How To Create Your Own Lip Gloss

It takes just a few minutes to learn how to create your own lip gloss, and a few minutes to actually do it. If you’re creative—and you have lips—it’s irresistible to customize lip gloss with your own color, your own flavor, and just the right combination of moisturizers. It’s your secret to one-of-a-kind beauty, and it doesn’t hurt to save all that money, either. There’s no need to keep buying balms and lipsticks that just get lost between your car seats when you craft your own masterpieces. Just follow these steps and add a generous dollop of you.

Prepare Your Tools

• A large, clean surface
• A white lab coat (OK, an apron or old T-shirt will do)
• Versagel gloss base
• Tinting ingredients
• Shimmer
• Flavor oils
• Microwave-safe mixing bowls
• Mixing utensils
• Small spatulas
• A lip gloss tube with a wand that holds about 15 ml
• A 60 ml syringe
• A disposable pipette
• Soap and water
• Paper towels—lots of paper towels
• Plastic wrap
• A mirror

Create and Innovate

Prepare

…your work surface and have paper towels at the ready.

Squeeze

…about 13 ml or 13 grams of Versagel gloss base into a microwave-safe mixing bowl. If you want to add more moisturizing elements, adjust the amount of base accordingly. A little oil goes a long way, so keep an eye on texture.

Heat

…the Versagel in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Beware: the bowl will get hot.

Add

…color. If you prefer transparent lip gloss, you can skip this step. Depending on how intense you want the gloss to be, start with two drops of color or two scoops of powder, adding as many as six. Stir together with your mixing utensil until consistent, and then reheat for 20-30 seconds.

Customize

…with two to four drops of flavor oil and stir.

Wrap

…the lip gloss tube container with plastic wrap to keep extra gloss out of packaging design details and to avoid finger smudges. Remove the wand and the plastic ring at the top (the “wiper”).

Prepare

…the syringe by cutting the bulb off one pipette and placing it over the syringe tip. Spatula the product into the syringe and insert the tip all the way to the bottom of the lip gloss tube.

Squeeze

…slowly to fill, until it’s about a half inch from the top of the tube. This will leave plenty of room for the wiper and the wand. Replace the wiper and the top of the tube.

Apply

…and appraise the results in the mirror. Admire. Congratulate yourself on your artistic vision. Rest and repeat.

Customizing With Moisturizers

There’s no limit to the natural moisturizers you can try, although you’ll find that some work better than others. Before heating, you can add to the Versagel base oils such as castor, coconut, olive, and sesame seed. Vitamin E has a rejuvenating effect, and carrot seed oil is a sunscreen. No Prob-Llama has combined several oils in one product, Premium Lip Oils Max for Lip Gloss, to take the guesswork out of creating the perfect healing mixture. It’s composed of equal parts argan, jojoba, sweet almond, and apricot kernel oils.

Customizing With Colors

You can try just about anything, as long as it adheres to the FDA’s strict guidelines for usage. You can start with a touch of your favorite cosmetics for a tint you know you’ll love. Scrapings of lipstick, leftover lip gloss, blush, or eye shadow—they’re all candidates for customization and may add a touch of glitter to your product. Organic food coloring can be effective, too. If you want to try natural ingredients for more subtle coloring, alkanet or beetroot can result in a hint of pink, annatto seed powder adds orange, chlorella has a green tint, and unsweetened cocoa is good for earth tones.

No Prob-Llama’s lip pigments are the easiest additives to work with, offering the intensity you want and consistent texture. They also boast attention-getting luster and even color-traveling effects. We use mica, a mineral used in many cosmetics, which lends a shimmery finish. Our mica is responsibly sourced in the US and is used in our more popular shades:

• Electric Fuchsia
• Ruby Gemstone
• Golden Bronze
• Red & Orange Duocrome
• Red & Blue Duocrome
• Yellow Gold Duocrome
• Red & Violet Duocrome

Customizing With Flavors

These aren’t actually flavors to make the lip gloss tasty; licking your lips too much will just dry them, and Versagel is no substitute for lunch. “Flavor” in cosmetics means adding fragrance, a yummy impression of your product that lingers in the air and soothes your senses. You can try essential oils for orange, peppermint, cinnamon, rose, lemon, grapefruit, lavender, or your favorite scent.

Cleaning Up

Versagel is most easily cleaned by wiping off the excess with a towel. Use this method to clean out the melting bowl between colors and as the first step in cleaning your syringe between colors. To remove the previous color out of the tip, remove the disposable pipette and squeeze some colorless Versagel into the syringe. Push it through and eject the leftover color into a container so you can use it to start another lip gloss shade. If the tip is still colored, use a Q-tip or a toothpick to reach inside. Any remaining Versagel can be thinned with an oil such as coconut, mineral, or castor. Wipe again with a paper towel and follow up with soap and warm water when you’re done.

Testing the Results

You’ll want to objectively assess your lip gloss’s effectiveness with an unbiased test group. You can survey as many people as you like, although we do recommend seeking respondents outside your home or posting a photo to social media for a larger demographic sampling. The opinion of your significant other should be prioritized or discounted altogether—use your best judgment. The kind of feedback you’re looking for includes:

• “Where did you get that?”
• “What color is that?”
• “Can I buy it?”
• “You look luscious!”
• “Do any Kardashians or Jenners profit from this product?”
• “I am blinded by your lips.”
• “Kiss me, baby.”

Making More

Use what you’ve learned during the production process and incorporate any feedback to tweak your formula or try new ones. Learning how to create your own lip gloss is a continuing education as you explore new techniques, colors, finishes, scents, textures, and healing elements. You may just have discovered your signature lip look. You may be inspired to begin a cosmetics empire. Consult No Prob-Llama’s website for ideas and tips and to stock up on the best ingredients. We’re happy that you’re making the world a glossier place.