Tools you will need:

• Your bottle of foundation (make sure you check the ingredient listing and check the first ingredient to see what the base of the foundation is!  Mine is water based.)
• Titanium dioxide (buy it here at Coastal Scents, it is water and oil soluble!)
• Distilled water (optional, and ONLY for water-based foundations!)
• Disinfected mixing bowl (I use a hair color one that has an end for pouring, making it ideal for putting the foundation back into the bottle).
• Small mixing spatula.
• Small scoop.
• Extra small wire whisk.

Are you ready?  Here we go!

• Begin by first washing and disinfecting your hands, or putting on a pair of gloves to ensure no bacteria enters your product.
• Pour your foundation into the bowl.
• Using your small scoop, scoop a small amount of titanium dioxide onto your foundation.
• Using the wire whisk, stir and mix in, getting out as many of those little bumps as you can.
• Take your small spatula and test a small area on your jawline.  The foundation will still look darker than it will when it is applied, so make sure you apply tiny amounts until you get the right color.
• Add more titanium dioxide if necessary or desired, and whisk again!  (I needed quite a bit, seeing as I am one shade darker than white!)

Check the consistency of your product.  Is it too thick now?  If you’re using a water based foundation, simply take some distilled water (an eye dropper works wonders for this), and slowly add until it’s the proper consistency.  A little will go a long way with both distilled water, and titanium dioxide.

I photographed my titanium dioxide mixture with flash, and did not notice a difference in color between the camera and the way it looked on my skin.

Titanium dioxide will make the foundation more opaque, and also add longevity to the wear.  To reduce opacity, just add a little bit of distilled water.  Make sure you use distilled, as it is the cleanest and most purified water out there — remember using it in chemistry class all the time, or is it just me?!

For you dark skinned ladies, avoid the titanium dioxide!  It does tend to make darker complected ladies a little ashy (if you’re above a medium tan, I’d skip adding more, as anything about 7% titanium dioxide will make your skin a little gray, like a zombie).  Instead, get a foundation that’s slightly lighter than your skintone, and follow the directions but add instead colored oxides!  They have a medium brown, dark brown, and black available at Coastal Scents that mix wonderfully.  BUT BE CAREFUL; a little bit when adding color goes a long, long way, so put in a tiny amount at a time!

Please remember to only do this for your personal use.  If you need to custom blend a foundation for a photo shoot, that is fine, but remember you cannot alter a company’s product and sell it as the same product.

This is a simple look that would be easy for any make up user.  I created it for my friend Amber, who was interested in a look consisting of the Geisha Girl eyeshadow!

Anyway, here goes!!  (Remember, click photos to enlarge)

Yep, so, that’s me!

Here are the “ingredients” for this make up look!

• Foundation primer, foundation, concealer, and face powder
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Nixie eyeshadows in Geisha Girl, Frost, Violaceous, Majestic, Night Falls and Grace
• Nixie ultra pearl in Drama
• Nixie cream blush in Sensuous (though most any blush will do)
• Wet ‘N’ Wild Brow kit
• Nixie lipsticks in Posh, Babydoll, and their lipgloss in Stylish
• Cream or liquid eyeliner, and pencil eyeliner, both in black
• Black mascara

First, start with a clean and moisturized face.  Apply your foundation primer all over your face, and allow to set for a minute.  Apply foundation, concealer, and set with powder.

Probably the most important step is to apply your shadow primer.  I recommend Urban Decay Primer Potion — it’s easy to work with, and the colors stick to it extremely well.  Even if I use a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil, I still apply the UDPP first — it will definitely not crease with it on!  Once applied and dry, I use my Wet ‘N’ Wild brow kit and fill in my brows.  Tip: Begin at your arch and move down to the outer corner, then slowly fill in the main larger areas.

Once finished with that, I begin applying the eyeshadow!

Use a good applicating brush, and begin by pressing Geisha Girl eyeshadow on the outer 3/4 of your lid, and all the way up into the crease.  By pressing the shadow, you get a bolder color, and less fall-out!  Next, I take the same brush, and apply Majestic to the outside, and slightly into the crease.  Not too much, as I don’t want the color to be too dark.  It just adds a little bit of shading.

Now we get to use one of my favorite shadows of all time.  I love purple shadows, and if you want a beautiful bright purple, Violaceous is it!  Using a large blender brush (with slightly stiff bristles), apply Violaceous into your crease.  Over the whole purple area in the crease, you will now want to apply Drama ultra pearl to add some shimmer using an angled contour brush.  This is a fluffier brush, as you don’t want to add more color, just blend and add some shimmer!

Using your angled contour brush, you will now apply Night Falls eyeshadow to the top of the crease very lightly to help blend and make it a seamless transfer between your colored shadow, and your brow bone.  Once blended, use a large shader brush and apply Frost to your brow bone.

Phew!  Now the hardest part of the look is done.

Time for eyeliner!  Using your cream or liquid liner, line your top lash line, sticking as close to the lashes as possible.  It is up to you if you want to wing this out at all, I did slightly for dramatic effect — however it is not necessary.  Taking your pencil liner, line your lower lash line gently.

To finish the eyes, add mascara!  I use 2 or 3 coats to get a more dramatic effect.

Begin the lips by applying Babydoll lipstick all over your lips.  Using a lip brush, gently apply Posh lipstick in the center of your lips to add some contour.  Finish the lips by applying Stylish lipgloss!

And you’re done with the look!  Apply blush as desired I don’t always wear it, so I’m not going to make you either!  Here’s one last picture for you all!