Tis the season for making homemade gifts, at least at our house!
A few days ago, I had a mom’s night out at my house and we made all kinds of homemade gifts like lotion bars, vapor rub lotion bars (recipe soon!) and homemade lipstick.
The lipstick was the biggest hit and it was so much fun to create our own customized flavors, scents and colors with natural ingredients like (click on the link to see the exact brand I used):
- Coconut oil
- Shea Butter
- Cocoa Butter
- Beeswax
- Mica Powders: Red, Bronze, Rose and Pearl
- Essential Oils
We made dozens of tubes of lipstick for pennies each and they will be great gifts and stocking stuffers this year. I’m also packaging up some ingredients to give as DIY lip balm and lipstick kits to friends and family.
Homemade Lipstick Recipe
Some natural products can take time to get used to, like natural shampoo and it can be tough to find the right mixture for your hair, but homemade lipstick is completely customizable and works better than the store bought right away.
You can make them in plastic lipstick tubes or little glass lip balm containers. If you want to keep it simple, little glass jars also work. Here’s how to make it:
Natural Shimmer Lipstick Recipe
Yield
Materials
- 2 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 TBSP shea butter (or cocoa butter)
- 3 TBSP beeswax pellets
- 10 drops essential oil of choice
- ½ tsp mica powder of choice (or more)
Instructions
- In a double boiler, melt the coconut oil, shea or cocoa butter, and beeswax.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in the mica powder and essential oils of choice.
- Dip a small amount onto the end of a spoon and let it harden for a few seconds.
- Test the mixture on the spoon for the desired color and scent with your finger or on the skin of your wrist to make sure you like it.
- Add more mica powder or essential oil if needed.
- Use a pipette or glass dropper to quickly transfer the mixture to the lip gloss containers or whatever container you are using.
- Let cool for 1 hour. Cap and use as needed.
Notes
What homemade beauty products have you made?
Is the Mica powder gluten free?
I love all the natural vegan, makeup recipes you share! Thanks! Im so addicted to makeup lately and making it makes me extra happy!
Thanks again for sharing all your knowledge!
Hi – this is a wonderful recipe and have been looking around for a long time! I just have a question though. Can Mica be substituted by Iron oxides? and are there some essential oils that have contraindications? Should I prevent using some essential oils?
Thank you in advance!!!
Wow…I am new to this and I look forward to learning all these great stuff over here.
Do you have pictures of how the recipe came out? Thank you so much for the post!
Why does my lipstick become hard and doesnt have a good color after it cools down?
Hi
What is the shelf life? How long can you use this- 2 weeks or longer?
There’s no water so no chance of mold. This will last as long as your oils last before going rancid. Coconut oil has a crazy long shelf life. I make these in big batches and keep them in the freezer and pull them out one at a time. I’ve had one in my purse for 6+ months without issue.
Hello all. I just have a quick question: I’ve noticed quite a few of your recipes that you use coconut oil. Id love to try them but im highly allergic to coconut oil. Can anyone suggest a substitute for it? Thanks!!!
what is the alternative of mica powder if i can’t obtain mica powder?
Some articles I found say mica powder is not safe. How safe is it to use?
Mad Micas is a good source for ethical mica!
Hi I have used this recipe many times and love it but I am not getting the opague texture I am looking for. I have added more mica and the batches are more tinted for balm apposed to lipstick. any suggestions??
Mica itself is more translucent. To get a really opaque color, you need to use an absurd amount of mica or use oxide mineral colors. By themselves they make a matte color or you can add mica for shimmer. I made lipstick out of this using leftover oxide minerals from making my own foundation. First, you add some zinc oxide for opaqueness (and adds a bit of spf protection) and then add color. I used variations of red iron oxide, cocoa powder, and my foundation color blend for the color and some gold mica for shimmer. Turned out gorgeous! I got different shades of red, plum, and nude. You can get iron oxides off Amazon. Just make sure it’s cosmetic grade.
Hi there! I am going toxin free & have found NO good nude shimmery lipsticks that are toxin free. I plan to try out your recipe. A few questions. Do you have any pictures of people wearing your lipstick? Preferably a nude or coral color? Also I noticed the two recipes are different for the shimmery lipstick. Is it still ok to use the bentonite clay for the shimmery lipstick? Thanks!!
I love your website and have learnt so much from you from creating my own homemade organic Chocolate bars to the lip balms everything worked out fantastic! I am having trouble with the lipsticks though, it seems like the color isnt strong enough to show on the skin. I tried the Organic cocoa powder and Organic cinnamon, the color looks good inside the tubes but wouldn’t show on the skin. Then I ordered the Mica powder after reading your post. I still got very mild shimmer on the lips or even my palm. I increased the quantity to double what you mentioned still the color seems to be too mild to be used as a lipstick. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Hi Prerna! I would try adding even more mica until you get the desired color. I don’t prefer a very bold color, so my measurements are for a subtler tinting. But you’ll find that as you add more, the color gets deeper on the skin. Hope this helps!
Hi there wellness mama!
I tried the recipe but what happened is that the mixture would solidify too quickly so I wasn’t able to pour it in a lip balm tube. I feel like it happened after I put the mica in, it made the texture much thicker. Can you help let me know what I might’ve done wrong?
You can reheat it in the double broiler just until it softens again.
does this recipe end up tinted on the lips? I have tried this, and the colour shows up in the tube, but not on my lips… I’m wondering why this could be…
Since everyone’s skin is different, you may need to tweak the amount of the ingredients to get a more pronounced shade.