The eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul, but this mirror can better reflect the beauty inside if is adorned with the right eyeliners. Companies that manufacture these products will surely agree with this statement and invite you to spend a small fortune, but this is where our consensus ends.
I strongly believe that there are better ways of acquiring eyeliner than by shopping and there are even a couple of frugal homemade remedies that I know to work brilliantly.
You don’t need proper training or exquisite ingredients that will ultimately increase the costs to a level that defeats the purpose of making your own eyeliners.
All that is required is a little coconut oil, a discarded eyeshadow tin and a few capsules of activated charcoal.
Patience is another ingredient whose importance I couldn’t possibly overstate, but then again this one costs nothing and many people have in abundance.
Activated charcoal is quite a popular ingredient when creating a homemade eyeliner. Some recipes I’ve found were using the water alone but I’ve learned that using the coconut oil instead of water makes the mixture more lasting and creamier, comparable to a gel-liner or liquid liner.
Plus, this homemade eyeliner had endured me for the whole day with no issue of smudging or getting runny. So, I’m hooked!
You’ll Need:
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 – 3 capsules of activated charcoal
- Empty eyeshadow tin
What To Do:
- Open up 2-3 charcoal capsule and pour the powder into an empty eyeshadow pot.
- Add in a 1/2 teaspoon of Coconut Oil. (more or less – the ratio depends on how thick you want your liner to be)
- Mix the charcoal and the coconut oil using a stick or an eyeliner brush until the mixture is paint-like.
- Store the mixture in an empty eyeshadow pot or pan.
- Use an angled eyeliner brush to apply the liner to your eyes and you’re all done!
With minimal effort you should have your personalized eyeliner ready in a couple of minutes, so you can apply it without delay. Obviously I advise you to prepare a sufficient quantity when you have the time instead of opting for a quick fix and to take your time with the application itself.
Those who wear contact lenses should apply the mixture before putting them in, to avoid any nasty consequences. Once you get the hang of it, you are free to experiment by adding cocoa powder to obtain eyeliner of various shades of brown.
I found this amazing tutorial on how to make homemade mascara from Blossoming a life. She used water instead of coconut oil though. All natural ingredients that, so far, have not irritated my eyes.
You can get activated charcoal at places like Fresh Thyme Market, Down to Earth, whole, natural food type places. Maybe even in the vitamins and supplement areas of meijer, walmart, target, etc. Luckily, it’s pretty cheap!!
I would be careful when using any oil near the eye area. Any oil will create a thin layer over the eye that your natural tears cannot break down/clear up and can lead to blindness over time. Which is why I recommend my clients opt for an oil free makeup remover as opposed to like vaseline, coconut or olive oil.
While this is a great idea, activated charcoal is not actually safe to use around the eye. The particulates are large enough to actually be able to scratch the cornea.
This can lead to torn eye tissue and at worst partial blindness.
It is not FDA approved for this reason (for cosmetic use around the eye).
I’m a natural cosmetics formulator, I am speaking from what I know.
I just wanted to give you the heads up.
Also, while these ingredients are natural, anything used around the eye would also require a preservative since mold and bacterial growth is bound to happen.
What would you suggest instead? I’m looking to perfect some makeup recipes. I’m not scared of difficult recipes, I have a lot of ingredients for other projects and soap making and willing to buy weird stuff. Any advice, tips, or ingredients you could tell me would be fab!