I remember the very first time I fell in love.
With makeup.
It was the era of butterfly clips and stackable glitter pots(which broke and never quite screwed back together correctly). I walked over toKmart to get some Little Ceasar’s pizza and look at makeup and magazines;Kmart was the biggest store in town, and they had a makeup aisle of middleschool legend.
It’s where I saw it: CoverGirl Lip and Cheek Stain.
A big, fat, translucent stick of colour, it went on light andstayed there for hours, giving the most subtle, fresh hint of colour--like whenit’s windy outside, or maybe you’ve been out skiing, or briskly walking, oh,and also you’re in love or something gross. I got it in Peach, and wore iteveryday until, one day, years later, that horrifying realization when you twista stick up, and it FALLS OUT. L'horreur!
I mourned the loss of my perfect blush. I have a rather trickyskin tone (read: Gollum skin), so finding a blush that doesn’t look comical istough. How to get that perfect peach?
I worked at a craft store at the time, and after experimentingcosmetically with the various inks and dyes, I thought about just making my owncheek and lip stain. I had used Wilton baking gel colouring for someHalloween costumes and for special effects in movies, so I snagged some in afew colours (it runs about $3 a pot) and got cracking.
Fast forward about 10 years (ouch), and I’m still messingaround with melty cosmetic DIYs. I’ve perfected that peach (or Wilton had) andstarted making my own lip and cheek stains. I like them for their versatility,simple ingredients and unending colour choices.
I’m not big onlipstick, and I can’t always find the coloursI’m looking for in lip stains. I aimed to make that sheer peach of yesteryear.Since purple lip colours are the new hotness, I also wanted to see if I could managea good one. The tricky thing about a purple lip, is to have the right amount ofblue; too much, and your teeth look crazy-yellow, too little, and eh, it’sreally just pink. I tried to make purple lipstick a thing in high school, andno one had the stones to tell me it didn’t work.
Thisis a dramatic re-enactment of me in 1998.
Pigment
I use Wilton Icing Colors; it’s food-grade,glycerin-based, doesn’t taste manky, and it mixes well with any kind of oil orwax. It also comes in a plethora of colours that blend together well, and theyare available at any craft store. I grabbed Peach and Violet with the idea thatI could mix them.
The Base
Nivea
Lip Butter $3.19
If you want something quick and dirty, you can just add colourto a favourite lip balm and leave out playing with beeswax and cocoabutter. I have recently fallen in lovewith everything Nivea, and they have these perfect little tins of lip butter innice scents like Raspberry Rose, and they are perfect for this lip stain.Burt’s Bees, though more addictive than bad television, would also be suitable.
For a from-scratch simple approach, you can use oil, beeswax,or any mix thereof. I prefer four drops ofcoconut oil per one tablespoon of cocoa butter, plus a teaspoon of beeswax. Comesout a good, blendable consistency.
I use CocoCare’s yellowtube, because it’s the best value, and least processed. It’s a total miraclemoisturizer, and super-portable--though the tube will crack if you let itrattle around in your purse indefinitely. Cocoa butter is a delightfulmoisturizer; it’s basically white chocolate, so it smells delicious, and it’screamier than most oils, so it performs longer.
Beeswax can be bought in all manner of precious little bricksand shapes indicative of a simpler, more-people-dying-of-scurvy time. It’savailable online, and I’d recommend having some on hand just in case. Of bees?You never know. We’re living in weird times.
Beeswax is used as a barrier tokeep moisture from evaporating out of your lips, but also to control thetexture of your final product. More beeswax, the firmer it will be. Nothing isworse that a leaky, melty lipstain in your bag or pocket, so beeswax can bekey.
Get To It
You’ll need some way to melt your base and ensure that it’sthoroughly mixed. I used a glass jar, and a spoon to mix, naturally.
Start with about 1 TB of your base (whether that be beeswax andalmond oil). I nuked it in the microwave at 15-second intervals; I highlyrecommend this, as it can get too hot really fast, and power/microwaves timesvary wildly, so be patient using short intervals, and trust that you don’t wantyour house smelling like burned cosmetics.
You can certainly use the stove-topif you don’t believe in microwaves, but be sure to use the lowest setting andbe patient. The idea is to melt all the elements into a liquid, mixthoroughly, and fill your desired container.
When it comes to adding the colour, the less you add, the moresheer it will be. The more you add, the more vibrant, and the better stayingpower. If you intend to use it on your cheeks as well as your lips, sheer isbetter. If you want better coverage and staying power, feel free to add more.
Iwent with 3 drops for a sheer lip and cheek stain, added to roughly 1tablespoon of base. I would double or even triple that for a deeper colour forlips only, but the fun thing about this stain is how customizable it is!
I did three differentcolours: peach, berry and violet. I basically used each pigment out of thebottle, and then mixed the two for funsies. I love peach with my skintone, andI know that mixed with violet it will make a muted berry.
I was happy with all of the colours, really. I am basicallyleft with wanting serious, creamy purple lipstick. The drastic colour of aviolet stain was, in a word, creepy. And it didn’t wear well; without constantre-application, it’s total drowning victim.
I think I’ll just need to invest in a serious purple lipstick.Any suggestions on bluer ones?
Have you ever made homemade cosmetics? I totallyused to sell home-made glitter gel at raves, and once melted together a ton ofmy mom’s old lipstick to make completely unwearable trash. I sold that to my little sister for someexorbitant amount of money. Apparently $3 for frosty brown slop, crammed into aCarmex container, is a bargain when you’re 7.