Natural DIY Foundation Powder
This natural DIY foundation is a simple, inexpensive recipe, with results that last all day long. Homemade foundation is made with ingredients you probably have in your pantry, and you can create it to make the perfect match to your skin tone. Follow my tips below to make the best natural powder foundation.
To make this recipe, you will need: cornstarch (or arrowroot powder), cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, french green clay (optional), and bentonite clay (optional).
This post was updated January 2019
I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe with y’all today! I have been using this natural DIY foundation for a few years now, and I am loving it! My skin is much clearer, less dry, and I am happy that I know exactly what ingredients I am putting on my face. Plus, it is cheap frugal and all natural. You get to customize it to your own skin color, so it will match perfectly.
This homemade foundation lasts all day, and I don’t get that worn, greasy look by the end of the day, like I did when I was using the expensive mineral powder.
To be honest, I’ve been using this exclusively as a powder foundation since first creating it 6 years ago, and I have gotten pretty lazy with my ingredients. Nowadays, since my complexion has cleared a lot and my skin tone has become more consistent, I’ve been able to get away with just using cornstarch, cocoa powder, and bentonite clay. You just have to use what works for your skin and skin tone.
What is wrong with conventional powder foundation?
Sometimes they contain nanoparticles. These are super small particles of zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which help block the sun. The problem isn’t necessarily the ingredients, but their size; when they are used as nanoparticles and not non-nanoparticles, they can increase skin’s aging, can penetrate the skin, and cause toxicity of the skin (source).
I always like to run any product or makeup through the EWG website to make sure it is safe and has a low score.
When doing a quick search on their site, I found Covergirl had an overall score of 5. It contained parabens, quaternium-15 (which is a formaldehyde releaser), talc (which can be contaminated with asbestos), and a few other not so bad ingredients. But still, I definitely don’t want any of those chemicals on my face. Make this foundation instead, and you’ll know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.
Tips for making homemade foundation:
- If you have a lot of red in your skin tone, add french green clay. The green helps counteract the red.
- Test the color on the back of your hand, and then go outside in the sunlight to see if it is a good match.
- Make homemade foundation in a big batch to save you from constantly making it.
- Write down the recipe for the DIY foundation that matches your skin, so you are not always guessing.
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Natural DIY Foundation Ingredients
Ingredients depend on the color of your skin.
- Cornstarch (Like this one)
or arrowroot powder (Like this one): this is the base of the foundation and it gives you that flawless look! - Cocoa powder (Like this one): darkens and adds richness. I use a little bit of this even though I am super pasty white!
- Cinnamon (Like this one): darkens and adds richness
- Ginger: if you have yellow pigments in your skin like me
- French green clay (Like this one) (optional): this works great for those with more red pigments in the skin. Green cancels red!
- Bentonite clay (Like this kind): totally optional, but has great benefits for your skin.
or arrowroot powder 
: darkens and adds richness. I use a little bit of this even though I am super pasty white!
I purchased most of the ingredients at our local co-op (it’s like Whole Foods) in the bulk section, but I included links for where you can find the ingredients online.
How To Make DIY Foundation
- In a small, nonmetallic bowl, add about 1 Tbs cornstarch.
- Depending on the color of your skin, start mixing in small amounts of the other ingredients until you get your perfect match.
- To figure out if you matched your skin tone, just dip your finger in the powder, rub on the back of your hand, and go outside to see if it blends. If it doesn’t, then add more ingredients and try again.
- Place in a clean jar.
To use homemade foundation: Gently tap a foundation brush in loose powder, tap off any extra powder back into the jar, and apply in a circular motion, just like any loose powder foundation.
Side note: don’t forget to write down how much of each ingredient that you add, that way you don’t have to play as much of a guessing game the next time around. Yes, I may have learned this one the hard way!
Want More Homemade Natural Products? Check these out!
- Homemade Natural Mascara
- Shea Butter And Aloe Face Cream is my go to.
- Natural Makeup You Don’t Have To DIY
- I use this Dry Shampoo everyday.
- This DIY Hair Spray is only 2-3 natural ingredients.
This makes me so excited! I have been wanting to make my own cosmetics for a long time, and I’m finally getting around to it! Just like this Homemade Face and Body Cream that is awesome. In the next few weeks, you will get to see a whole line-up of homemade beauty products that I have been itching to try!
*Links may be affiliate links. Affiliate links help support A Blossoming Life at no extra cost to you.I party here…
I make my own face powder and love it. So much better than store bought powder with all the chemicals (and organic/natural can be so expensive!). Thanks for sharing. 😉
I am so excited about this post. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have already started making my own. I had no idea I could make my own foundation!
I was just wondering were you could find all of this. Did you buy the ingredients somewhere? Thanks!
Is the coco powder the same as cocoa powder?
Yea I just can’t spell haha! Thanks for catching that!
As a thought for the green – finely powdered thyme is a lovely color, and very cheap, available just in the grocery store. I know it also has antibacterial/antimicrobial properties, so it seems like it could be a good choice for makeup. Might try a pinch when I make some next (using up ridiculously expensive store-bought organic makeup now, but I couldn’t resist trying a tiny batch of this the other day! Not too shabby for an ever-greasy girl like me).
This is a superb idea! I have just made a finishing veil this afternoon, from cornstarch and a broken up translucent powder (although it is so orange on its own), and due to lack of green clay I added a pinch of my store bought quality yellow powder for redness. I got a nasty infection so fever, red face and all the skin problems when you get sweaty overheated, and feeling lousy. But the little potion not only cheered me up but calmed my skin, my face looked naturally glow-y rather than bothered angry red and oily shine to lit up England( that’ where I am. And you’re welcome energy minister!) corn starch is so simple but it is great on enlarged pores, oily skin and calming redness, also good for preventing friction sores, eg breaking in new shoes, potato starch is brill for that, wonder if it would work as foundation base?
Anyway, I will try the foundation recipe once I can get the clay, as the UK gov issued health warning for bentonite clay.
Thanks for the recipes, and ideas, and for sharing your love of live, it reached me on another continent , well done Amy
Bentonite clay is mined here in the U.S. in Wyoming and is used in kitty litter and oil dry for autos. It can hold up to 1000 times is weight in liquid and helps absorb the smell.
Thanks for that, someone should give that info on bentonite clay to the British health and safety folks, it is now withdrawn from all the retailers i tried ( i buy from reputable sources like the neals yard, famous in the UK for their organic cosmetics and care, from herbs to makeup). They told me they are no longer allowed to import it. The treen clay looks great though, and cleared my skin significantly, my friends are now trying to pay me to make them Amy’s foundation!!! Amy, think of making it on a larger scale!
Really? That’s amazing! I will definitely have to start thinking about starting to make it and sell it! It’s to bad you can’t get the green clay in the UK!
Can’t wait to try it! I love that’s it not only natural & frugal but vegan too. So hard to find vegan products. Thanks シ
Sounds like a great idea and I’m going to try it. I would like to make a suggestion about the color matching. Never test a foundation color on any other part of your body except your neck area close to the decolletage. Your hands and arms are more exposed to sunlight 365 days a year, why?, Driving! And you never try to match when you already have foundation on your face. If what you have on already is a bad match, what you purchase next can only be worse.
Also, by holding it next to your neck, it will be close to the color of your clothing. We typically won’t wear a color that makes us bad. This will also show if what you have picked in too pink or too yellow for your skin’s tone. Ever see someone wearing the wrong shade and look like they have on a mask they wear at those masquerade parties?
Florescent light is not your friend either, that’s why it’s important to get to a mirror in the store with a couple of shades, DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE COLOR NAME OR NUMBER!!!. Hold one on either side of your neck close to your clothing, you’ll see what I mean.
Don’t go by color name on the bottle Nude Beige in one line may be totally different in another. The only time the name or color number is important is when you are going to buy it again.
You can do the same when purchasing a new blush, hold some color choices back by your ears, pick two or three and see which works best. Eye shadows go next to the temple, and lipstick next to the lip.
The right colors can take years off, make you look happy, healthy and younger!
great info. Cyndee.
Hello, thanks for sharing your recipe.
I tried this out however can’t get the powder to stay on my face 🙁 I don’t have dry skin either so I can’t understand why it won’t stick. I’ve tried using coconut oil as a base first but the powder does still doesn’t seem to blend like my regular powder foundation. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Any ideas?
Manda, i had the same problem with arrowroot, i used the corn starch instead, and replaced half of it with green clay, perhaps that would help you? My skin now looks really good ( should have seen the face of my ex when he bumped into me at the shopping mall that was worth all the effort of experimenting). Also i use the mini brush i got with a sample from bare minerals, works better than the big purpose powder brush, i first tap the brush on the skin, as if i was stamping it with the powder, and then buff in circular motions, girlfriends are now doing the same and say they get better results too. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your response M.m, I’ll definitely try out your suggestions.
where do you get these ingrediants?
You can click on the links but you can also find a lot of the ingredients at a grocery store
How do I mix in the green clay for redness into the foundation.
Thanks,
Trenda
I would just add a little bit at a time, say about 1/2 tsp, mix, and try it on your skin to see if the color matches. Hopefully that helps!
I decided to attempt to make this powder today. I usually use Bare Minerals, which can be pricey. I read the various comments and decided to try various things that I already had from my spice cabinet, based on my skin tone, which has darker olive tones. I used corn starch as the base (I ran out of arrowroot). I added sage powder (since it is pale greenish, to counter-act reds), curry powder (due to my olive undertones), then cinnamon, nutmeg and clove powder (for my darker tones). I like it so far, and I smell like a Christmas cookie! I am curious how it will hold out after a long day at work, when my makeup usually wears off and I am left with an oily face.
Hi! Thank you for posting this,I cannot wait to try this out! Just to give me some guidance, can you tell me the measurements you used to get your colour? Thank you!!
I can’t tell you exactly because I change it a little bit every time since my skin color changes. Sorry!
This is a fantastic idea! Just a question, though. Is “cocoa powder” the one you use for cooking and making like a cup of cocoa? Haha I’m from Argentina, it sounds kinda funny to be using cocoa powder, that’s why I’m asking!
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Yep the cocoa powder for cooking ha! Seems silly but it works!
Hi, Amy!
I just finished making this foundation powder but I am having trouble with it sticking together enough to actually stick onto/blend into my face.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Hey Nicole! That is odd… Did you use corn starch or arrowroot powder?
I did use arrowroot powder and I thought that might be it. I added a teensy bit of coconut oil and now it’s sticking to the brush but not so much to my face, or blending into my face.
Very interesting. Corn starch works better, I’m assuming?
Thanks for the feedback!
Hi,
I think I already wrote this, but for me it is the potato starch ( or potato flour as it is called in the UK, where I am), it works better than cornstarch and soothes my heat/ air con face rashes. For an extra bang I ground to powder a couple of zinc tablets, just to make it up to a teaspoon, and mix it with the other ingredients, it also helps the rashes, and spots, and is one of main ingredients in acne preparations, and physical sunscreens.
And I use the mini brush that i got with some mineral powder sample, and first “stamp” my face with the powder then buff off in circular motions, for an extra smooth appearance a once over with a normal brush does it.
Hope this helps
M.
Thanks so much! That’s very helpful, but where did you get the zinc tablets?
Hi, I am in the UK , and got mine as a normal food supplement from a drugstore called superdrug, but i think you can get them in any pharmacy or drug store or even bigger supermarkets in the USA. There are so many things that you have and we don’t due to EU regulations(such as big bags of baking soda, we only get the 100g tubes, borax, white clay…) so you should not have a problem.
Just ran across this post on Pinterest and I am thrilled. I already wear the brand name powder foundation and I love it because it is not heavy, but I can’t get as good as match to my skin tone as I would like. Can’t wait to try this out! Also going to try the tap and then circular motion method of application suggestion.
I made this tonight; going to test it out tomorrow. I’m super excited! Powder foundation is so expensive, and who knows what it’s made from. Thanks for the natural make up series. I love your blog! 🙂
Could you use kaolin clay instead of arrowroot powder or cornstarch?
I’m not sure.. I’ve never tried that before, but if you have it on hand try it out and let me know if it works for you!
I purchased the Arrowroot powder at Whole Foods. I already had Redmond Clay and I already had Organic Cacao Powder. I am a brown skinned black woman so had to use more of the cocoa but I expected that. So far so good. I smell like chocolate lol. Thank you for posting!
So great to know that it works for you! Haha I love the way it smells