All the DIY makeup recipes you need for a beautifully non-toxic makeup routine

Want to save money, rescue your skin from hundreds of toxins, and get dolled up? Well, look no further than this create-your-own DIY makeup routine with all the natural makeup recipes you need to get started!

Admittedly, I’m super lazy when it comes to makeup. It was actually a huge step forward in my self-confidence to be able to leave the house without makeup. (Once in high school I went to school with no makeup on -except, ya know, for heavy black eyeliner and eyeshadow- and took my free period to march straight back home to put on my black mascara.)

But now, I really enjoy chances to get dressed up and look purdy. It’s fun. (And no longer just a mask). I love the options and the ways makeup can enhance your natural beauty.

But what I DON’T like are toxins… And turns out that makeup (even the most expensive, name-brand kind) is FULL of them!

Toxic makeup ingredients

Back in the 50’s, new and shiny cosmetics were all the rage. And what’s more, they seemed to work great! People just ate them up. (metaphorically. I hope.)

Corporations didn’t care what went into their products, as long as they sold and the ingredients were cheap! This mindset continues today.

Even now, the FDA doesn’t assess personal care products or cosmetics. They’ve banned very few chemicals, and companies don’t even have to list everything in their ingredients!

So what is in makeup?

As an example, if you see “fragrance” or “parfum” in the ingredients of a product, you’d have no way of knowing what chemical soup it’s made up of (Hint: it could be a mixture of up to hundreds of ingredients, including neurotoxic chemicals, environmental toxicants, carcinogens, allergens, and endocrine disruptors). Ick.

You should also be on the lookout for the following chemicals in cosmetic products:

• Parabens
• Phthalates
• Sulfates
• Synthetic fragrances
• Synthetic dyes
• Petrochemicals

These ingredients are huge red flags because they can be irritants, neurotoxins, mess with your hormones, cause asthma, allergies, and cancer, and contribute to hyperactivity or ADHD. (source)

Of course, everything is supposed to be “safe in small amounts”. Right? Well generally, women use 12 products on themselves daily, and men use around 6. Even if it were safe, (and generally, we don’t have the research to validate that claim) we’re using these chemicals all over ourselves, every day.

Time to detox your makeup?

I get it. Natural makeup recipes aren’t as easy as just buying makeup. And buying all new makeup (or ingredients for DIY makeup recipes) can be pricey. But, back to the toxins.

Isn’t it best to err on the side of caution?

Our skin is like a big sponge, and anything we put on ourselves ends up going inside our bodies. (So in a way, it’s like we are eating them… ew, no, pass…)

I’ll admit, cutting out all dangerous chemicals won’t cure you of every disease and keep you from dying, but- it’s a start! It’s a huge step towards living healthfully and holistically. We can’t completely eradicate chemicals from our lives, because they’re everywhere, but we shouldn’t live in fear.

Related: Get your free guide to reducing toxins

Why? Because we can be informed and make smart decisions when we shop, and know we’re doing good for our environment, ourselves, and our families!

To see how your current self-care products line up, you can check out their safety rating at EWG.org/skindeep.

Reducing our exposure to toxins in our environment is one of the ways we can help give our body the best chance it has to fight disease, heal, and thrive. Do something good for your body both now and for years to come… and reduce the toxic load it has to deal with!

This website contains affiliate links- meaning that if you follow a link to something I recommend, I might receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I love! More info here.

We can reduce our exposure to toxins- and look good doin’ it.

So how do you make your own makeup? And what if you don’t like the DIY stuff?

Surprisingly, the options for a toxin-free makeup routine are a ton easier and cheaper than I thought they would be!

Non-toxic makeup options

Below, I’ve rounded up a list of ways you can detox your beauty routine with DIY makeup! It should be everything you need to be able to transform your beauty routine into a non-toxic, all-natural, DIY adventure where you know every ingredient you’re putting on your skin is safe!

Of course, not everyone is a fan of DIY. If you’d rather shop for makeup online, I’d recommend Orglamix. This is a fantastic non-toxic makeup brand!  They have a huge selection of cruelty-free, non-toxic, 100% natural mineral makeup– everything from blush and bronzer to eye kits and glitter.

I have some of their sparkly eyeshadows and I love them! They’re well-made, shimmery, and stay on and light up my eyes all day. I’m pretty sure no one would believe me if I told them it was all-natural.

(Ps… if it’s your first time buying from Orglamix you might get a pop-up for 10% off your order!)

Don’t have time to DIY? There are clean store-bought suggestions under each category as well!

And now, if you want to get your hands a little dirty and make your own all-natural makeup routine, read on!

Natural makeup recipe ingredients

Thankfully, loads of these recipes use a lot of the same ingredients in different ways. There are a few items you’ll want to stock up on before you start making your own makeup. (And they’re useful for other things too!)

The list includes:

• Coconut oil (I love this one)
• Mica powder (there are different colors to choose from)
• Beeswax pellets
• Jojoba oil
• Arrowroot powder
• Vitamin E oil
• Containers (lipstick tubes, tins, pot jars, etc- or if you use leftover containers, make sure you clean them out well.)
• Essential oils (frankincense and lavender are especially useful!)

Note: If you have any sort of reaction to any of these ingredients, stop using them right away. Some can be irritating if you’re using them for long periods of time, so make sure you’re removing your makeup every night.

The best natural makeup recipes

Here are my picks for the best non-toxic makeup recipes out there, from cleansing all the way through your makeup routine!

Use these recipes to get a glowing, fresh, toxin-free face of makeup in no time.

(But before we start, it’s a good idea to start out by supporting your skin from the inside out. So you should try my DIY anti-aging detoxing cacao face mask for some delicious antioxidants to keep your skin protected and looking young!)

Cleanser

Of course, any good beauty regimen starts with a clean and fresh face. Leftover makeup or old sunscreen can block your pores, making you greasy and prone to break-outs.

I’d highly recommend this charcoal facial bar for cleansing. The charcoal helps your skin detox, and it has coconut milk and mango butter for a gentle, nourishing cleanse.

And here’s an all-natural gel cleanser you can use that won’t leave a residue- but will leave your skin feeling soft and nourished!

Picture and recipe from Don’t Mess with Mama

If you want to make your own, try out this DIY face wash! You can use a foaming soap bottle to make it a foaming cleanser- just like the ones you buy from the store, except not carcinogenic!

I’d recommend this soap bottle- it’s glass, so besides looking snazzy, it will help you use less plastic!

Related: Creative ways to use less plastic

This recipe uses almond oil to hydrate your skin, and the frankincense and lavender essential oils fight acne and dry skin, and will make your face smell lovely!

(If you’re a fan of smelling amazing and having clean skin, make sure to also check out my recipe for a pumpkin spice latte sugar scrub!)

Find the recipe for DIY face wash here.

DIY healing concealer

Picture and recipe from Humblebee and Me

Concealer is one of those things I always thought was a little bit counter-productive… If you have a blemish (quite possibly due to clogged pores), why would you clog your pores with more goop just to cover it up?

Seems like you’re just making the problem worse. And looking like a frosted mess while you’re at it.

But this recipe changes all that! It’s full of ingredients that are anti-acne, like rosehip oil and sea buckthorn seed oil, and also has vitamin E oil to help your skin heal.

It even uses oxides to match to your exact skin tone! Just add color little by little and test away.

Get the healing concealer recipe here.

If you aren’t feeling the DIY today, (this is a little bit more complicated of a recipe) here’s my pick for a good light-weight, creamy concealer you can try.

Foundation

Picture and recipe from Thank Your Body

I’ve found it super tough to find a good all-natural foundation. Chemicals can help foundation products stay put, not be too thick, match your coloring, and come off easily at night. But you can get all that without the toxins too!

This recipe also leaves out known irritants -even the more natural ones- and leaves you with a functional, healthy, all-natural foundation that you can personalize to your skin color! You can leave it as a powder or use jojoba oil to make it more of a cream.

Get the recipe here.

If you’re looking for a non-toxic store-bought option, here is a fantastic 5-in-1 foundation that works as a concealer, corrector, foundation, finishing powder, and SPF! Not bad eh? And this mineral foundation smooths fine lines while self-adjusting to your skin tone! Magic.

Natural Blush

Recipe from Mommypotamus

This DIY blush recipe uses different combinations of three different powders-rose mica, arrowroot, and cocoa powder– to make three different shades that will work with anyone’s natural skin tones.

Enjoy your blushingly good looks– sans toxins!

Find the blush recipe here.

If you’re looking for a blush to buy, here’s a lovely mineral blush, and a cheek (and lip!) tint can be found here.

Cheek and brow highlighter

Picture and recipe from Jenni Raincloud

I’ve always wanted to have an excuse to spend hundreds of dollars on a highlight/contour kit where I could make myself glow… But I’m never gonna spend that much since I found this.

This recipe is insanely affordable, and uses ingredients you probably already have from some of the other DIY makeup- beeswax, mica powder, and sweet almond oil! (You could probably sub the almond oil for jojoba oil if you don’t want to order both)

Put your mixture in 1-ounce tins and apply it when you want to shimmer!

Note: if you substitute the pink mica in this recipe for red or wine-colored mica, it’ll create a lip stain to die for! (But not because of the deadly toxins in it- none of that)

You can find the recipe for cheek and brow highlighter here.

If you’d like to shimmer without so much effort, you can buy a cream highlighter here. And there’s also a sparkly mineral highlighter!

Bronzer/contour powder

Picture and recipe from Crunchy Betty

Warning: You’ll look AND smell incredible with this recipe! It uses ingredients you can find in your kitchen- like cocoa, nutmeg, and cinnamon, to create a bronzer and contour that’ll make your face’s superstar qualities shine.

I can just imagine it now– “Oh, I smell like cinnamon? Why thank you Mr. Paparrazzi! And yes I do have two good sides, how kind of you to notice!”

That’s probably what’ll happen with this. (Right? Right.)

(Oh and cinnamon can be irritating to some people, so don’t wear this every day.)

You can personalize this to be more of a bronzer or a darker contour powder, and you get to choose whether it’s powder or a compact consistency! Gosh I love DIY recipes. They’re so accommodating.

Go for a light application the first time you use this- a little goes a long way!

Find the recipe for bronzer and contour powder here.

And if you’re looking for a bronzer that’s straight not from the kitchen, Orglamix has a glowing mineral bronzer -that doubles as a luminizer and finishing powder- and here is a matte bronzer option.

Lipstick

Picture and recipe from In Sonnet’s Kitchen

Lipstick is that one special touch that can transform you from a normal, everyday look, to a WOWZA-magical-T-Swift-super-power-channeling look.

This recipe uses cocoa butter and coconut oil, which makes it hydrating and nourishing– no more dried out lips from letting chemicals sit on them all day! (You know the feeling… toxic lipsticks are just nasty)

You can store your new favorite lipstick in a tin or a chapstick tube for easier application.

Find the recipe here.

If you’d like to purchase your pout, you can try this hydrating lip tint!

Mineral eyeshadow

Picture and recipe from Hello Glow

Eyeshadow is so much fun… In my crazy younger days I would color my lids in half hot pink and half teal. Thankfully, I opt for more natural colors now, but I still enjoy putting it on!

This recipe uses lots of the same ingredients as the other recipes, including mica powder, arrowroot starch, kitchen spices, and jojoba oil. One thing it uses that you might not have yet is bentonite clay.

Bentonite clay is rich in minerals, good for the gut, and a detoxifier. It’s useful as a face mask, for skin irritation, in a detox bath, and more! Find out more about its uses here.

Enjoy finding fun color combinations!

Get the recipe for mineral clay eyeshadow here.

If you’d like to peruse some other options, there are dozens of natural, organic eyeshadows on Orglamix, with lots of fun shades to choose from!

Liquid Eyeliner

Recipe from Red & Honey

So I thought liquid eyeliner would be one of the most complicated to make, but it’s actually one of the easiest recipes here!

There are only two ingredients- activated charcoal and jojoba oil. These wonderful ingredients are useful in detoxing, have healing properties, and are antibacterial, making this recipe both makeup, and a healthy skin care product!

You can find the recipe for liquid eyeliner here.

If you’d rather not do DIY, here’s a liquid eyeliner, and here is a gel eyeliner that will help condition and thicken your lashes!

Mascara

Picture and recipe from Thank Your Body

Mmmmm, mascara. Did you know that even some “organic” brands can have sketch ingredients? Not to mention they’re crazy expensive.

This recipe, however, is totally safe, won’t dry out your eyes, and makes your eyes pop!

It uses aloe vera gel to help the mascara glide on smoothly, and you can choose between activated charcoal or cocoa powder for a black or brown tone. (Or try a combination!)

Find the recipe for DIY mascara here.

If you’d rather buy an all-natural, organic mascara, this mascara is great!

Makeup setting spray

Picture and recipe from She Knows

Now if you’re in a hot or humid climate, you’ll definitely want to use a makeup setting spray unless you want all that hard work you’ve done on your face to go to waste!

It uses either glycerin or aloe vera, along with witch hazel and essential oils of your choice!

Some great essential oils (source) for your skin include:

• Geranium (good for acne, aging skin, dry skin, and scarring)
• Rose (for aging skin, dry skin)
• Neroli (for oily, sensitive skin)
• Lavender (good for acne, aging skin and sun spots)
• Patchouli (great for aging skin, smooths appearance of skin)
• Frankincense (good for all skin types, natural toner)

They’ll also make your face smell fab!

(Note: Many floral essential oils are expensive to produce, so sellers combine them with carrier oils. Make sure you’re getting pure essential oil and not a blend- it should say on the bottle. Each link above is for pure essential oils.)

You can find the recipe for makeup setting spray here.

Makeup remover

Picture and recipe from Whole New Mom

Last step! Even if you’re wearing all-natural, non-toxic makeup, you’ll still want to take the makeup off each night. Sleeping in makeup can cause eye irritation and clog your pores. (source)

Lots of people like using plain coconut oil as a makeup remover, but I find that the oil feels greasy for a while afterward and doesn’t work great for my eyes.

What I love about this recipe is that Whole New Mom has really done her research- read this and you’ll find out which recipes DON’T work, and why you shouldn’t be using the chemical stuff (never ever again).

Spoiler alert: The recipe she finds to be best just uses jojoba oil and witch hazel. Super easy! It doesn’t sting, and even takes off waterproof mascara! (Although she recommends not using waterproof mascara… read the article to find out why.)

Find the recipe for DIY makeup remover here.

If you’d like to buy a cleanser, this gel cleanser can remove makeup along with leaving your skin feeling firm, toned, and soft!

Or if you’d like, you can try cleansing water -just like they use at Fashion Week. It’s a paraben-free, soap-free, sting-free cleanser that removes makeup and helps to hydrate and protect your skin!

Happy DIY-ing your makeup!

I hope you enjoy these recipes and tools for reducing the toxins and chemicals in makeup!

Want to go one step further in cutting out toxins? You can learn to make your own non-toxic hand sanitizer, make your own household cleaners, or get my guide to reducing toxins!

When you sign up for my newsletter below, you’ll also get my guide to help you reduce toxins. In it, you can learn how to get some common chemicals and toxins out of your house and body, minimizing your risk and exposure while on your health journey!