Homemade lipstick

I suppose you can make any homemade lip balm into a lipstick using enough colorant. I tried that once and although the result was a tube of very deeply colored lipstick, it went on my lips more like a sheer lip balm. So today, I decided to try a different formula.

8 parts castor oil (this makes for a shiny lipstick)
1/4 part beeswax
1 part candelilla wax
1/4 part vitamin E oil
3 parts beet root powder (pink colorant)
1 part alkanet root powder (purple colorant)
1/2 part titanium dioxide (makes the color less sheer and more matte)

Most instructions will tell you to mix this is two phases: the wax and oil phase and the colorant phase. First, you melt the oil and wax and then in a separate container, mix the colorant with some castor oil. Mix the colorants into a smooth paste and mix everything together. Make sure to mix well so everything is smooth. Work quickly for as the mixture cools, it hardens. When you're done mixing, pour into liptstick tubes or lip pots.

I was lazy and just melted the oil and waxes first and then dumped the powder colorants in. I made enough for two tubes. You can make your own natural colorants by dehydrating beet root and alkanet root and pulverizing them in a food processor. There is some sacrifice in texture in going this route, which I will explain in a moment. Here is what the lipstick looks like on my lips:

I will say that the lipstick went on feeling a bit gritty. I suppose that is what happens when you don't use very fine colorants such as mica or iron oxides. I suppose I could also have just run the colorants in a food process to see if I could get the texture more fine, but again, I'm too lazy for that. In any case, it's not unbearably gritty and you don't feel the grit once it's on. Right now, I very much like this formula and this color.

I would not use this as a blusher because the little bits of alkanet root will sometimes stand out and make you look like you have dirt on you. For a powder blush, it' probably best to use a very light dusting of beet root powder. For a matte look and some oil control, add a bit of cornstarch to the powder. To make the color a bit more brown, add a little bit of cocoa powder. I have yet to mix a shade of blush that I think looks good on me, but I haven't tried very often. Lol!

One last thing before I sign off. If you just want clear shiny lip gloss, just rub some pure castor oil on your lips. If you want a little tint to your lip gloss, you can try grinding the beet root powder really fine and add that to the oil.