I don’t wear makeup every day, but when I do, I like to take it off naturally. One of the things I’ve learned on my journey to a more natural life is that simple is almost always better. That’s definitely the case for this easy, 5 minute, 1 ingredient natural makeup remover!

Your eyes and the skin around them are so sensitive, so you really don’t want to be messing with ingredients that can be harmful. A lot of common ingredients in makeup removers include propylene glycol, sodium laurel sulfate, mineral oil, fragrances, preservatives, and artificial colors. These ingredients can range from mild skin irritants to full on carcinogens!

Oil is actually great at braking down and taking off your makeup without stripping your skin. It cleanses gently while also moisturizing. Who wouldn’t want that?

This even works to remove my natural homemade mascara and homemade foundation! If you love this makeup remover, you’ll love those too.

This makeup remover has only one ingredient:

Sunflower Oil

You could use any kind of oil to take off your makeup, but I chose sunflower oil for a few reasons. First, it is inexpensive. Second, it is non-comedogenic, which means it won’t clog your pores. And third, it is liquid at room temperature, so it will absorb into cotton pads really easily.

I’ve also used coconut oil to take off my eye makeup, but when it comes to removing makeup from my face, I like to stick to something non-comedogenic, because coconut oil makes me break out. This may not be the case for everyone, but I like to stay on the safe side.

Alright, ready to make it?

Another reason I love sunflower oil is that it feels so light. It really doesn’t feel oily to me at all- I’m always amazed at how great it is at taking off my makeup!

I haven’t bought makeup remover from a store in I don’t know how long- this stuff is so great there really isn’t any reason to. And it keeps me nice and moisturized.

So, what do you think? Let me know how your homemade natural makeup remover goes for you!

supplies used in this post

The post Homemade Makeup Remover appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Ever since starting to research the harmful ingredients in cosmetic products, I’ve been trying to make my own cosmetic products. Makeup has been the hardest to replace. With colors and consistencies, it’s just sometimes hard to make. I’ve been trying for quite a while now to make a new mascara, with many many messes happening. And I finally came up with a formula I like.

Mascara is one of those products that is even worse than you think. From parabens, fragrance, to coal tar dies, these just aren’t things you want in and around your eyes.

So, make your own at home! After many tries, I think I have found the easiest way to make homemade mascara, and get it in the tube. Which is harder than it sounds. You should have seen the mess. Anyways, I digress… This mascara gives a lovely light natural-looking emphasis to your lashes without irritation or worries about health and environmental concerns. Together with my homemade foundation, you’ve got a great start to a completely natural makeup routine.

This mascara contains only natural ingredients. It gets its color from activated charcoal. Aloe vera gel consists of most of the body of the mascara. Beeswax thickens it, and bentonite clay helps it dry on your eyelashes and not smear.

So, here is what you will need to make this mascara:

• Aloe vera gel
• Beeswax
• Bentonite clay
• Activated charcoal
• Empty mascara tube
• Plastic syringe
• Double boiler or a pot over a pot of boiling water

Let me break it down for you.

This mascara is really nice, light, and non-clumpy. Don’t you hate it when you have mascara that seems to dry out and irritate your eyes until you can’t help but rub them by the end of the day? Well, that shouldn’t happen with this mascara!

Wondering what it looks like? The effect is pretty subtle which I like for my every day makeup look (even though I don’t wear makeup every day). My eyelashes are very light naturally, close to a dirty blonde color. You can see in the picture below that my eyelashes are black and emphasized. And still quite natural looking.

You should have seen the relief I had when I tested this recipe and it actually worked. This has been my most difficult beauty recipe so far, with lots and lots of trials before I got it right. Well, lucky for you, I did the work for you, and you shouldn’t have a problem making it yourself following my recipe!

Let me know how making homemade mascara goes for you!

supplies used in this post

The post Homemade Mascara: All Natural Healthy Makeup appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Pretty much since high school I have had permanent dark circles under my eyes. No amount of sleep or moisturizer can help them. The only thing that really helps is concealer. So I decided to try to make an eye cream recipe that was designed to help with dark circles.

Now I’m not saying this cream is a miracle worker. I do think it’s made a small difference on my dark under-eyes in the few weeks since I’ve been using it. The best part about this cream, however, is how refreshing it is to put on in the morning. I just love it. So even if it can’t completely fix my dark circles, it does help with puffiness and preventing wrinkles.

This recipe makes about 2 ounces. For eye cream, that really goes a long way. I can’t foresee running out of it in the near future. And it only costs $1.45 to make! If you’re used to buying eye cream, you know that is a steal!

Each of the ingredients were selected to make this cream great for dark circles, moisturizing, and preventing wrinkles:

• Almond oil: Deep moisturizer, soothes irritation, reduces dark circles
• Shea butter: Natural moisturizer, non-comedogenic, good source of vitamins for skin, anti-inflammatory
• Green tea: Full of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, reduces development of wrinkles, helps with rosacea
• Beeswax: Locks in moisture, protects skin against damaging elements, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory
• Vitamin E oil: Antioxidant, natural moisturizer, anti-inflammatory, helps preserve shelf life of lotion
• Peppermint essential oil: Adds the refreshing cool feeling, smells great

And don’t worry, it’s really nice and easy to make.

Like I said before, this stuff is SUPER refreshing. The peppermint just wakes you right up. It takes a around a half hour to sink in, so don’t worry if the area around your eyes looks oily right when you put it on. It will absorb.

I just can’t get enough. And luckily I won’t have to because it will last me such a long time. Isn’t it amazing what green tea can do?

Let me know how making your own eye cream works for you!

supplies used in this post

If you love this cream and spoiling your skin, you should also check out my aloe vera moisturizer!

And not to mention my anti-inflammatory Aloe Vera Face Wash!

The post Green Tea Repairing Eye Cream for Dark Circles appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.