Directions
Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.
Weight the heated phase ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
Mica-wise, we chose a blend of a soft gold and a silver-white mica for a warm champagne-y highlight. You could definitely mix up the mica to suit what you have and suit your complexion; the champagne blend should work well for many skin tones, but we're imagining some more bronzy, coppery, or golden ones would also be stunning. If you have quite cool undertones something more strongly silver would also be stunning, or you might like to incorporate a bit of pink for a slightly pearly effect. The sky—and your mica collection—are the limit!
The making part is very simple—almost everything is heated, and then you’ll stir in a tiny amount of vitamin E before popping the mixture into your jar. It’ll never get very liquidy thanks to the high powder content, so you’ll want to work quickly if you want a smooth top.
Once it’s set up, you’re done! To use, blend a small amount into brow bones, cheek bones, and any other part of the face that could use a bit of extra shimmer.
Recipe Note
Because this luminizer is 100% oil based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.
Substitutions:
We do not recommend swapping out the castor oil.
You can use refined or virgin coconut oil.
Babassu oil will work in place of the coconut oil.
You can use refined or unrefined beeswax.
We do not recommend substituting the beeswax.
You can use whatever blend of micas you like at 30%.
