Better Than Mineral Veil

It often goes something like this: Shoot.  I'm out of ________.  Do I have a coupon?  Can I get it cheaper online?  Wait a minute...can I make it?  Check Pinterest.  Do some research on Google.  Create.  Feel amazing because I just saved a ton of money.  Feel a sense of accomplishment that I made something from ingredients I can pronounce, that is good for me, and works as well or better as what I would have spent a lot more on at the store.

That is precisely what happened when I ran out of mineral veil several months back.  I almost dropped $20, figuring mineral based makeup was better than the alternative.  Then I was almost giddy with excitement when I realized that I could make a comparable alternative for pennies.

Here's what's in mineral veil according to the Bare Escentuals website:  

The main ingredient is cornstarch.  The other things I'm guessing are preservatives and color.  We don't keep cornstarch in the house, so I felt temporarily thwarted until I remembered the bag of arrowroot powder sitting in my cupboard, lonely and unused, since I switched to the deodorant stone (read about that here).  There are lots of cornstarch and baby powder mineral veil replacement recipes on Pinterest, but I preferred arrowroot to cornstarch and am not so interested in talc because of what I learned on my deodorant quest.  I Googled to see if anyone else had ever used arrowroot on their face, found one DIY makeup forum that mentioned it, and felt affirmed enough to forge ahead.

I washed out my used mineral veil container, filled it with arrowroot powder, and added cinnamon for color.  According to livestrong.com, "cinnamon--in both grated and essential oil forms--is beneficial to the skin because it brings blood and nutrients to the skin surface while also helping to dry skin."  I've also heard that it's antimicrobial and antibacterial.  Plus, it smells really yummy when you're putting it on!  I've been completely satisfied with it as a product...never missing the more expensive stuff for a moment.  My skin has even been significantly clearer since I stopped using commercial products on my face.  I still get an occasional blemish, but noticeably less than before.  I'm not always entirely thrilled with my homemade experiments, but I can't think of a single downside to this one!!  Yay!!!

Soon I'll tell you about how I've replaced all my makeup with healthy alternatives that I'm really excited about!!

 This post shared at frugallysustainable.com's Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #76