Lipstick Makes for Fantastic Lip Gloss

A DIY 10-step tutorial on how to upcycle ugly and old lipstick colors into lip smacking gloss

So you have 30 lipsticks filling up your bathroom drawers. They constantly haunt you every time you go near them. You know you'll never wear half of them because of the color, which is either unfashionable at this point or just doesn't go with your skin tone (and perhaps never did, so you still can't figure out why you bought it in the first place). The 10-step directions listed below will take those tubes and turn them into flavorful cute lip glosses in recycled containers. 

My friend, Becca helped me write this post. Not only did she help put together most of the directions, but she also made me my own cute little lip gloss and for that I am very thankful. And so is my boyfriend :). 

Skill level: Easy Peezy

Materials to make 12 itty bitty pots of gloss (see photo above):
- Old lipstick
- 'Pots' a.k.a something to eventually put the gloss into. It has to have a lid. There is lots of stuff you can reuse that you probably already own. Examples include:
Old contact lens carriers
Film canisters 
Altoids tin
Empty gloss pots or lip balm tubes - think recycle!
- Petroleum jelly-like Vaseline.
- Beeswax found in hardware stores or craft stores
- Flavoring Oil. Becca used mint for mine, but you can pretty much put anything that smells good that you wouldn't mind wearing on your lips (Disclaimer: Choose a flavoring oil that is safe to eat). Becca loves MINT! To her it's like Christmas. There are plenty of options out there though, for instance, check out all the different flavors available from this vendor .
- Small metal bowl
- Sauce pan, large enough to hold your small metal bowl
- Medicine administering syringe or similar apparatus (Optional)
- Small spoon
- Vegetable peeler
- Water
- A clean rag

Step-by-Step
1. Simmer down now. Take the sauce pan and fill it 2/3 full of water. Allow the water to simmer on medium heat. 

2. Peel away. Shave the beeswax with the vegetable peeler until you have about a tablespoon full. Place the wax shavings into the small metal bowl.

3. Float the bowl. Place the bowl into the saucepan so it's floating in the water.

4. Scoop! Scoop about 2 tablespoons of petroleum jelly and mix it with the wax. Allow the mixture to melt slowly.

5. Take a cleansing breath. While you're waiting for the wax/jelly to melt, prep your 'pots'. Carefully clean the containers you are going to use. Wash out any previous gunk and allow to dry. Then set the containers out next to the stove on the rag. While you're washing, make sure your syringe is clean and dry, too. 

6. Stir away. By this time your jelly and wax should be gooey and easy enough to stir. Aid the process by gently stirring the mixture.

7. Chop away. Open your old lipstick and chop off part of it. This step is flexible and subject to personal preference. The more "hint of color" you want in your gloss, the more you'll want to add. Throw the lipstick chunks into the saucepan and stir well.

8. Add smell. Next, add a few drops of oil to the mixture and stir.

9. Fill 'er up. Use the syringe/apparatus/your own engineering tool to place the mixture (wax+lipstick+petroleum+flavored oil) into your clean, recycled pots. Allow the gloss to cool completely and solidify before putting the lids on.

10. Apply and smile! Put it on your lips and test it out. Or give it to your friends. These make for fantastic gifts.

Special thanks to Becca for this one.

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