Joy the Baker

DIY: Homemade Lip Gloss

by 66 Comments

DIY: Homemade Lip Gloss

Hello friends!

We’re totally making our own lip gloss!  We’re scenting them.  We’re tinting them.  We’re putting them in little rectangular metal containers with sliding lids!

I’m not very crafty.  I can latch-hook (three of you know what that is), and make a pretty amazing lanyard keychain.  That’s about it for my craft skills.  Luckily, making lip balm is more like stirring together a recipe than it is like doing complicated things with yarn.

I’m pretty proud of these lip glosses.  I’ve already taken the liberty of patting myself on the back several times.  Really all I did was stir together oils and beeswax over simmering water.  With some bold colors, pretty smells, and clever packaging, these lip glosses are totally part of my gifting repertoire this year.  Let me show you how easy it is!  For real.

DIY: Homemade Lip Gloss

I used some pretty simple ingredients:  organic beeswax pastilles (pictured in the middle), sweet almond oil, olive oil (the deep green kind straight from the kitchen), coconut oil (also from the kitchen), essential oils for fragrance, powdered pink blush for color, and deep purple lipstick (that I totally can’t wear on its own) for bold color.

Helpful links and recipe instructions to follow.

DIY: Homemade Lip Gloss

Here’s what you’ll need!

The Basics: 

Organic White Beeswax Pastilles

Sweet Almond Oil 

Olive Oil  

Coconut Oil

Optional add-ins:

Eucalyptus Essential Oil  – Herby and head clearing

Peppermint Essential Oil – Enlivening and expected

Sweet Orange Essential Oil – Happiness inducing

(I used a mixture of all three essential oils for my lip gloss)

Powdered Pink Blush – Heck yea, we can!  You might consider any sort of brightly colored drugstore powdered blush.

Deep Purple Lipstick – Oh you know it!  You might also consider a big, bright drugstore lip shade.

Lip Gloss Vessels:

Slide Top Metal Tins

Clear Round Containers

Classic Round Chapstick Tubes in gold

Helpful additions:

Metal Bowls  – We’re mixing all of our ingredients in a metal bowl over a double boiler.  Though all of these ingredients are safe to put on your face, I found that I wanted to use a bowl that didn’t come from (and have to go back to) my kitchen. Dedicated lip gloss mixing bowls are a good investment.  You may also find that thoroughly cleaning the cooling wax out of the bowl is challenging.  Having a dedicated wax bowl is helpful.

Disposable Spoons – For spooning the warm lip gloss into the lip tins or dishes.

Super Hot Water – Boil a pot of water.  It will help when it comes time to clean the metal bowl of waxy lip gloss

Kitchen Sponges – You may not want to use your dish sponge to clean the lip gloss bowl.  Grab a new one!

DIY: Homemade Lip Gloss

Print this Recipe!

2 tablespoons organic white beeswax pastilles

2 tablespoons sweet almond oil

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Optional:

3 drops eucalyptus oil

2 drops peppermint oil

2 drops sweet orange oil

1/2 teaspoon powdered pink plush or 1/4 teaspoon deep purple lipstick (You can use a pit of any powdered blush or lipstick color you desire to tint your lip gloss.)

Place a medium saucepan with two inches of water over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer.  Place beeswax, almond oil, coconut oil, and olive oil in a metal bowl over the simmering water.  Stir until melted and thoroughly combined.

Add the essential oils if using.  Stir.

If you’re not adding any color, turn off the heat and carefully spoon the lip gloss into small tins.  Allow to cool completely before placing the lids on!

If you’re adding color, stir in the color into the warm lip gloss mixture until dissolved or melted.  Spoon into small tins and let cool completely before placing the lids on.

If you’re making plain lip gloss and two colors, spoon one third of the plain gloss into prepared tins.  Divide the remaining lip gloss mixture into two metal bowls.  Into one bowl add the pink blush.  Into the other bowl add the purple lipstick.  Stir until dissolved and melted.  Spoon into small tins and let cool completely before placing the lids on.

If the lipgloss begins to harden in the bowl while you’re still working with it, simply place it back over the simmering water and stir until dissolved once again.  

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Evangelia

    Great post :-) also if you sprinkle the bowl with baking soda when you finish, it soaks up the leftover wax. Very easy to wipe off!!

    Reply

  4. The Way I See It

    Hi! I made these and I must admit I felt at least 100times craftier than I can even take credit for :) They look amazing!! Just one question I’m hoping for help with… my batch didn’t feel very moisturizing at all so I was wondering if you could suggest an additional ingredient or maybe just tell me what I possibly didn’t do correctly? Thanks so much!

    Reply

  6. chilebeanz

    The easiest and cleanest way to clean wax from any container (cleaned of as much wax as possible manually) that is heatproof is to put a pad of newspaper on a cookie sheet, turn the waxy container upside down on the paper, and put into a hot oven (Keep it below 400 degrees, please. Paper ignites at F452.) When all the wax has melted into the paper, it can be used as a fire starter for the BBQ. The container can now be washed in hot soapy water or the dishwasher without fear of wax clogging the pipes. If the container had a lot of wax in it, you may need to move it around on the paper a few times.

    Reply

  18. Liz Hickerson

    My mother and I did this when I was in jr. high. We used her old makeup compacts, emptied and cleaned, of course. I think I remember that we used jello, in powder form, to flavor them. They were a hit among all my 12 year old friends.

    Reply

  22. Pam

    I loved to latch-hook!! You’ve convinced me I can do this. Sorry if I missed this, but does the purple and pink just give color in the tin or does it give color to your lips? Thanks Joy!!

    Reply

  26. littlepeace

    i was a bona fide latch hook rug-maker once upon a time.

    but as to the lipgloss: is the sweet almond oil essential for correct consistency/setting up, etc.? i’m sensitive to it and wondered whether it was a necessary ingredient or whether i could substitute another oil/increase the olive or coconut oil.

    Reply

  31. jenna

    Thanks for the flashbacks to the 80’s. My bff made these with similiar tins. Lipgloss & latch hooks. Sweet memories. Now if I could make these myself.

    Reply

  36. malin

    Looooooove this, I am going to make this for all of my friends. Just bought all the supplies online. Thank you for links and a great idea!! More posts like this to the people!

    Reply

  38. Jimmy Jones

    I would like to make some of this for my wife, but I’ll have to somehow pretend I’m doing something more ‘manly’!!! Great ideas and I love the way you’ve combined the smells with the color.

    Reply

  39. Mandy

    My friend Suzy just told me about this – we share an office – she was very excited! I see why – and like her, I’ll be back. But not just for this which seems new to you, but for your baking and recipes – they are absolutely BRILL!! Thanks a bundle!

    Reply

  41. Suzie

    I’m astounded and really appreciative of the sheer creativity it takes to do this. To do the tints is really unique and I know I can use this for gifts this season without blushing. really, thanks so much! I’ll be back here without a doubt!

    Reply

  42. Kait

    Can this be made without the almond oil? I’ve got a few people who are allergic to nuts that I’d like to make this for. Maybe sub 1 of the tbsp for coconut and 1 for olive? What do you think?

    Reply

  53. Paula

    Yes! This is the perfect end-of-season gift to give the girls I coach. You are a constant source of deliciousness and inspiration.

    Reply

  54. Elisabeth

    My one true makeup-y addiction is tinted lip balms. Even though I like to think I’m a crafty kind of gal (I make jewelry and I own a home, so I gots to jury-rig with the best of them), I’ve never attempted my own lippie. I can’t wait to try this during the the calm lull once the holiday crazies subside. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  57. Sophie

    I love these so much! I am definitely going to be doing this as soon as I can get my hands on the supplies I’m missing. I’ve always wanted to make lip gloss but have always been afraid to. Knowing you can do it, though, gives me the confidence to give it a go (because everything I’ve always made from you has been smashing)!

    xoxo
    Sophie

    Reply

  59. theshooz

    What a great, not-too-crafty for gifts! I love that you branched out a little from your regular food routine. Once I find some beeswax I am definitely going to give this a whirl. Also, maybe get my latch-hook out, too….thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  60. Lene Svingel

    Joy, you’r my hero :-) Or herorine (I really hope I got the spelling right) to be exact.
    Such a lovely thing to make at home for friends and familiy.
    And the tins are adorable – as is your gorgeously artistic photos.
    Inspirering.

    Reply

  63. Averie @ Averie Cooks

    Joy this is SO CREATIVE! Not only just plain lip gloss which I’ve seen done before…but tinted AND scented. And put in cute little tins. You could be opening up your own Sephora. This is awesome! Pinned! (and did you get a new favicon? I like it!)

    Reply

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