Building a Press Base
When you get your long awaited box of powders from TKB, excitement can often give way to indecision
and anxiety. The array of white powders can become overwhelming. It is my hope this tutorial will
enable you to confidently experiment with new ingredients. We will create formulas, adding ingredients
based on qualities desired. By progressively adding or changing ingredients to the formula, along with
the reason for adding them, you can see what the additions bring to your creations.
Formulating Basics
Creating your recipe as a formula makes it much easier to recreate your masterpiece. To do this look at
recommended percentages for each ingredient and decide how much you want to use. Tinker with the
percentages of ingredients used until it equals 100%. Serecite will probably be your primary ingredient,
so subtract from it as you add other ingredients. These formulas will begin with plain serecite and
advance to surface-treated serecites.
For experimental batches, you will then simply move the decimal place to the left one place. If you have
10% of an ingredient, you will use 1 gram. Each experimental batch will equal 10 grams. Using this
method, you will use a minimum of your precious ingredients for experiments.
Look at what you want in your formula. For pressed powder, we want ingredients with properties which
improve the press. Coverage is an important factor if you are creating a pressed powder foundation. If
you want a sheer wash of color, you will want to include more non-whitening ingredients. You want
your creation to stick to your face, so ingredients with adhesion should be used. Whatever you make
should feel good on application and while wearing it, so slip- and texture-altering ingredients can be
considered. Use the recommended percentages in the ebook and TKB’s website as starting points.
Start playing with percentage changes to tweak your formula until you have one that is perfect for you.
Use a spreadsheet or paper, whichever works better for you. Look at the recommended percentages in
the ebook and the TKB website, put down the percentage you want to add to your formula. Tinker with
it until it comes to 100%. Make it, try it on your skin. How does it look? How does it feel? What does it
need?
Is it too opaque? Look at ingredients that are more sheer, add them and decrease the percentage of
ingredients offering more coverage.
Does it have too much drag? Add ingredients that offer slip. Does it feel drying? Add ingredients that
decrease this.
Look at what you want in your formula, recommended usage rates and create your formula on paper.
Mix it up in a small amount, try it out for coverage, see how it presses, feel it on your skin. Decide what
you want to add to the formula to make it better and formulate a small amount again. Before you know
it, you will have the perfect, created by you formula for your pressed powders!
The following formulas show how your creation might progress. Although this has been written with
pressed powders in mind, the same principles can be used to create any formula.
Formula # 1
Kaolin 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Serecite 65%
This is a simple formula with percentages straight from the ebook.
Kaolin- good adhesion, excellent press
Titanium Dioxide- good coverage and adhesion
Zinc Oxide- good coverage and adhesion
Serecite- average adhesion and slip
Formula #2
Kaolin 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Serecite 55%
Zinc Stearate 10%
In this formula Zinc Stearate was added as it is the most commonly used dry binder for pressed powders, according
to the ebook.
Formula # 3
Kaolin 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Serecite 50%
Zinc Stearate 10%
Silica 5%
Silica is added to this formula as it adds slip and helps blur the appearance of fine lines. It also absorbs facial oils.
TKB’s website provides excellent descriptions and suggestions for usage rates. As you acquire an ingredient, you
may want to consider creating a spreadsheet listing qualities of each and suggested usage rates.
Formula # 4
Kaolin 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Serecite 48%
Zinc Stearate 10%
Silica 5%
Allantoin 2%
Allantoin has been added to this formula for the soothing properties it offers. If you are pressing eyeshadows, this
ingredient will probably not add much to your formula.
Formula #5
Magnesium Myristrate 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Serecite 48%
Zinc Stearate 10%
Silica 5%
Allantoin 2%
In this formula, the Kaolin has been substituted with Magnesium Myristrate (MM). Kaolin can be drying to what I
prefer to call “experienced” skin. This switch will increase slip and improve skin-feel for this type of skin. MM also
improves the press.
Formula # 6
Magnesium Myristrate 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Lauroyl Lysine surface coated Serecite (LL Sericite) 24%
Serecite 24%
Zinc Stearate 10%
Silica 5%
Allantoin 2%
In this formula, LL Serecite is added because it helps with the press, skin-feel and wear of the pressed powder.
Formula # 7
Magnesium myristrate 10%
Titanium Dioxide 10%
Zinc Oxide 15%
Carnuba Wax surface treated Serecite (CSmax) 24%
Serecite 24%
Zinc Stearate 10%
Silica 5%
Allantoin 2%
Carnuba serecite is used in this formula to improve the press. Waxes can also help keep your pressed powder from
breaking.