I’m really excited to finally have a not-deep-pink option for those of you who aren’t suited to pure carmine and my Snow White Lip Stain. This coral hued lip stain delivers a potent punch of orange-tinted red that sticks around for hours, and makes a good cheek stain to boot.
This lip stain is fairly close to my Snow White Lip Stain, with just two new ingredients—a natural orange dye derived from paprika, and silk peptides. The orange dye is water soluble, and it’s what gives our stain its orange tint. The silk peptides are added for two reasons. Silk is a humectant, so it helps the lip stain not feel too drying, and silk tastes a bit sweet, which helps counter the bitter taste of the orange dye.
After that we’ve got some carmine for some serious red colour. You absolutely, 100%, seriously-don’t-even-try-it-or-ask, cannot replace carmine with anything else. I have tried beetroot powder, rosehip powder, clays, oxides, and anything else red or pink I could get my hands on. Nothing else works, I swear. And yes, carmine is ground up bugs, but I am ok with that. Carmine has been used as a cosmetic ingredient for hundreds of years. It’s safe, and I trust beetles a lot more than petroleum products. If you think it’s gross… well, I suppose this recipe isn’t for you. I do have a coral lipstick, though 🙂
All that’s left now is some water and glycerin to dissolve everything together. The final lip stain packs a serious colour punch, so you just might want to dilute it with a bit more water if it’s too strong for your tastes (three cheers for customizable homemade cosmetics!).
Without lip or cheek stain.
Coral Lip Stain
2 nips carmine (no substitutes)
1/4 tsp cold water
5 drops glycerin
1 nip silk peptides (optional)
25–30 drops natural orange dyeDilute the carmine in the water and mix in the glycerin and silk peptides (both are humectants and help the lip stain from being too drying in addition to making it taste a bit sweet).
Begin adding the dye, and start testing the colour after about 20 drops. I found 25 gave a slightly orange tinged red, and I ended up being happy with 30 drops. Be sure to test it on your lips so you get something that works with your skin tone.
The final lip stain is quite potent—if the colour is too strong for you, you can dilute the stain by adding drops of cold water and blending them in until you get your desired strength.
I recommend lining the lips with an oil-based coral lip liner before applying as this stain can bleed.
Another stunning recipe! I did purchase the lip stain “lip tubes” some time ago, I see you have your stain in a glass bottle? Is there an applicator with it..if so, where were you able to find this little gem? Also, speaking of flavour, wondering about a drop or two of clove oil….
My wee glass bottle is from Saffire Blue, and sadly there’s no applicator—I just use a lipstick brush. Oh well, it works like a charm!
I would stay away from adding EOs to this as they wouldn’t emulsify, and you’d end up with EOs floating on top and could very easily get a strong dose of them. Not to mention that clove can be numbing/irritating 🙂
I found a 5ml (they also sell 15ml though) empty nail polish tubes at TKB Trading. The applicator is the nail brush, so it’s a bit easier to bring with you when going out.
That’s fantastic! I’ll have to look at ordering from TKB the next time I’m in the US 🙂
Very pretty! I’m curious, would you say that could be considered a dupe for Benetint? I mean, not exactly shade wise, but are the feel and staying power close to Benetint?
Hi Kathy! I’ve never used Benetint, but I have used Posietint. I’d say my Snow White Lip Stain is closer to Benetint than this one, but neither are all that similar in terms of texture or performance in my experience. I found Posietint to be kind of gooey and oily. It didn’t stain my lips or skin in the slightest. My lip stains, however, do. They’re thinner and sink into the lips. I just wore this stain out and it survived two pots of tea and lunch quite admirably 🙂
How pretty! I’m trying to work up the guts (and the funds) to maybe dip my toe into homemade lotions and potions and the like this year. Your site’s definitely been an inspiration for a couple of years now. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks, Lisa! It’s definitely worth a toe-dipping, after which I imagine you’ll be pulled in up to the ears 😉
I love this recipe! Think it’ll be my first one to try. However, I don’t know exactly what a “nip” means in quantity.
Hi Robin! A “nip” is 1/64th of a teaspoon—I have a set of measuring spoons that measure a dash, nip, pinch, and smidgen that I find really useful for making cosmetics 🙂
Where did you get the measuring spoon set?
I’ve linked it in the FAQ 🙂
Can you post the direct link to the glass vial? I can’t find it. This looks so lovely and potent; thanks for posting. 🙂
Voila!
My bad- I saw that but wasn’t sure if it was it since it looked so much bigger than yours. Is it the 1/2 dram or 1 dram?
It was the half dram 🙂
wow, the lip stain looks awesome! but how do you keep your teeth so white? They look like they came straight from a TV commercial.
Thanks, Chilli! I don’t have a secret, I just brush twice a day (still using store bought toothpaste, haven’t quite worked up the nerve to switch to homemade yet ;)), and I suppose not drinking coffee also helps. Nothing too exciting, sorry!
Love your diys!! Do you think this Would be to watery to be in lip tube with a wand? It’s all I have on hand 🙂
Thanks!!!
Hi Claudia! If it seals quite well I think it should work 🙂 I just dip a wee brush into the little bottle I keep mine in, and that works nicely.
Can I omit the carmine powder for an orange lip stain rather than orange-red (I find it to be more red rather than orange-red)?
I haven’t tried it, but you probably can. You could also tweak the ratios to get a more coral-y colour. Do keep in mind that the orange dye is quite bitter in the mixture, so it’ll probably taste terrible on its own!
I found that uses beet to make a lip stain. It’s made with just two ingredients beet and vegetable glycerin. While it doesn’t use beet root powder, I’m sure you can just simmer it and remove the beet powder.
I’ve seen many similar recipes and have tried myself, but have always been disappointed with the colour potency (usually almost nil) and staying power. Add to that the fact that beetroot oxidizes rather quickly, turning a sort of brown grey, and it’s not my favourite option :/
Have you seen 100% Pure’s Pigmented Lip and Cheek Stain in Cherry? This one uses all natural fruit pigments as well as beet root juice extract. According to the reviews, the color is very red.
I haven’t—I’ll have to see if Sephora has it the next time I am there.
Do i need to put any preservatives since it contains water? I am going to make it in a lip tube.
I’ve never added preservatives to any of my lip stains and haven’t had any troubles with spoilage—I think this is due to the high concentration of vegetable glycerin, but I can’t say for sure.
Make sure your tube has a small opening (just enough for a brush) and a very good seal! This will stain if it leaks 🙂
I love your posts !!!!!
Paola
Thank you! 😀
Hey, lovely lip stain! I was wondering, did you try any other humectants? I was thinking about adding honey for extra moisture. Also, I noticed that a lot of commercial lip stains contain penetration enhancers to help the product sink into the skin. Did you happen to play around with any of those? It looks like plenty of essential oils function as penetration enhancers. Rose geranium or mint might be nice. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Alex! I’ve played with honey, and found that’s it’s best in combination with glycerin as it’s really very sticky, which gets annoying on the lips. I haven’t played with any penetration enhancers, but a drop of mint does sound like a nice addition 🙂 Just be sure nothing you choose is toxic, of course 😉
I don’t suppose there are any water-soluble blue pigments out there? I would really like a purple or purplish lip stain. What other traits have you found make a pigment suitable for a stain? You mentioned intensity and whether it oxidises?
I’m afraid I haven’t come across any that would be suitable. The three traits you mentioned are the big ones, and I’ve found natural colourants that meet those criteria are few and far between 🙁
Hi Marie,
As we all know that carmine (crushed bugs) is not vegan and it is in fact forbidden to consume or use in some religions. Although, I can appreciate the nature of it, but if it is forbidden in a cultural or religious context then FD&C and FD dyes are the way to go.
I am aware that FD&C and D&C dyes are derived from petroleum but these are the only resources that I can turn too.
Also, you had mentioned from one of your previous blogs that you used a blue ultramarine pigments in one of your deep plum lip stains, although this is not considered lip safe in Canada you used it in such small % it shouldn’t be hazardous. The amount of petroleum that is actually being used in these dyes are also very minimal. All in all, ALL organic and inorganic pigments and personal care ingredients are refined and processed to eliminate the harsh ingredients such as heavy metal (e.g., lead and mercury).
Thanks for your valuable forum.
Hey! I’ve got a pretty good discussion on carmine alternatives in this post 🙂 You’re correct that the FD&C/D&C dyes are the only thing close in terms of colour, though sadly they aren’t water soluble so they don’t work well for lip stains.
The ultramarines are approved for lip use in the EU, and they tend to be more conservative with that sort of thing, so I’m inclined to think they’re ok. Also, all of our pigments are actually straight up synthesized, not just mined and refined—the FDA actually requires the synthesized ones to be used. This is a great resource 🙂
Hi Marie!
I know this post is a bit old but I have a couple of questions that relate to it and this is where they made the most sense. So hopefully you’re not reading this and wondering what on earth I’m doing in some dusty old section of your blog. I suppose it doesn’t feel that old to me because I’ve been eyeing this recipe ever since you first posted it. It looks AMAZING and I love me a good lip stain… but I never got around to getting my hands on some carmine. (I’m not going to ask for a substitution, don’t worry. You have thoroughly convinced me of its importance/awesomeness and I’m finally ready to shell out and get some.) But my question is this: How far is say, a gram of carmine likely to get you? I noticed that TKB Trading has a 2.5g sample size for $2.50 which is significantly more affordable than anything else I’ve seen… but is that quantity even remotely useful? Or is it more worthwhile to just suck it up and pay the ~$40 per ounce for more?
A second thing, related to this recipe specifically, do you think turmeric powder might work to get a more orangey tone? It may not be as potent as the annatto dye, but I’ve sometimes found yellow spots lurking on my skin days after cooking with turmeric, which makes me wonder if it might have potential here. I suppose it could also be a solubility issue, but even if it settles a bit I would think it might still be able to tint the stain just a touch. Thoughts?
And my final question (for now, anyway…)is this: How do you take this stuff off? It seems to stain really well which is EXCELLENT since it won’t come off whenever, but that also means it won’t just come off whenever… I’m not fond of commercial makeup remover, but I imagine you’re not either which makes me think you must have some delightful secret for this lurking up your sleeve somewhere. (Or maybe I’m just expecting it to be harder than it is; I haven’t exactly tried using it quite yet.)
Anyway, thank you so much for your amazing blog! You have taught me so much, and I can’t wait until your book comes out!
Hey Sky! There really is no such thing as old posts—all comments are lined up by when they were received, not by when the post they’re on was published. 1g of carmine will be just shy of a teaspoon of the stuff (~1.2g = 1 teaspoon), so 2.5g would actually go pretty far if all you are interested in is lip stain; once you start putting it in lipstick that’ll disappear fairly quickly, but it would still be enough to make several lippies that include carmine in the blend. You’ll probably fall in love with it and get the ounce afterwards, though 😉 Carmine is quite a lot lighter than other pigments, so it goes a lot further by weight; 1 tsp of red iron oxide is 3.68g, so a 2.5g sample of it wouldn’t even be 1tsp, where 2.5g of carmine will be about 2 teaspoons. Nifty, no? That difference in density means carmine isn’t actually that much more expensive than the oxides.
Since turmeric won’t dissolve in the stain, it will be gritty and lumpy. I’ve tried a similar thing with indigo and it was pretty yucky. I intend to try the infusion route at some point and see how that does, but whatever the case, if you want to experiment with turmeric you will have to infuse and strain, and I’m not sure how the potency will differ if you do that. Also… the taste/smell.
Oil and a bit of scrubbing will take it off… or just eat a burger lol.
Happy making and enjoy carmine! ;D
Hi, Marie: NDA doesn’t carry the natural orange dye;
Saffire Blue sells the Lip Tint Orange 5. Is this a good substitution? I’ve included the link:
http://www.saffireblue.ca/shop/colourants-micas-lip-tints/lip-tints/lip-tints-orange-5
The dye I used was water soluble, while that one is oil soluble, so no—not as I’ve written the recipe, at least. I have found those pre-dispered pigments can make good stains on their own. I would recommend making the lip paint recipe from my book—it wears like a stain and can be made in any colour without needing weird discontinued dyes 🙂
I just found you on YouTube and that’s how I found this blog. I’m already in love! I saw this recipe because I’ve been looking for something like this, but the link to the Natural Orange Dye says that the page could not be found. This really disappoints me. I saw one comment mention Annatto Dye. Is this the name of the Natural Orange Dye you used? And if it is, would Liquid Annatto Cheese Dye work? Or could I use Annatto Powder?
In the end I really didn’t find that dye to be very impressive :/ It tasted weird and didn’t work all that well. I believe it was pigmented with annatto, but it’s been quite a while so I’m not certain anymore. If you want a coral lip thing, check out my book! There are some great coral lipsticks and lip paints that don’t taste funny 🙂
The link for the orange natural color does not work anymore.
The product has been discontinued, and I know of no other suppliers for it :/
i would love to see this made into more of a creamy lipstick type stain like Jane Iredale Beyond Matte Lip Fixation Lip Stain. In hers she’s got that hectorite clay, a bunch of silicones, some form filmers. sunflower seed oil and a few other things. Think maybe one day you can tackle this?
That sounds like a bit of an update on the lip paint from my book 🙂 Perhaps try that + some TKB Film Fix?