Ever think of making your own beauty products -- handmade, high performance, healthy alternatives to just about every chemical laden product you currently put on your face and body? It's easier than you think!
In Make It Up author Marie Rayma shares the recipes she has developed through years of trial, error, and testing to come up with the very best. This is real makeup and bright lipsticks, quality mineral powders, long-wearing eyeliners, and masks and cleansers that yield results. Rayma walks you through natural ingredients available online or at health food stores. These awesome oils, butters, clays, and minerals will replace the petroleum products, artificial colors, and lab-created mystery fragrances that have untold effects on our bodies. Products can be tailored for individual needs -- from swapping out ingredients not suitable for sensitive skin to whipping up the perfect colors suited for any complexion.
With easy-to-follow instruction, Make It Up provides more than 40 essential cosmetics and skin care projects so you can make just what you want, when you need it.
I have been following Marie's blog for years, and it's revolutionized my skincare and selfcare routines. I preordered the book as soon as it was announced, and anticipated it with great joy.
The book itself is lovely and an excellent complement to the blog. While the blog focuses on soaps and lotions and toners with a little cosmetics thrown in, the book focuses on cosmetics with some groundwork skincare recipes. I will admit to a moment of tiny disappointment when I realized that the book didn't contain new scented lotions and fanciful soaps, but that was quickly replaced by excitement.
See, as a habit, I don't wear makeup. I'll put some on a few times a year for a fancy or formal event, but otherwise I don't bother. Reading Make It Up showed me that it's not that I don't like wearing makeup -- it's that I don't like shopping for makeup. In this book, Marie brings her usual fun and fearless approach to DIY to makeup and I found myself suddenly interested in cosmetics. Don't like that shade of eyeshadow? Add a little more colored mica. Lost your summer tan? Scoop out half of your powder and add a little lighter pigment to it. Not sure if that eyeliner is your thing? Make a half recipe and even if you hate it, you're only out a few grams of ingredients.
The book itself is also very pleasing to read, and has blends and guides to multiple complexions and skin tones, and encourages experimentation. The photos are lovely and the prose informative and playful. It also has Marie's frank honesty about luxury ingredients -- you really don't need this additive, but it's nifty for these reasons.
In short, this became an essential read before I reached the last chapter, and I already feel like a convert to DIY makeup.
I picked up Make It Up: The Essential Guide to DYI Makeup & Skincare because it looked interesting and because I was curious. I have a friend who works in the beauty industry, and, for the past several months, she's been posting all sorts of "natural alternative" stuff on Facebook. Articles ranging from practical to trendy to completely wtf-level out there. I'm not sure if she actually tries any of the tips she shares, but one thing's for sure: If something pops up enough on your Newsfeed, you can't help but eventually take notice and, at the very least, do a bit of research. I'm a librarian. Research is what I do.
So when Make It Up appeared on our New Book shelf, I thought it sounded like a fun book to browse. And who knows: Maybe I could even find a few simple recipes to try. After all, I already know how to make lip gloss using petroleum jelly, Kool-Aid powder, and a bit of coconut oil. We did it for a library program a few years back. And it was easy and fun. Simple.
And I am all about simplicity.
Well... This book is anything but that. Sure, it is packed with recipes on to make everything you could find at Sephora (or your store of choice) and more, and while many of the ingredients are natural (healthier?), it's lacking in the area of accessibility.
A few of the ingredients, like Coconut Oil and corn starch, are easily available at your local grocery store. Most, though... Where would one even begin to locate them? Online, maybe. But that could quickly get expensive. Likely more so than purchasing the ready-made product outright. And then there's the matter of measuring and mixing and brewing, all of which is time consuming and probably difficult. And what if you mess the recipe up? Or get the color all wrong? Then you're out on all counts. Bummer.
Overall, the book seems more like a lesson in advanced chemistry (or Potions, if you prefer) than a DYI beauty guide. In short: The recipes seem more trouble than they're worth. It's easier (more cost effective, less time consuming) to stop by your local drug store and just buy the cosmetics you need.
If DIY makeup is your jam, this is the book for you. It's practical, scientific, methodical, no-nonsense, and concerned with safety. (Now I know: I can tell if makeup has gone off if it smells like crayons!) And I want to stress no-nonsense, since the book does discuss essential oils (tl;dr: they smell good and some act as preservatives). Includes base recipes/ingredients, vegan alternatives, pigments, color suggestions, price lists, supplier lists, safety information (like preservatives vs. antioxidants), stuff about hair (apparently oils absorb at different rates in your hair?) and a whole mess of other stuff.
Very detailed and useful information on a wide variety of types of makeup, including information about the purpose and qualities of many cosmetic ingredients. I personally learned that I don't use enough makeup to bother making my own, but it was an interesting read and a refreshing change from the usual type of DIY beauty stuff on Pinterest that never actually works.
book put together thoughtfully. abundant resources to creating your own make up. doesn't lie about the cost involved, but accurately displays how healthier it is for your skin and body! a great resource.
I found this book to be very helpful. I have serious health issues and try to avoid exposure to harmful chemicals. The advice and instructions were clear and practical.
This is such a valuable resource, especially for someone just starting out with making cosmetics and skincare! I've been watching Marie's YouTube videos rather obsessively for the past few months since discovering her, and I'm thrilled to have this physical resource at my fingertips! I read the whole thing cover to cover in one sitting without ever being bored! More than just educational, this book is fun and engaging, and really dares you to dream of all the wonderful things you can make, either by the book, or by experimenting with the wonderful bases Marie provides! I would highly recommend this to anyone starting out on their DIY makeup and skincare journey, or as a giftable to anyone you know who is!
If DIY makeup is your jam, this is the book for you. It's practical, scientific, methodical, no-nonsense, and concerned with safety. (Now I know: I can tell if makeup has gone off if it smells like crayons!) And I want to stress no-nonsense, since the book does discuss essential oils (tl;dr: they smell good and some act as preservatives). Includes base recipes/ingredients, vegan alternatives, pigments, color suggestions, price lists, supplier lists, safety information (like preservatives vs. antioxidants), stuff about hair (apparently oils absorb at different rates in your hair?) and a whole mess of other stuff.
Humblebee and Me is one of the best resources in an area which is full of disinformation and drivel. This book is a truly useful collection of skincare and make up recipes which actually work, and do what they claim. It is clear, concise and trustworthy.
Excellent easy to follow guide...what's not so easy is to get the materials together to follow the recipes laid out in the book. I calculated that by the time I purchased the materials, it would cost way more than buying from an organic cosmetic company. Having said that, I enjoyed reading the book and finding out what goes into the makeup I use everyday.
Quick flick and read through of this book. I am definitely keen to try some of the recipes in here, though I wish there were more vegan ones. Some of the ingredients I will be looking into more in-depth.
Has a number of great recipes for creating all natural make-up. Most of the recipes have a shelf life of up to a year. Looking forward to experimenting👩🔬
I'm going to hold off rating this book until I can try some of the recipes. This book has a specific target audience. These days, switching to natural cosmetics is easier than ever with easier to find products and ingredient information. The DIY route isn't for everyone but if it's for you, you probably already know it. I would definitely enjoy mixing up some of these recipes, especially the blushes, but I'll need to make some time to shop online for ingredients. (In other words, it may be years before I get around to doing that.)