Every few months, depending on my stress level, I refuse to leave the house without covering up a recent breakout that left me with tiny dark scars — and that means I need a good face primer. Generally, I apply makeup as if I'm being charged for mirror time in my own apartment. Perhaps the process is annoying to me and that's why I'm practically falling asleep with boredom as I apply mascara. Perhaps I resent the idea of makeup in general yet, can't seem to ditch it from my life and that's why I angrily blot my cheeks. Or else I'm just running late. Unfortunately, that rushed job means I end up spending more time on clean-up with a Q-tip than applying my makeup.
I feel more confident when those slowly healing dark spots are covered up and out of sight by the masses — I don't need a reminder of last month's hormonal breakout, nah' mean? Sadly, the coverage on my face seems to slide off at the first sign of a sweat bead on my forehead — despite my bathroom sink taking hours of scrubbing to get all the foundation smudges off. Without fail, I return home each day with less than a third of the coverage I left the house with and smudged eyebrows. I don't blame my mineral powders; I blame the fact that I apply makeup like a tween.
Tween makeup 101: Apply all makeup with bare hands for the worst results ever.
Excluding the psychological makeup mistakes I make on the reg, my biggest makeup "don't" is not applying a primer before I powder my face, neck, and sink. The sink is probably fine, but my face could use a little enhancement that only a primer can give me.
Here's the thing: Buying a primer is one of the most annoying purchases I've ever made. It seems like most primers I stumble upon have the ingredients inside the packaging and not on the box itself. The first time I noticed this I thought, no biggie, I'll just carefully open this bad boy up and see what's inside that's worth $30 for two ounces. Before this could happen, three makeup artists and a security guard asked me if I needed help. Apparently, I have to purchase the primer before I'm allowed to know what the ingredients are. Clearly, that was never going to happen. Of course, as I trolled around for primers, I couldn't help notice that the prices were higher than what I paid for my mineral powder to begin with. Typically, as I read the gibberish on the back of the products that have them listed, I end up getting more annoyed and suddenly, I've prematurely convinced myself I don't even need makeup.
The truth is, though, I do want makeup and I am definitely trying to get up on that primer game, just without the pricey tag and chemicals. I'm just looking to seal in my makeup and make it last as long as possible. I don't want anything fancy. As long as my primer is all natural and effective, I'm happy.
Which is why I got busy in the lab — erm, kitchen — to develop a primer that was cheap, effective, and au naturale. Here is a natural DIY primer recipe for those times where I've just got to powder my face in the morning.
DIY Primer
- 1/3 cup of aloe vera
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
- Mineral powder
First, peel the leaf from your aloe vera carefully (you don't want to lose all the juicy goodness) and place the contents in a bowl. Aloe is an excellent beauty ingredient because it's high in water and vitamin E.
Next, melt down extra virgin coconut oil in a microwave or on the stove top. Before showering or washing my hair, I take my coconut oil out of the fridge to allow it to start liquefying. I mean, what's the point in buying raw unprocessed coconut oil if I'm just going to nuke it in the microwave? You decide what works best for you and add your coconut oil to your aloe.
Recently, I've gotten into using a tinted primer, so add in your powdered foundation of choice and whisk your mix until you have an even consistency.
This recipe works best if the coconut is slightly thick (not completely melted, but easily spread) in order to create a nice consistency. Also, make sure you mash all the aloe so you keep your primer smooth. Apply after your moisturizer, let it dry, and then go to town on your makeup — it'll go on easier, and blend like a dream.
Image: Subbotina Anna/Fotolia.com; Kristin Collins Jackson; Giphy
