas Meyer Cosmetics - They have a variety of natural products that look interesting.
• PCA Skin's site is "under construction" but I found some PCA stuff here & here. They might be other places. I will check back on the brand site to see what's up.
• Hermo appears to be Malaysian and they have a global store site here. For some of my many Asian sisters.

I am sure there are many more places to find and buy ingredients to make or rig your existing products. I like Making Cosmetics because of the detailed information they provide and their onsite resources. They have a large resource section, formulas for newbies, equipment and kits and, if you are timid or just want to go big and produce stuff for sale, they offer both formulating and consulting services.

If you do decide to play around with some DIY cosmetics, this is another good site for looking up info on ingredients - what they do and how they might react together, etcetera. The most important thing is to do your research, check for allergies and BE CAREFUL. DIY projects mean the work put in is all on you and you have to use your head. I am not a professional at anything other than running my mouth so, again, use your head.

To summarize:

You can make and create your own cosmetics. You can create cosmetics for your own use or you can create cosmetics to sell as a niche brand. Do your research. Find reputable suppliers for ingredients. Ask questions. 

Peace

--Free

UPDATE: The products arrived just after this was scheduled to post so I will be doing a show and tell post asap. (Anybody else bored to tears with this COVID lockdown????)

The Big Black Swatch & Shade Post

This post is in lieu of a finish to the Juvia's Place review. No need to go on beating that dead horse. In the meantime (and since even being the hermit I am, this lockdown is crazy) I thought I would do a swatch post that includes the 2 new Juvia shades.

It's nice that a lot of the established cosmetic brands are adding shades for "deeper" skin tones. New brands seem to be popping up all the time (like Juvia's Place). Still, finding an affordable and appropriate shade of foundation is tough for a lot of us. I know ladies of all races and colors who have almost as hard a time as I do in trying to find something that works with their peach- or olive-hued tones. If you can't pull off one of the basic shades - porcelain, ivory, buff, light, tan, medium, "deep", chocolate, almond, or some variation of "toast" - then you have to be the Indiana Jones of the makeup world.

These are some arm and face swatches of all the shades I have lying around. I throw nothing out so I have stuff from 4 years ago. Don't judge me!

Just so you know:

• I photographed my leg in the natural light of my home. (ceiling and floor lamps)
• I applied a light primer and nothing else other than the moisturizer I already had on  
• I did not apply any other powders or setting products
• I used a makeup spatula to apply (cleaning after each use)
• I ran a line of the Nars shade along the top so you can compare it to each of the other shades.

These are the ones taken a couple of minutes after applying all the swatches:

sorry for the bad cropping
see names and shades below

It's easy to see that the Khartoum, Ebony, Mali, and Bronze 8 shades are ones I can work best with. The others can be used, I suppose, for highlighting, contouring, and blending to lighten or darken other shades.

This is after I lay a paper towel over them and did a light blotting:

You can barely tell the Nars from my skin. Perfect.

This is after I have let the makeup rest and completely set for about 5 minutes

I tried to keep the camera the same distance away but there could be some variation. You get the idea though.

By the way, this is the wonderful primer I used. It was sent as a full-size sample (yay) from Tryspree and I will be buying more when I am finished with the jar.

Hard Candy Primer Balm

If you are always on the lookout for shades in "deep" tones, here are some that I have considered. With a couple of exceptions, they are affordably priced and seem to come in a good variety of deep shades. And, since I was only looking at shades, you would have to judge for yourself how good they are as far as wear and staying power. The links are to where I found the item and not always the brand site.

Black OpalTrue Color

NYXBorn to Glow

MaybellineFit Me

MilaniConceal & Perfect

 

e.l.f.Flawless Finish

I did notice that Target carries quite a range of brands with diverse shades. Also, the site has a "foundation guide" to help locate suitable brands on their site with your shade range.

Actually, once I started searching, I found quite a few brands with "deep" shade choices. You have probably heard of most, but I think at least a couple will be new for you.

Here are some with prices in the mid to higher range - depending on what your budget is. I'm too tired to do links for all of them but hit up Google.

• Uoma Beauty (totally new to me)
• Fenty (Rhianna's gig so I won't bother with it. Personal bias.)
• Il Mikiage (see this a lot on social media platforms)
• ColourPop (I've seen this on Influenster)
• Black Up (I had one of their foundations in a near-matching shade for my skin. Good foundation as long as you get a match.)
• Urban Decay
• Nars (of course)
• Becca 
• Marc Jacobs (who knew?)

• Lancome (love theirs but it's pricey for me at around $45)
• Hue Noir (another totally new one for me)
• MAC
• Makeup Forever
• Black Radiance (of course)
• Flori Roberts (I used to love their Gold perfume but it's no longer made)

The name of the last one I want to mention gives me the creeps but I love that they seem to have a wide range of shades. It's called Flesh Beauty. See what I mean? Anyway... The prices are mid-range ($32 for a foundation) but they offer free shipping. If you sign up for their mailing list, you get a discount on your first order. 

Believe it or not, there are more I could have listed but I got tired.

Hope this helped.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation

I found this at Walmart the other day.

It's Rimmel's Stay Matte Flawless Finish Mattifying Foundation (in shade 605 Deep Chocolate).

I am hotter than a jalapeno that I even went through all the bother with Juvia's Place! This Rimmel foundation is perfect. Perfect shade, perfect finish, perfect price. Most of all, it's the perfect price. Let's talk about that.

Remember the Lancome Ultra foundation I loved so much? That was close to $50. Nars Sheer Glow? Around the same as the Lancome. This Rimmel? $4.97 at Walmart. 

Normally, with drugstore foundations - even if they are good - there is a little something that gives away the difference between them and the higher end brands. Either they feel different or wear different or they are just slightly off in some way from the pricier stuff. Not so with this Rimmel.

When I first tested this shade on the back of my hand (I should have tested it in the store and I would have gotten more than one tube!), I knew the shade was a dead-on match to my face color. 

I thought that even though the shade was great - actually so close you can't see it in that swatch photo - that the makeup itself might not look or wear as well as I want. 

Wrong again.

This makeup wears almost EXACTLY like the Lancome and lasts all day without needing to be touched up. The shade is very similar to the 555 Suede C I wore. It's extremely mattifying - just like the Lancome. I have to moisturize my face well before using it - just like with the Lanco- well, you know what I mean. I think the only difference I could point out is that the Lancome was more of a liquid and this Rimmel is has a creamy consistency. It's labeled as a "mousse" type foundation.

It took very little of this to cover my entire face - I think it was about 3 dabs of the amount shown in the above photo (if even that much). Most extremely matte products I've used haven't gone on as smooth. Once I had this on it was almost immediately "set". (By the way, when I first tried applying it without additional moisturizer and just using the Hard Candy primer, it did set instantly.)

For such a mattifying foundation, this is not drying. Yes, it sets very drily on the skin but it didn't cause any tightening or stiffening sensation. Still, as with any makeup, I will apply a good moisturizer in my dry zones before using it just as a precaution. 

Want to know what I love the most, most, most? There is no transfer. None. One thing every woman hates about makeup - especially those in any deep or very colorful shades - is having it transfer to clothing and paperwork. So embarrassing and inconvenient. This one is matte enough that I can palm my face and not have it transfer. Now, I am not going to be rubbing my face on collars or papers, but I like not having to worry about hugging someone or handling paperwork and leaving behind a tell-tell mess.

Where has this stuff been all my life? 

By the way, I have used Rimmel eyeliners before and I might have picked up a gloss or mascara from a makeup bin but I think that is the extent of my experience with the brand. At least, I have never purchased anything major because I don't remember it. Now, I am telling everyone about this foundation and I will look for other Rimmel products. Shoot, I'm going to write them a fan letter! Hahaha.

 I was so upset about the experience(s) with Juvia's Place and I had resigned myself to just making do with the foundations I have on hand. Mary Kay is out of my budget - even if I could get a rep to come around at this point... Now that I have this Rimmel, I feel better. This is a shade I really like. It lacks the red undertone of the Nars, but I don't care. I can wear some blush underneath or just go without - especially now that it is summertime.

I'm not sure if this is something that someone can be happy with if they have very dry skin. As I said, I wear a deep moisturizer underneath in my dry skin areas so it balances out. My t-zone - which can develop a shine quickly in warm weather - is completely matte with this foundation.

Listen, this is such a great product and the price is just too good. People ought to know about it while we're all rushing around trying to afford some of these other brands.

Peace

--Free