I do not take credit for this post as I had gotten the idea for this post from my dear blogosphere friend Alia at aunaturelessence.wordpress.com. She wrote an interesting post on substituting talc with corn starch or soda bicarbonate. Check out post at http://aunaturelessence.wordpress.com/category/skincare-treats/baby/

Anyway, I have always looked for ways to reduce shine and sweat because I live in Africa; and shine and sweat are our biggest threat to flawless makeup. So, I came up with a formula: aloe Vera with corn flour or soda bicarbonate.

As earlier posted, aloe Vera is an excellent moisturizer and foundation primer or base as the gel leaves a velvety soft feel to the skin, which is ideal for foundation to sit on. And since Alia posted about how either corn flour or soda bicarbonate could reduce sweat, I said to myself, I must give this trial!

Corn flour vs Soda bicarbonate:

While corn flour is soft, smooth powdery “cotton”, soda bicarbonate has much rougher texture, which was a let down for me.

So, to arrive at my verdict, I must say how I combined aloe Vera gel with either corn flour or soda bicarbonate. I began by applying aloe Vera gel on my face. Allowed to dry before applying either powder.

Aloe Vera gel.

I applied either powder only on my T-zone to avoid excessive drying. And I used only a pinch size of either powder. I blended with my finger tips.

Then I followed with makeup:
Concealer
Foundation
Pressed powder
And the rest of the makeup.

I wore the makeup for the entire day.

My verdict:

The softness of corn starch makes it a better foundation base than soda bicarbonate which left my skin rough. The corn starch was very smooth on my skin.

Corn starch kept the shine and sweat at bay for longer hours than soda bicarbonate. When I was wearing corn starch, I didn’t touch up my makeup for 6 hours!

And the winner is…. Corn starch! Yippee!

So, if you have been looking for natural solution to sweat and shine, look no further because corn starch is the perfect answer. It is all natural, harmless and very soft.

I must say that you mustn’t use aloe Vera gel like I did as any facial moisturizer would do. And remember to use only a pinch size of corn starch.

Happy trying!

Cheers!
Ene