Effortless Homemade Gloss for Dazzling Lips
You can create your own simple lip gloss by mixing micas and/or pigments with castor oil and another oil. Using castor oil alone can dry out the lips, so it is important to include an additional fat. In the recipe below, that is the Moisturizing Lip Balm Base.
For a very subtle shimmer of color add any lip-safe mica. Pigments will result in a more opaque product and are a great option if you want a bright, dark, or intense lip gloss. Including both mica and pigment will create bright, bold colors with some glimmer. Another option for adding color is to mix in any of my lip-safe eye or face products.
Yield: 1 (1/4-fluid-ounce) tube
Ingredients:
- 20 milliliters castor oil
- 1 tad any lip-safe mica(s) (optional)
- 1 dash any lip-safe pigment(s) (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon Moisturizing Lip Balm
Instructions:
- Combine the castor oil with the mica(s) and pigment(s), if using, and stir until thoroughly mixed, with no streaks.
- Measure out the lip balm into a heatproof container. Heat slowly in a microwave or on the stovetop until melted, stirring often.
- Stir the pigment-and-oil mixture into the melted lip balm base until fully combined, with no streaks.
- Stand the lip gloss tube upright, then pour in the liquid using a plastic syringe or metal flavor injector. Fill to the rim, insert the lip gloss wand, and screw the lid on tight.
Pro Tip: Troubleshooting Lip Gloss
Problem | Solution |
Lid won’t close properly | Use an empty syringe to suck out excess liquid |
Marbling | Add pigment to the oil first, then add the melted balm |
Lumpy | Continue Mixing |
Color Me Safe
Before you add any color to your lip balm or gloss, make sure that color is safe to use on your lips. This list is a good place to start, but always double-check ingredients on the FDA’s website.
Micas are indicated in plain text. Matte pigments are in bold.
Lip-safe
- Black iron oxide
- Bright red
- Burgundy
- Glimmering brown blue
- Glimmering white
- Manganese violet
- Metallic gold
- Metallic olive
- Metallic orange
- Muted gold
- Muted silver
- Pale yellow green
- Peach gold
- Pink blue
- Red iron oxide
- Salmon
- Satin beige
- Satin black
- Satin bronze
- Satin brown blue
- Satin copper
- Satin gold
- Satin sienna
- Satin white
- Silver gold
- Smoky blue
- Smoky gold
- Smoky green
- Titanium dioxide
- White gold
- Yellow iron oxide
Not Lip-safe
- Chromium oxide green
- Hydrated chromium oxide green
- Nude silver
- Ultramarine blue
- Ultramarine pink
- Ultramarine violet
More from Make Your Own Pure Mineral Makeup:
InMake Your Own Pure Mineral Makeup: 79 Easy Hypoallergenic Recipes for Radiant Beauty, Heather Anderson lets readers in on how to make your own mineral makeup that is customized to match your skin tone, balances your skin’s need, and is a cost-effective alternative to name-brand products. With 79 specially formulated recipes, readers will have their own homemade mineral make up, readers can easily concoct their own homemade mineral make-up. This excerpt is from Chapter 6, “Creating Your Cosmetics.”
Excerpted from Make Your Own Pure Mineral Makeup © by Heather Anderson. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.