I have recently edged into pastels by default from the life drawing studio I have been attending.  First it was charcoal on newsprint, which I have always disliked, then found Conte's 4 skin colors and a white pastel and added that to the charcoal.  That appeased me for a bit, but then tried colored papers, now just bought Nupastels.  I also use some soft pastels as well, but the Nupastels are so much easier for me to see the colors that I think that was the biggest draw. 
  Then I have found Conte pastel pencils which are useful for those places where a sharp edge is useful... 
  I didn't even mean to start on this pastel journey, but so far I like it better than I would have thought.  It is much easier to carry my supplies when using pastels than oil or acrylic, but I do carry the spray for pastels which the "purists" seem to think is blasphemy! 
  Don, I would no more make my own pastels than  build my own car.  There just isn't enough time in life!  Brownie