I love making my own cosmetics. I’ve made foundation, natural bronzer, homemade lipstick and even mascara (recipe coming soon!).
In the comments of my homemade lipstick post, I had multiple people ask if there was an alternative to the beet root powder since theirs didn’t seem to be incorporating correctly.
A natural option that shines…
After much experimentation and research, I finally found another option that I absolutely love.
It is called Mica and it also provides a wonderful, subtle shimmer. Mica is a brittle silicate mineral and it comes in many colors. It is considered safe and non-toxic, with a green rating of 2 by the Environmental Working Group.
I’ve been experimenting with Mica in homemade cosmetics a lot lately and have a lot of new recipes to share in the next couple of months, but this shimmer lip balm was by far my favorite. It provides a slight shimmer and subtle color that accentuates the natural color of the lips and brightens your smile without looking fake or unnatural.
Why not just use regular lipstick? Glad you asked (but you might not be…)
Though they seem harmless, many lipsticks contain toxic ingredients, which is especially problematic due to the close proximity to the mouth. Some things found in conventional lipsticks:
- Cochineal Beetles– These beetles eat the prickly pear plant in South America. They are collected, boiled, dried and crushed into a powder to make a red dye used in many cosmetics (and some foods!)
- Ambergris– Street name: whale vomit. This waste from the digestive system of sperm wales (eww) is sometimes used in perfumes and lipsticks.
- Chemicals- Lipsticks are also notorious for containing artificial chemicals
Finding Natural Ingredients:
In this recipe, I used the following ingredients:
- Organic virgin coconut oil
- Raw, organic Shea Butter (can also use Cocoa Butter)
- Beeswax
- Rose Red Mica Powder and Natural Gold Mica Powder
I also found the following supplies really helpful for this recipe:
- Double boiler
- Plastic pipettes or glass dropper
- plastic lip balm containers
It is hard to see in the photo, but this natural lip balm provides subtle color and shine. Here’s how to make it:
Shimmer Lip Balm Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon shea butter or cocoa butter
- 1 tablespoon beeswax pastilles
- 1/2 tsp mica powder color of choice (I used a mix of red and gold)
- 15 drops peppermint essential oil
What to Do:
- Melt coconut oil, shea butter/cocoa butter and beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat.
- When melted, stir well and turn off heat.
- Add mica powder and (optional) essential oil.
- Using a glass dropper or [url:7]plastic pipette like this one[/url], carefully transfer the mixture into [url:8]empty lip balm containers[/url]. This must be done quickly before the mixture hardens. I filled 8 empty containers when I made this.
- Let cool for an hour until mixture has completely hardened.
- Use as regular lipstick/lip balm.