Is that really handmade makeup?

Hi everyone!
I'm still here, just a lot of personal stuff going on.
I did want to post about the current rash of non-handmade makeup sellers getting caught out in their deceptions, and also the makeup sellers selling non-approved ingredients as eye shadow.

I just got finished watching a video from a makeup seller on how she makes custom eye shadow. I laughed! She basically dumped various ingredients into a little container and shook it up. That is the most unprofessional thing I've ever seen, yet people just are gushing over how cool it is and all that. Not only that, but it makes it look like anyone can just mix stuff together and voila! they have makeup. It is deceptive(unless you are buying prepackaged makeup and sticking your own label OVER the wholesalers label) as there is much more involved than that.

First, anyone really making their own makeup actually measures and/or weighs every single thing. Also it is written down (I learned this the hard way) in a safe place so THE RECIPE CAN BE DUPLICATED!!!
What happens if all the "samples" she sends to customers are a big hit? By not measuring and not writing down the recipe she cannot accurately duplicate the shade. It's hard enough to dupe something WITH the recipe due to the variations that can occur in the ingredients themselves.

Secondly, she uses a "base" she adds to all her shadows. Huh? Every one of my shadows has a different recipe. I don't have a standard base to add colored mica to, because each mica reacts differently to different ingredients. Also, adding a matte base to a sparkle will dull out the sparkle to varying degrees, and you can't add a sparkle base to a matte... I really don't understand this at all.

Lastly, taking a look at one of her additional videos, her "lab" is part of her kids playroom. I make my own makeup and am appalled by this. When mixing, there are so many minerals floating around that are not to be breathed in that it is a health hazard to her children playing there. Not to mention how unsanitary children can be (sticky, dirty hands, etc) in direct contact with the ingredients for makeup.

Although this just touches on some issues brought up by this sellers videos, again there is a factor of common sense that people need to employ when watching junk such as this. Remember it is your skin and your health!

Black Friday Holiday Mineral Makeup Sale

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$25 GC purchase- you get 2 FREE Medium (1 g) Eye Shadow your choice
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Purchase a Christmas or Holiday gift for someone and get eye shadows for yourself!

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I Don't Run Out of Makeup - Substitutions and Ethics

I don't run out. And I don't substitute a different shade because I "ran out".

You know why? Because I make it myself. So unless my suppliers discontinue something I need to make what you want (in which case I'll discontinue the color/item myself) you can be sure you'll get exactly what you ordered.

I've been getting a LOT of correspondence lately asking me to "please don't substitute any shades". Upon further investigation, apparently it's all too common a practice for some individual handmade makeup companies to get an order and if they don't have something "in stock" they will substitute something else.

Huh? I really don't see how this is possible if indeed the company/person is making the cosmetics themselves. And further, why wouldn't they contact the customer up front before substituting in the rare instance they ran out of a supply they needed, and ASK the customer if they want to sub or wait?

Etsy.com customers seem to be hardest hit by this substitution thing according to my email. It's not usual or common or even very ethical to get something, on purpose, that is substituted for what you actually ordered. So rest assured when you place an order with Pink Quartz Minerals you will get what you order, no worries.

Makeup Brush Care and Cleaning

Makeup Brush Care and Cleaning

Do you have a vegan brush or are thinking about getting one, but not sure how to care for it?

Vegan brushes are different than natural hair brushes as they are made with synthetic materials and not animal hair. In my experience they are equal to, if not better than, animal hair brushes. They do not shed or break off like animal hair, they are easy to clean, and they retain their softness over time. (My own brush is 4 years old and still soft and works wonderfully!)

To clean a vegan brush use anti-bacterial dish soap. This will remove bacteria from the brush that may be on there from facial oils, transferred from hands, etc.
Simply put a drop or two of dish soap into a coffee cup or shallow glass and add about 1 1/2" of warm (not hot) water, just so it doesn't go past the bristles into the metal handle. Swirl around the brush really well but gently, dump, add more water, and keep going until the water is clear.

With a Kabuki brush you can gently squeeze the bristles out and gently shape with your hand. With eye shadow, concealer, powder and other brushes refrain from squeezing the bristles if possible.

Put the brush with the bristles pointing downward to dry so any water drains out and not into the handle. If too much water gets into the handle the bristles could fall out as they are glued into the handle.
You can wash it as often as it gets dirty. You can actually feel when the brush has too much makeup packed in it, it doesn't glide across your skin as easily. I wash my Kabuki about every 2-3 weeks and I use it daily. The large Kabuki brushes take about 24 hours to air dry, the others easily dry overnight.

(an exerpt from my newsletter! Let me know your email address and I'll put you on the newsletter list. This time, the coupon was for a free Translucent Veil- don't miss the next coupon!)

Why I do What I do - A Mineral Makeup Maker's Main Mission

Ok, so after some recent back and forth with a blogger, I realized I don't clearly state what it is I do and why I do it.

I make makeup. Yes, that's what I do. Full time.
What is different about mine? Some people don't think of it as a good difference. I don't use many chemical/mineral/organic add ins, fillers, or color boosters. Why not? I have SUPER sensitive eyes, and many of those ingredients make my eyes itchy and irritated. So I don't use them. Everything I make is with a combination of only 7 ingredients. Safe, non-irritating, non-itchy (to me specifically). If it bothers my eyes or my skin, I don't continue making it.

In the micas available for makeup formulators to use in their products (many of which are used as-is by many sellers) can be a lot of these *other* ingredients.
For example- a lovely mica from TKB Trading known as one of the "duochrome" series called Periwinkle Blue, and used as-is as color changing micas by many places and also used as a mica ingredient in many shadows, also contains an ingredient I don't use.

Although a lot of places just say "mica" for this periwinkle blue color, you will note that the item has mica as ONE part of the ingredients, but there are other ingredients in the mica.
Ingredients in Periwinkle Blue mica:
Mica 77019
Titanium Dioxide 77891
Iron Oxide 77491
Ferric Ferrocyanide 77510

I don't use Ferric Ferrocyanide in my makeup. Why? Because it irritates my eyes. And I can get a good blue from ultramarines, which do not irritate my eyes.

But do you think it is ethical and fair for a company to just state "mica" as this ingredient in their shadow? Or should they indeed state the 4 ingredients?? Many companies will NOT disclose the 4 ingredients, will state "mica" as this ingredient, and how would you know the difference?

Now I don't have all of the brightest and most vibrant colors available, the reason being I don't use the micas that contain the following ingredients as part of their makeup:
Ferric Ferrocyanide
Boron Nitride
Carmine (non-vegan made from crushed insects and organic)
Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate
Silica
(glycidoxphenol) propane/
bisaminomethylnorbornane copolymer
Boron Glow
Talc
Cornstarch(organic)
Silk Powder(organic)
Pashmica
Rice Powder(organic)
Methicone
Magnesium Myristate

I'm not saying these ingredients are horrible, or that your eyes will fall out if you use a shadow that contains them, I'm saying that I do not use them because either they irritate my eyes, are non-vegan, or are organic and can break down over time- so the makeup then would have an expiration date (that should be on the pkg if a formulator uses the organics)

If you'll investigate, you'll see many of the available "micas" contain one or more of those ingredients- so you won't see products made with those micas in my line.

You also won't have to worry about eye irritation or itchiness. And you'll know that the ingredients stated are the ONLY ingredients you'll find in my makeup.

So, my mission is simple. Make cosmetics that contain only 7 mineral ingredients, are non-itchy and non-irritating, and full and complete disclosure of ingredients.

And that is what I do!

Tax Time and Big BOGO sale!

Ok, not my favorite time of year, but I got my taxes done and...

SALE time!

Buy one get one FREE on select items in my Etsy shop! Take a look, one has over $150.00 of FREE makeup!!

http://tinyurl.com/y9xj8ae

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for making my Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend sale a BIG hit!