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Five small containers of homemade costume makeup, each a different color, stand on a wooden surface. The vibrant colors visible include black, white, red, blue, and gold.

DIY Halloween Makeup (Homemade Costume Makeup)

Last Modified: October 30, 2024 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // October 29, 2024 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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Avoid the toxic chemicals in store-bought Halloween makeup by making your own homemade costume makeup. It's a fun project that can be easily customized to suit your costume and skin type. #halloweenmakeup #diymakeup #homemademakeup #thethingswellmake #miy #costumemakeup #naturalskincare #nontoxicmakeup #halloweenideas
Avoid the toxic chemicals in store-bought Halloween makeup by making your own homemade costume makeup. It's a fun project that can be easily customized to suit your costume and skin type. #halloweenmakeup #diymakeup #homemademakeup #thethingswellmake #miy #costumemakeup #naturalskincare #nontoxicmakeup #halloweenideas

Avoid the toxic chemicals in store-bought Halloween makeup by making your own homemade costume makeup. It’s a fun project that can be customized for your costume.

Five small containers of homemade costume makeup, each a different color, stand on a wooden surface. The vibrant colors visible include black, white, red, blue, and gold.
Pin this post for later!

Why make your own homemade costume makeup?

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I promote making things yourself to control the ingredients.

A 2016 study found that many kids’ Halloween costume makeup products contained harmful chemicals. Almost half were found to have at least traces of one heavy metal, but some were found to have as many as 4.

They found heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, along with cancer-linked volatile organic compounds like styrene and toluene. Lead is a neurotoxin, and cadmium is a hormone disruptor. Neither is something I want in makeup for my son.

Creating your own costume makeup allows you to control the ingredients and customize the color completely. It’s also a fun project.

Ingredients

The base recipe includes oil, wax, clay, and natural colorants. It also optionally uses magnesium stearate.

A collection of homemade costume makeup ingredients, including Titanium Dioxide, Micas, Bentonite Clay, Beeswax, Sunflower Oil, Iron Oxides, Activated Charcoal, and Magnesium Stearate, displayed on a rich brown surface.

Oil

Being a very forgiving recipe, you can use pretty much any liquid oil you like. I used sunflower oil because it is an easily obtainable, affordable, non-comedogenic option. That said, any liquid oil should make a homemade costume makeup stick with a consistency similar to mine.

F

Wax

To make a solid makeup stick, we need a wax. Beeswax works very well in this recipe. Keep in mind, though, that it has a comedogenic rating of 2, meaning that it may cause breakouts for some people.

Candelilla wax is slightly harder to find, but it has a comedogenic rating of 1. It is very similar to beeswax in texture, so you can substitute it for candelilla wax to make a vegan, less comedogenic makeup.

Clay

After much experimentation, I discovered that adding bentonite clay gives a more opaque, less shiny makeup that spreads more easily on the skin. Adding clay improved coverage and reduced the need for colorants.

I tried using other clays like kaolin clay when making white makeup and red clay when making a red makeup stick. Colored clays work relatively well for coloring the makeup, but I prefer the texture that bentonite clay gives the makeup. (You may still prefer white clay when making a bright white makeup stick.)

A boy wearing Halloween makeup to look like a tiger holding 2 tubes of homemade Halloween makeup
My son, years ago, wearing this makeup. (He’s now “too old” for it.)

Natural colorants

In my soap-making journey, I have experimented with lots of natural colorants. Some are more “natural” than others. Here are some common pigments I’ve used:

  • Black: activated charcoal or black iron oxide
  • White: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or kaolin clay
  • Other colors: iron oxides, micas, colored clays, or spices

I don’t have a problem using iron oxides and micas, but some people avoid them because they want to use something 100% natural.

Iron oxides

Iron oxides are minerals that are identical to those that can be found in nature. Naturally mined iron oxides aren’t typically used in cosmetics in the United States due to their potentially high levels of harmful heavy metals.

If you’re making your own costume makeup to avoid heavy metals, it doesn’t make sense to use iron oxides that contain heavy metals.

I usually prefer natural products, but for iron oxides, I choose lab-synthesized ones for safety. Select cosmetic-grade iron oxide.


Naturally mined iron oxides (left) and micas (right)
Naturally mined iron oxides (left) and micas (right)

Micas

Micas are usually mined and then coated with pigments, which can vary in their “naturalness” based on the pigments used.

Truly natural colorants

If you want to use truly natural colorants for your homemade costume makeup, consider using herbs and spices. Here is a list of some that you could consider trying:

I haven’t tried all of them for this project, but have successfully used activated carbon, cocoa powder, colored clays, alkanet root, and achiote powder in homemade makeup.

  • Yellow: turmeric, yellow clay
  • Brown: cocoa powder
  • Black: activated carbon
  • Red: alkanet root, paprika, or red clay
  • Pink: Beetroot powder or pink clay
  • Orange: powdered annatto (achiote) or orange clay
  • Green: spirulina, chlorella, or green clay
  • Blue: blue clay or butterfly pea powder

Clays can color makeup smoothly but generally need to be combined with other colorants for brighter hues.

To see the results of using some of these colorants, check out my posts on how to make food colorings and how to make naturally colored boba.

Natural Food Coloring

Avoid synthetic food coloring by making your own natural food colorings extracted from fresh foods like colorful fruits and vegetables. They're fun and simple to make and can be used in a wide variety of recipes.
Check out this recipe
3 bottles of homemade food coloring behind 7 bowls of coconut that has been colored in a variety of colors using the homemade food colorings.
Colorful clays (left) and spices (right)
Colorful clays (left) and spices (right)

What is magnesium stearate?

Magnesium stearate is a somewhat controversial ingredient, perhaps unfairly. It got a bad rap after being found in many, if not most, supplements.

Magnesium stearate is a white powder used to lubricate machinery during the production of supplement pills, ensuring faster and smoother operation. It also helps prevent the supplements from sticking together and from sticking to the machinery.

People debate whether ingesting magnesium stearate is harmful. Based on what I’ve read, as long as the quantities you ingest are small (as in supplements), it probably isn’t harmful.

In makeup, larger amounts are used but they aren’t meant to be ingested.

Is Magnesium stearate safe in makeup? Why addd it?

Magnesium stearate is often added to mineral makeups to help them go on more smoothly, to adhere to your skin for longer, and to absorb oils and shine, amongst other reasons.

  • I added magnesium stearate to help the makeup flow more easily over the skin and have more staying power.
  • It also helps absorb excess oils in the makeup and on the skin, making the final product more matte and less shiny.

I tried making several batches with and without the magnesium stearate, and I preferred the batches that used it. The makeup was easier to apply, had better and more opaque coverage, and theoretically may be longer-lasting, although I didn’t test that aspect out.

The EWG Skin Deep cosmetic database rates magnesium stearate as a 1, which is a low hazard rating for cosmetics. I feel that it is a safe ingredient and often use it in my homemade cosmetics.

Omitting magnesium stearate

If you prefer not to use it, though, you can leave it out.

I’d suggest substituting it with more clay. You could also add some titanium dioxide to help reduce shine and make the makeup more opaque. (Titanium dioxide will also lighten your color, so add it slowly to make sure you don’t lighten the color too much.)

How to make a Halloween makeup

  1. in a double boiler, heat the beeswax and oil together until the wax has fully melted.
  2. Add in the clay, magnesium stearate, and natural colorants. Start with around 1/8th of a teaspoon of the colorant, and add more as needed.
  3. Test out the color by applying some of the mixture to your skin.
  4. Add more pigments, as needed, until you reach the desired color and consistency.
  5. Pour the mixture into your storage containers. (I use empty chapstick or lipstick tubes for easy application.)
  6. Allow to cool and harden before using.

Customizing the makeup

If you aren’t happy with the color or consistency of your makeup, you can remelt it and adjust it until you’re happy.

Getting the right color (Lightening or darkening)

If your color is too dark, titanium dioxide can be added to lighten up colors. Add it little by little to avoid adding too much.

Colors may lighten as they solidify, so it’s better to make them a bit darker at first. It’s more difficult to darken colors once they are too light.

Customizing the texture of your makeup

Typically, adding more oil to cosmetics formulated with oils and waxes, like lip balms, softens the product. However, in my experiments, too much oil made the makeup greasier, less opaque, and less enduring.

Too much wax, on the other hand, can make a solid makeup that is hard to apply. Using beeswax and candelilla wax didn’t cause me issues, but adding too much hard wax like carnauba wax can make the makeup brittle and difficult to apply.

Feel free to experiment with the ratios to soften or harden the makeup, keeping the following in mind:

  • To create softer makeup, increase the oil-to-wax ratio and add more clay to reduce shine and enhance opacity.
  • A 1:1 ratio of oil to wax makes a pretty good consistency
Homemade lip balm containers and tins are arranged on a dark surface.

Storage and application

I used empty chapstick tubes for storing and applying our DIY Halloween makeup. They’re inexpensive and make the makeup easy to apply. You can either reuse an old chapstick container or buy them cheaply in bulk. You can use cardboard tubes to avoid plastic.

Another option is to use small tins or jars if you plan on applying the makeup with your hands or a makeup brush.

You can also make pencils for drawing finer lines, but in the case of making homemade makeup pencils, you’ll probably need to add some carnauba wax to make a more solid pencil that can be sharpened without breaking.

Not just for Halloween makeup!

While I formulated this recipe to use as a homemade costume makeup, I found that it works well as a homemade lipstick, blush stick, and general cream makeup.

Now that you’ve learned how versatile it can be, are you ready to make some?

photo of my lips while wearing a homemade red costume makeup stick as lipstick.
This is my red homemade costume makeup applied to my lips. It actually makes a decent lipstick!

Video

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Featured image displaying finished homemade costume makeup in chapstick containers.

Homemade Costume Makeup

Making your own Halloween costume makeup is a lot of fun! It also helps you avoid the toxic ingredients that have been found in many store-bought makeups.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep time: 5 minutes minutes
Active time: 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 1 chapstick sized makeup stick
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Equiment

  • double boiler insert
  • empty chapstick containers

Materials

  • 1 teaspoon beeswax or candelilla wax
  • 1 teaspoon sunflower oil or other oil
  • ¼ teaspoon bentonite clay ¼-½ tsp., or other colored clay
  • ¼ teaspoon activated charcoal or other natural colorant (see ideas below), adjust amount as needed
  • ¼ teaspoon magnesium stearate (optional)
Switch units back – Convert units

Instructions

  • Heat the beeswax and oil together in a double boiler until the wax has fully melted.
    adding oil and wax to double boiler for making a homemade costume makeup
  • Add the clay, magnesium stearate, and chosen natural colorant. (Begin by adding in around 1/8th of a teaspoon of the colorant.)
    Mix everything together.
    Adding charcoal to double boiler with oils, wax, clay, and magnesium stearate
  • Test out the color by wiping a small amount of the mixture on your hand. Add more pigment, as needed, until you reach the desired color and consistency.
    If you want a more opaque color, try adding more clay or magnesium stearate.
    testing different consistencies of homemade makeup on the top of my hand
  • Once you are happy with the appearance of the makeup, pour the mixture into empty chapstick or lipstick tubes for easy application.
    Pouring a homemade makeup into a chapstick container.
  • Allow to cool and harden before using

Notes

  • If you are avoiding plastic, you can pour them into small aluminum tins. You can then apply the makeup with your fingers or a makeup brush.
  • If you find that your homemade makeup stick didn’t turn out quite as you would have liked, you can twist up the chapstick dispenser, and break off the makeup to melt it down and fix it.
  • Some pigments will naturally be more opaque than others, so you should adjust the quantity of titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, and clay as you make each color. (I needed to increase the quantity of all 3 to get an opaque bright white stick.)
  • Pigment choices include: colored clays, iron oxides, micas, titanium dioxide (white), activated charcoal (black)
  • For most colors, I used between an eighth of a teaspoon and a fourth of a teaspoon of colorant.
  • Magnesium stearate is optional but helps the makeup glide on more easily. It also reduces shine and makes the makeup more opaque. 
Tried making this? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!

This post was originally published on October 17, 2017. It was rewritten to make it more clear and concise in 2024.

Category: Costumes, Skin Care

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Previous Post:Halloween-themed chicken nuggets in ghost and bat shapes on slate plates, with decorative spiders, a lit pink candle, and a silver skull in the background.Easy Halloween Chicken Nuggets
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ritah Lazar

    November 10, 2020 at 2:35 AM

    Hi Tracey!
    Just wanted to tell you that I finally made the hairstick. It works fantastic and sits great until next wash. Covers great!
    I am over the top of joy for founding you and this recepie. I couldnt find anything nontoxic. Looked all over the world. This kind of product are usually highly toxic. Så yours are unik!

    Så once again, thankyou from the bottom of my heart! Feels like you saved my life!
    You are the best!

    Ritah
    Sweden
    Ps. Waiting for your eyepen next time..
    Go for it go..????

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      November 11, 2020 at 7:10 PM

      Hi Ritah,
      I guess I should be giving that a go again. I made one that was a bit on the harder side- which was great as an eyebrow pencil, but too hard to apply for eyeliner. I made another one that I found a bit too soft. It fell apart slightly when I sharpened it. I need to try again and find a middle ground.
      I’m really happy to have helped so far, though.
      My neighbors are from Sweden. They were going to come this month, but couldn’t because of COVID. They’re really great, though. Greetings from Spain. 😉

      Reply
  2. Laura

    October 20, 2017 at 12:09 PM

    I love this idea, so cool. Makes me wish I had kids 😉 but maybe I can just play a kid again this year and put it on myself.

    Was wondering though: I tried to make lipstick or tinted lip balm before and have had a really hard time getting beetroot powder (which you mention for the pink color) to dissolve in oils and actually color. I just get grainy grit in the bottom and colorless balm. Any advice?

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      September 21, 2019 at 3:41 AM

      Hi Laura,
      I’m so sorry I never saw your comment before. There have been times when the comment alert wasn’t working.
      Yes, beetroot can be one of the trickier ones to use. The main way to get it to work better is to make sure to grind it very, very fine. This can be done by using a coffee grinder and only using the powder that begins to stick to the top. That’s the finest powder.
      In this recipe, the other ingredients (the clay and magnesium stearate) should help incorporate the beetroot into the makeup. It’s not like if you were to just add beetroot to an oil-based salve or lip gloss.
      I’ll have to try with beetroot, though, just to be sure it will work.

      I show how to get it finer (although using achiote and alkanet) in my blush post. (Which I also want to update with a better recipe.) 😉

      Reply
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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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