natural foundation powder makeup for camera?

I just realized that I need some sort of basic foundation for my skin as I'm going to be helping out with a thing and I need to look good on camera.  eek...  

My skin is super sensitive, especially to soy and petroleum.  Is there some sort of natural makeup powder I can use?  I don't need anything complicated like lipstick, just something to make my skin look normal on camera.

Some women use a natural clay powder, something beige or white-ish as the base, and then they add cocoa powder to get to a skin color. Though that might not work for everyone's skin tone.

Edited to add:  I used to buy a supposedly natural clay powder foundation stuff. But it's been years since I bothered. So they are on the market some where.

There are clay powders in many or other colors of clay. And if you had a starch that would be skin safe for you - maybe arrowroot, corn or tapioca, you could lighten with that maybe.

I suppose if you have a lot of reddish-ness you want to tone down, you could add some green clay powder. My cousin had ruddy cheeks and she had a green sub-foundation liquid she would put on to even out the reddish splotches.

I think I somehow ran across instructions on the internet about using clay powders for a foundation powder, which is where the clay and cocoa powder came from, though I haven't looked them up recently.

Ah! I found what I used to use.

https://www.bareminerals.com/makeup/face/foundation/original-loose-powder-foundation-spf-15/US61267.html

Ingredients:  ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Titanium dioxide: 25% INACTIVE INGREDIENTS: bismuth oxychloride, mica, iron oxides.

There are other brands, too.

Though I think clay or something homemade would be FAR less money than the $32 (USD) they want for this little jar. Albeit the convenience of having something pre-mixed close to your skin tone might almost be worth it. I think it's fairly awful to see colors that don't work with someone's skin tone - too peachy or orange-y, or too rosy, or too gray.

I wear Marcelle foundation + lipstick + mascara 2-3 times a year. They advertise themselves as hypoallergenic, and it's the only brand I've found that doesn't smell like fragrances, and doesn't make me itchy/asthma-y. Not all that natural, but at least I don't react to it.

Last time I went to Shoppers to buy new stuff, the lady suggested that I try "Physician's Formula" or "Nude by Nature", as they are the other most hypoallergenic ones they stocked. I figured they were more expensive, and for a couple times of use a year, I'd stick to what I knew I wouldn't react to. She also suggested I switch to a powder rather than a foundation if I just wanted to even out skin tone, but, again, I stuck with what I knew I wouldn't react to.


https://beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca/Beauty/Categories/Makeup/Face/Foundation/Flawless-Foundation/p/MU34?variantCode=056599645542
https://beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca/Beauty/Categories/Makeup/Face/Foundation/The-Healthy-Powder-SPF-16/p/FL70?variantCode=044386109391
https://beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca/Beauty/Categories/Makeup/Face/Foundation/Luminous-Sheer-Liquid-Foundation/p/NY05?variantCode=9342320033230

Oh, they have French white clay! The Bentonite clay is kind of gray-green.

This might be what you want to do:



The ingredients she uses here are all edible. Edited to add that it's just four ingredients, two of which most of us have in our kitchen. And I think the ingredients would work pretty well for making a cooler versus warmer skin tone color.

She also said some mineral powder makeups can contain lead or other heavy metals.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:The ingredients she uses here are all edible. Edited to add that it's just four ingredients, two of which most of us have in our kitchen. And I think the ingredients would work pretty well for making a cooler versus warmer skin tone color.

She also said some mineral powder makeups can contain lead or other heavy metals.

Thanks for posting that video link! I have a big tin of turmeric but it's a mix with black pepper for making golden milk. Could that be used, I wonder? I also wonder if food-grade diatomaceous earth could be used instead of the clay....

Diane Kistner wrote:

Thanks for posting that video link! I have a big tin of turmeric but it's a mix with black pepper for making golden milk. Could that be used, I wonder? I also wonder if food-grade diatomaceous earth could be used instead of the clay....

Oh, personally, I would not want black pepper on my face! I would be sneezing all day! I'd be careful with the tumeric, too, since it can stain. At least it doesn't have an overpowering scent (sort of smells earthy to me) as would a curry or another yellow powder to get that yellow undertone.

I think DE would be terrible to get in an eye, so, personally, I would not use it instead of the clay. Clay would not be as irritating in the eye.

(TMI warning:  how do I know this? Instead of talcum powder, I tried using DE as a drying powder in hot sweaty areas during the heat of summer. Areas that happened to be near other mucous membranes. Not a happiness. Clay powder was far better and non-irritating.)

(Additionally, I once attempted to put castor oil on a pimple near my eye, and got castor oil in my eye. So NOT fun!! Isn't it nice when we can learn from others' mistakes? )

I use arrowroot powder with less than 5% by weight cocoa powder. Start at the low end and you can always add more. Make sure to blend it well (I use a coffee grinder) so that the little cocoa chunks are spread evenly through the powder. I've had some weird brown streaks on my face when I didn't do it right. Adjust the cocoa powder for your skin color. Unlike most commercial foundations, this keeps my skin from getting shiny for a long time.

I like Jocelyn's idea about the green clay. I may use a bit and see how it looks.

I personally stay away from titanium dioxide. I've read that it is safe, and that it isn't.  Go figure. The rule of thumb that if it isn't edible, I don't want to put it on my skin.

If you want to make some blush, add beet powder to some of the foundation powder. And maybe some turmeric so that it's not too red.

Robin Katz wrote:
I personally stay away from titanium dioxide. I've read that it is safe, and that it isn't.  Go figure. The rule of thumb that if it isn't edible, I don't want to put it on my skin.

Yes, to this! I've moved to only using edible things on my skin, too.

Great to hear arrowroot powder works for you, too.

From some blogger, whom I can't remember, I was inspired to make my own foundation powder.
3 TBS arrowroot powder
1 tsp bentonite clay
1/4 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
12 drops rosehip oil
5 drops tea tree oil
5 drops lavender oil
If I want to add sunscreen, I add  1 TBL zinc oxide, 12 drops raspberry seed oil, 12 drops carrot seed oil, 1/8 tsp cocoa.  By adding coconut out, shea butter, vitamin E oil, beeswax, boiled over a water bath and mixed with powder you can liquefy it.  If you need more color,  you add more cocoa or cinnamon.  It is not going to look heavy on your skin.  It won't cover imperfections, it will help to take away shine and provide an even skin tone.  I like it much more than mineral makeup, which looks like caked on yuck on my face, not to mention ages me. This feels and smells much more natural and cleaner and cheaper.  Use what you have and play with it.  My skin is very sensitive to any make up I use on it, but I have never had an adverse reaction to it. Good luck!

Hi R. Do you really need to put make-up on?

Myself I would not do it. I never use anything on my face, I wash only with water since several years. I like it that my natural protection layer now is balanced (I do not feel the need to put any moisturizer or fat on my skin anymore). I would fear that 'foundation powder', even if it's made from all natural edible ingredients, would harm that skin layer.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Hi R. Do you really need to put make-up on?

The only reason I'm needing makeup is because I'll be on camera in a professionally produced film.  

Natural skin looks extremely unnatural on camera - but recent software advances improve skin tones.  If it was just me and a youtube channel, I wouldn't bother, but as this is a higher-end production, it looks like I'll be needing something.


They will probably put more makeup on me.  I want to be sure that my base layer is something that won't hurt my skin.  I tried some Burts Bees in the store and I think this might work.  It's got some soy in it, but of the different "natural" foundations I tried, it was the only one that didn't burn or blister.  

I talked with the producer again.  He didn't realize I didn't wear makeup and yes, I need to wear makeup for the filming.

I'll apply the foundation layer then he'll bring a makeup person to the studio to do the fancy stuff.  The goal is to make my skin look natural on film.  If I remember right, that means a lot of makeup but skilfully applied.  

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:

(Additionally, I once attempted to put castor oil on a pimple near my eye, and got castor oil in my eye. So NOT fun!! Isn't it nice when we can learn from others' mistakes? )

Fun fact - I once got a large grain of sand/ small rock in my eye when plastering a strawbale house. Flushing with water and my other attempts didn't help, but a couple drops of caster oil did the trick!