DIY Natural Mascara

DIY Natural Mascara

Hey y’all! As you know if you follow my blog, I’m on a mission to MAKE everything I need to avoid gross chemicals, save money, and be self-sufficient! Sounds intense but I’m already pretty close to being there with the exception of makeup! I’ve tried countless homemade makeup recipes from Pinterest and haven’t really liked them at all so I’ve tried making up my own recipes too and still haven’t quite found the perfect recipes yet. Some of them have been okayyyy, but I want something I can wear that works just as well as commercial makeup just without the awful ingredients list! This has definitely been my biggest challenge! This DIY natural mascara is the first thing, makeup-wise, that I’ve made that I’m actually pretty satisfied with and have started using on a regular basis. Its definitely different then regular mascara you buy at the store, and won’t give you that fake-long-thick eyelashes look, but it does the job and makes your lashes black and more shiny and separates them nicely. This is especially important to me since I already have relatively thick longish lashes but they are BLONDE, so if I don’t wear mascara my eyelashes basically disappear. Haha- The photo above has a before and after of my eyelashes without any makeup and then just using this mascara only so you can see how it works. If you’re curious about making your own makeup, this is a great recipe to have and only requires a few ingredients!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links that will earn me a small commission if you make a purchase through them! I only recommend products I actually love and use myself.

What You’ll Need:

–Shea Butter (Naturally refined)

–Aloe Vera Gel

–Activated Charcoal Powder

-A Few Drops Lavender Essential Oil

-Small Ziplock Bag

-Empty Mascara Tube- I bought this one (not an affiliate link because I don’t recommend it..) It doesn’t clean off the extra mascara from the brush like a normal mascara bottle would do…so when you pull it out its completely gunked up with mascara you have to carefully scrape back into the tube before you can apply it. So dumb. It also doesn’t reach all the way to the bottom of the bottle. You’re better off reusing an old used up mascara tube. Or find another option on Amazon! There are so many on there I just picked a cheap one because I’m cheap. I might eventually try another one..

To Make It:

Mix equal parts shea butter, aloe vera gel, and activated charcoal. I just used a regular ol spoon and scooped one spoonful of each into a small ziplock baggy. Zip up the bag and mix the mixture together with your fingers. Just work it around until it seems mixed well then work the mascara into one corner of the bag. Snip a tiny bit off the corner of the bag and “pipe” the mixture into your mascara tube! I find this to be the easiest way to get it in the tiny opening. Afterwards, add 2-4 drops of lavender essential oil to your tube and use the brush to mix it

around a bit. I add lavender because I read that the scent of it will deter mites that live on your eyelashes. They don’t like it so they’ll leave your lashes alone when they smell this on them. So gross right?! But it supposedly helps your lashes to grow longer and thicker without the mites on them!

Some Pros and Cons of making your own mascara and some personal observations:

Pro- Very small ingredients list with things you can pronounce! Very safe.

Pro- Avoiding chemicals and parabens, etc in commercial mascara!

Pro- VERY cheap to make yourself!

Pro- Much easier to clean than regular mascara. My regular mascara is really hard to clean if I get it on anything- especially towels but this stuff just scrubs off with some water.

Con- It doesn’t last as long as regular mascara but I still find it lasts long enough for a workday. If I go do anything after work I might reapply it.

Con- It doesn’t make your eyelashes longer or thicker- it just highlights what you’ve got! Which is fine to me, but might be a con if you love the super thick fanned out lash look.

Pro/Con: It is not waterproof which could be good or bad just depending on your preferences. I don’t like waterproof mascara because I always had the hardest time trying to remove it and it made my eyelashes feel like glue and I had to scrub my eyelashes off to get them clean. I hated seeing my precious eyelashes on my washcloth after trying to wash mascara off! I stopped buying waterproof mascara and haven’t had that issue anymore so having this mascara super easy to clean off is a plus for me!

So as you can see, for me at least, the homemade mascara is better all around for what I need it for!

Expectations for how it should work for you! ^

The top photo I have no eye makeup on and the bottom photo I’m wearing only the homemade mascara.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Mix equal parts shea butter, aloe vera gel, and activated charcoal in a ziplock baggy.
2. Mix these in your bag until it is thoroughly mixed.
3. Cut a small corner off your ziplock bag and "pipe" the mixture into a new or used and empty mascara tube.
4. Add a few drops of lavender essential oil to your bottle and mix up a bit with the brush.
5. DONE!

What type of makeup should I try to make next?! I’ve tried several foundation and blush recipes but haven’t perfected them quite yet. Let me know in the comments what I should try for my next makeup post!

Original article and pictures take http://sweetsimpleliving.com/index.php/2016/05/23/diy-natural-mascara/ site