Tinted Lip Gloss Recipe with a Pop of Color for Fresh Summer Looks

Make this tinted lip gloss recipe to add a pop of color to your summer look. This homemade lip gloss looks great solo or over lipstick.

A few months back I fell in love with some scrapbooking embellishment stickers. They were shaped like donuts and covered with glitter. I bought them at the time thinking they’d be super cute for handmade soap gifts. I was planning to wrap ribbon around the soap and then accent the ribbons with donuts. While I still think that’s a great idea, I love the way the stickers looked on little lip balm jars and tins. So I decided to make a donut inspired lip gloss recipe to add to my list of donut skin care recipes.

Learn how to make this natural lip gloss recipe for a fresh fun way to add a pop of color to your summer look. Tinted with shimmering mica pigment powder, this homemade lip gloss recipe looks stunning solo or over your favorite lipstick. Scent yours with natural essential oils or add some fun with a jelly donut or watermelon flavor oil.

Ingredients Used In Natural Lip Gloss

Unlike my homemade lip balm recipes, my natural lip gloss recipe combines two waxes to give lips shine. While castor oil is commonly used for this purpose, I found that the combination of candelilla wax and cera bellina wax worked even better. I love that this lip gloss isn’t sticky like some store brand lip glosses. And the punch of color makes this tinted lip gloss look great whether it’s layered over lipstick or worn solo.

Properties of Candelilla Wax

Candelilla wax is a unique odorless plant wax with a high melt point. It’s harvested from the leaves of candelilla shrubs that are native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. As this wax is extremely hard and brittle, it’s commonly sold as flakes or micro-beads. When mixed with other waxes, it hardens the formulation it’s incorporated into without raising the melting point. Often used in the cosmetics industry for skin care products and lip balms, candelilla wax is also used as a binder in chewing gum. When refined, candelilla wax can reach high levels of brilliance which add to shine when used in lip gloss formulations.

Properties of Cera Bellina Wax

Cera Bellina wax is a hydrophilic derivative of beeswax. It differs from regular beeswax in that it has excellent oil gelling properties. Adding cera bellina wax to lip balms, lotion bars or and emulsion will give the product a smooth, luxurious texture. It’s also a great wax to gel oils or butters with a low wax concentration as a small percentage of the recipe. Because cera bellina’s ability to prevent the crystallization of oils, it also works great as a second emulsifier or thickener in lotion formulations as well as natural beauty serums.

Benefits of Cupuacu Butter

Cupuacu butter is wonderful at hydrating skin and hair, making it a wonderful choice for a moisturizing lip gloss recipe. This natural Brazilian butter can be used solo, or incorporated with other ingredients, for a richly moisturizing lip balm. But don’t stop there. Because cupuacu butter is a humectant, similarly to honey, it is able to attract up to 240%  more water. This makes this natural beauty butter especially beneficial to dry skin or chapped lips.

Benefits of Acai Berry Oil

Another natural skin care product from the Brazilian Amazon forest, acai berry oil is a luxe carrier oil that is rich in essential fatty acids. A powerful antioxidant with natural emollient properties, acai berry oil offers a number of benefits when used in skin care formulations. Not only is this carrier oil highly moisturizing, it can also help restore skin elasticity and promote healing of dry, chapped and cracked skin. It’s suitable for all skin types and has been found to help alleviate symptoms of skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. In addition, this oil possesses anti-aging skin care properties. Plus it won’t clog pores!

Ready to get started on my tinted lip gloss recipe? You’ll find the recipe and directions to make it below.

Natural Lip Gloss Recipe

© Rebecca D. Dillon

Ingredients:

.5 oz. roasted cocoa butter (Learn more.)
.5 oz. cupuacu butter
.3 oz. candelilla wax
.3 oz. acai berry oil
1.2 oz. sweet almond oil, or other carrier oil of choice
.5 oz. lip safe coral mica powder
.1 oz. cera bellina wax
flavor oil or essential oil blend, of choice

Essential oil blend:

20 drops blood orange essential oil
12 drops amyris essential oil (Learn more.)
8 drops tea tree oil

Lip gloss flavor oil:

.03 – .1 oz. jelly donut flavor oil

How to Make a Tinted Lip Gloss Recipe:

I recommend using the double boiler method when making my tinted lip gloss recipe. However, you can also use a microwave if desired at 20%-30% power.

Start by weighing out the roasted cocoa butter, cupuacu butter, cera bellina wax and candelilla wax. Combine in a heat safe container and gently heat until all the ingredients have melted.

Once the butters and waxes have melted, remove from heat. Then weigh out the the acai berry oil and stir into the lip gloss mixture.

Now add the essential oils or your choice of flavor oil to suit. Mix well to combine. (It’s important to note that some flavor oils recommend different usage rates so be sure to check with the manufacturer. They can tell you the recommended percentage of flavor oil to use. I’ve provided a range of 1-3% in the above lip gloss recipe.)

Next, weigh out the lip safe mica pigment powder. Stir the mica into the mixture until it is evenly distributed throughout the lip gloss. It should be uniform in color and completely smooth with no clumps.

Now pour your tinted lip gloss into containers of your choice. I used a combination of  1/2 oz. white polypropylene double wall radius jars and 1 oz. metal tins with rolled edge covers. (My natural lip gloss recipe makes approximately five 1 oz. lip glosses.)

If desired, you can then decorate your homemade lip gloss containers for personal use or to give as handmade gifts.

Prefer to use tube lip gloss containers? You can use squeeze tube lip gloss containers as well as clear lip gloss tubes with applicators. Simply use half the amount of candelilla wax called for in my homemade lip gloss recipe.

Experiment with lip gloss recipe flavors & colors.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with my tinted lip gloss recipe! Not only can you mix up the flavor or scent by changing out flavor or essential oils, you can also adjust the shade of your lip gloss as well as the color. For a sheer tint try cutting the amount of mica powder in half. For a richer, more intense lip color, double the amount of mica. And, of course, don’t be afraid to try other lip safe mica powders with this lip gloss recipe.

Learn more about essential oils.

Want to explore essential oils in correlation with beauty and skin care recipes in an easy all-in-kit? Check out the essential oil recipe box from Simply Earth. Each box makes it easy to get started with essential oils and includes simple essential oil recipes and ingredients for home, health and beauty. Order your first essential oil recipe box and get a free bonus supply box with code: SOAPDELIFREE You’ll also receive a $40 discount on your second box.

More Donut Skin Care Recipes

If you like my tinted lip gloss recipe, then be sure to try these other fun donut beauty and skin care recipes. Learn how to make homemade donut soap for DIY gifts as well as exfoliating solid salt scrub bars.

• Homemade Apple Donut Soap Recipe
• DIY Salt Scrub Donuts with Melt & Pour Soap Icing
• Pink Kaolin Clay Donut Soap Recipe

If you like my tinted lip gloss recipe, be sure to save it to your Pinterest boards. In the meantime, you can also keep up with all my newest bath and beauty recipes by following me on Pinterest, Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up for my semi-weekly newsletter to stay updated on new recipes.