Mineral makeup, and the formulations thereof
So, I decided that mineral makeup was crazy expensive, given that I probably had most of the ingredients already in the studio. Some of the brands out there are selling for near $100 a gram. That’s like 80’s drug prices…what are they thinking?
So, I needed to order some oxides which I didn’t have, and I got a few that just looked too cool not to own, and have been playing for the last couple of days trying to make mineral makeup. I’m pretty sure I’ve succeeded.
Well, by succeeded, I mean I’ve created a makeup that’s the right color for *me*…but considering how olive I am, it’s probably way too dark or way too light for most of my friends. However, I’ve gotten some test bunnies…er…friends…who are willing to come over and let me experiment on them. Hooray for brave friends. 
On the development list still are blushes and eye shadows. I dunno if I’m going to offer mineral makeup as a product line or not. I’m still researching the various FDA requirements…and the FDA, like all 3-initial organizations, writes documents in a language not normally spoken outside of the hushed halls of bureaucracy. There’s a reason that every cosmetic company in the world has a team of $500 an hour attorneys…it’s because of the FDA. Swear to god. I also need to look at whether or not my insurance covers a cosmetic line. So…that’s on the list of things to do.
But now, I’m on day two of a headache that would kill most mortals, so I think I’m going to put on some Brahms and hide in a dark closet until it’s time to go get Boy.
I’ve been thinking about trying mineral makeup. I don’t wear any at all now because of my acne. But I don’t particularly want to take out a loan to cover the acne up with something that doesn’t cause more acne in so doing. Yikes that stuff is spendy.
And I may have changed industries, but am still willing/able to help out as much as possible on the FDA front
Mineral makeup is probably better for acne sufferers than any other makeup on the market. A lot of reasons, but the primary of which is that it doesn’t have any oil or pore blocking agents.
And I’m using kaolin clay in my mixture, and kaolin is theoretically phenomenal for acne. (Disclaimer: So reports from cosmetic companies would tell us, I have not done the academic research.)
If I ever feel like I’ve gotten the mineral makeup thing down to a science, and have done some longer term testing on myself so that I’m pretty sure I won’t make someone’s face fall off, I’ll send you some to play with. That way, you just need to buy a kabuki brush, if you don’t all ready have one. (http://www.make-upusa.com/makeup/brushes.htm) has an example of a short handled one.
As to price, yeah…that’s why I decided to try and make it. That’s insanely expensive, given the cost of the ingredients and packaging. I figured at max, it cost $5.00 to bring each container to market….at max. Counting R&D, trademarks, regulation attorneys, packaging, shipping, retail space, etc. (I’m guessing here, but really, if it cost *more* than that, it wouldn’t be on the market for it’s target demographic.)
So, the profit on mineral makeup is insane. Insane. Unless I’m missing something, or the cost to market is considerably higher than I think it is.
I was thinking that instead of offering mineral makeup, with all of the FDA regulations therein, I could skirt around them; and offer mineral makeup “make your own” kits. With instructions and formulations, and maybe even a forum/discussion area where people could share their recipes. Legally, I think I’d be a lot less likely to run into liability problems, although I say that without having consulted an attorney…so…I could be off-base.
Cool on both points!
I was just saying to Vaquera, I was thinking that instead of offering mineral makeup, with all of the FDA regulations therein, I could skirt around them; and offer mineral makeup “make your own” kits. With instructions and formulations, and maybe even a forum/discussion area where people could share their recipes. Legally, I think I’d be a lot less likely to run into liability problems, although I say that without having consulted an attorney…so…I could be off-base.
But, packaging would be a breeze, labeling wouldn’t be an issue, it would take up considerably less space in my studio than if I had actual vials of makeup everywhere… I dunno, if I can prefect the color formulations; I may just do the “make your own” thing. I bet lots of people would like to make their own.
That would be cool
Packaging and Micro would then me your biggest concern there.
One of the biggest things you have to worry about in the Mineral and pigment RMs is Heavy Metals (particularly Lead) and Micro, as I’m sure you know:)
Let me know how I can be of service
AND I know I am no longer employed there, but Courtland would be a huge help for you and he loves helping out the smaller shops. cimel@ceuticallabs.com He’s way more reasonably priced than an atty and knows more about the FDA than anyone I know
I like the idea of mineral makeup and the hype, but I just can’t manage to get it to work for me. I tried a ton of samples from Everyday minerals and from Alima but I can’t get the coverage or look that is promised. I tried BE but it made my skin itchy and looked horrible. If THAT is what natural glowing skin looks like I’ll stick with my tired sallow dull skin. I’ll be interested to know how this goes for you.
Groovy!
I need to get the MDS on the micas before I’d consider selling them. The ones I use to color soap are skin safe, and the ones I purchased to play with for the makeup are theoretically skin safe, although again, I’ve not read the data sheets, so testing is probably a really good idea.
Thanks very much for the tips. I’m going to screen your comment, only so his email address doesn’t get harvested, but I still have a backup record of it.
I’ve never tried either of those brands, so I can’t speak to them…but I know some that I’ve tried have had too low of a zinc and clay content for me to get good coverage.
The itchy thing I’ve experienced with some manufacturers…I think they may be using talc as their primary binding, whereas I’m playing more with cornstarch because talc is believed to cause cancerous tumors.
Talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos. Talc particles have been shown to cause tumors in the ovaries and lungs of cancer victims. For the last 30 years, scientists have closely scrutinized talc particles and found dangerous similarities to asbestos. Responding to this evidence in 1973, the FDA drafted a resolution that would limit the amount of asbestos-like fibers in cosmetic grade talc. However, no ruling has ever been made and today, cosmetic grade talc remains non-regulated by the federal government. This inaction ignores a 1993 National Toxicology Program report which found that cosmetic grade talc, without any asbestos-like fibers, caused tumors in animal subjects.1 Clearly with or without asbestos-like fibers, cosmetic grade talcum powder is a carcinogen.
(from: http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/talc.htm)
I’ve read it is the bismuth that causes the itching – I think that the brands I tried were talc free although I’m not sure about the BE (Bare Esentuals). Both of the other two I tried were small business things..not at all main market. I’ve not tried any high end or drug store mineral formulations.
I’ve always been curious about mineral make-up, but I’m lazy and usually only bother with lip gloss, and occasionally some eye make-up if I’m going out. I’ll go through periods where I wear make-up everyday but then I quit long before I’ve used all my product, and I usually don’t bother with foundation. But I’m 25 and get mistaken for 15, so I can get awy with that.
I’m curious- if you made it and gave it to your friends, who happened to give you money for the supplies, would it count as a “product line”?
I’m also wishing for the first (and only) time in my life that I lived in TX so I could be a test dummy.
Ah, the formulation I made this time didn’t use any bismuth, but I have some. I should go replicate BE’s formula just to test it on my skin.
I’m thinking about doing “kits”, with all the ingredients and instructions on how to make a couple of different things.
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