Every year around this time The Body Shop releases their seasonal line of cranberry inspired body products. I say “inspired” because they don’t seem to have much in common with the little red berry other than the colour. I used to love the lip gloss, but once I started making all my own lip glosses and balms, I realized its overly sweet and sticky, with a rather sickly artificial fragrance. So, this year I thought I’d make my own cranberry lip balm.
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The colour comes from a liquid carmine dye from Saffire Blue, but you could also use red iron oxide if you don’t have the carmine liquid dye (though the colour won’t be as bright—it’ll be a muddier red/brown). Then there’s a bit of gold or copper mica for some Christmassy shimmer. Nice.
As for scent. Cranberries aren’t overly fragrant, and berries don’t produce essential oils, so obviously that’s not an option. So, I started thinking about what scents remind me of cranberries, and I landed on cranberry sauce pretty quickly. Orange, cinnamon, and cloves—though, sadly, orange was out thanks to photo sensitization, and cinnamon as it can be rather irritating. So I went with peppermint with a hint of cloves, bergamot (the bergaptene free version), and cardamom. It’s mostly peppermint, but with a bit of spicy, mellow depth. I love it!
These cute little measuring spoons are perfect for measuring out things like micas. You can buy them here.
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Cranberry Lip Balm
10g | 0.35oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
12g | 0.42oz virgin coconut oil
7g | 0.25oz raw cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
19g | 0.67oz sweet almond oil (USA / Canada)
1g | 0.03oz Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)20 drops liquid carmine dye (or red iron oxide)
1 smidgen | 1/32 tsp gold, copper, or bronze mica (I use these wee measuring spoons for such tiny amounts)4 drops bergaptene free bergamot essential oil
2 drops clove bud essential oil
2 drops cardamom essential oil15 drops peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)
2020 update: Given the irritation potential for this essential oil blend, I’d recommend paring it down to just the peppermint essential oil—the spice essential oils have very low maximum usage rates and they are definitely exceeded here.
Weigh the beeswax, coconut oil, cocoa butter (USA / Canada), almond oil, and Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada) out into a heat resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in a pot of barely simmering water to melt the oils.
Stir in the carmine, mica, and essential oils using a flexible silicone spatula, stirring as the mixture cools a bit. Once the mixture has thickened enough to keep the mica suspended, decant into ten lip balm tubes and let cool. I like to use these labels to label my projects.
Don’t have the carrier oils called for in the recipe? Read this for a guide on how to choose appropriate alternatives.
So pretty… do you have an etsy shop? I would love to get some of this! I, unfortunately am not that craftsy :-\
Thanks, Teri! Sadly, I don’t have an Etsy shop : ( It’s kind of a catch-22; my blog, which generates all the demand for my products, takes up all my time. If I took the time to sell my products I wouldn’t have any time for my blog, and then the demand would dry up, haha. That said, if you can melt butter, you can make lip balm, I promise! It is definitely one of the easiest things you can make, hands down.
Hello Marie
I am revisiting some of my oldies but favorite formulations.
My liquid carmine went bad.
So I am wondering if you have a formula to make our own liquid suspended in caster oil “Liquid Carmine? I have tons of the powder and love the convenience of not worrying if there are bits that settle out. Thank you so very much.
Carol
I thought that sweet orange essential oil was one of the citrus oils that was not photosensitive. Also, isn’t bergamot photosensitive, too? Thanks for the great tutorial, I was waiting for this post since you posted the pic on your Instagram!
You’re very correct, Sophia—that’s why I make a big deal about using “bergaptene free” bergamot essential oil in this recipe. Bergaptene is the compound that makes citrus essential oils photosensitive. You can get bergamot EO with this compound removed, but for some reason that’s the only EO they bother to take it out of (sad, I would love a lime lotion!). There is a straight-up version of bergamot that definitely is photosensitive, so be sure not to swap the two 🙂
Thanks for reading & following me on Instagram! I caved and got Facebook too, haha… oh dear 😛
Hi Marie, I just wanted to say that if you get steam distilled key lime, it is not photosensitive…at least that is the information that I have found. I get mine from NDA, as I see that you also purchase from.
So, I just spent a bunch of time doing some more extended reading into photo-sensitivity, and it seems like nobody can agree on anything! It seems like steam distilled might be safer (cold pressed is definitely out). There was almost no agreement on some citrus EOs being more sensitizing than others/not sensitizing at all. Some sources said lime was fine, others said you should stay out of the sun for 3 days after application! I wish somebody would just do a good scientific study on this already…
you are so creative!! wow
Aww, thanks Michelle!
I love your posts so much! They are so inspiring to my creative alter ego. Unfortunately, as a mother of four girls under six, I have no money and even less time for doing this stuff. I’m hoping to be able to do this in the future with my girls and teach them to do it yourself more than simply buy it all the time. Thank you!
Also, I would totally buy from you also, lol
Thanks Grace! You sound like you must be superwoman with so many tiny ladies at home—whoa! Once they get older, though, I’m sure they’ll LOVE making things with their mum 🙂 I can remember learning to make lip balm as a kid, and it was so fun and exciting. I did it with a cousin and her mum, and it was a blast. I felt like such a champ at maybe 10 years old 😛
No, not superwoman! Just playing the cards I’ve been dealt, lol
Says you… but I seriously suspect their is some red spandex lurking somewhere in your vicinity 😉
So… like a ton of your recipes, I think it looks awesome–and then I look at the list of essential oils and peppermint is at the top. Unfortunately, I’m allergic and find it to be a major skin irritant.
I know I could just swap with whatever I wanted with this recipe, but there are some, like your headache oil, where it’s the main ingredient, and I was wondering if there would be any good all-purpose substitution? Thanks so much!
Hmm, that’s a tricky one 🙁 There are two reasons I’ll use peppermint in a recipe—for the scent/taste, and for the physical cooling effect. If it’s just scent/taste, you can definitely replace it with pretty much anything. Unfortunately, if it’s there for the physical cooling effect (which comes from the high menthol content), you’re kind of out of luck unless straight up menthol (which is derived from peppermint) doesn’t irritate your skin. If you’re ok with menthol, you can substitute about 1/3 the amount of menthol for peppermint. For something like the headache eraser, the peppermint contributes the majority of the cooling sensation that helps with the pain. So, without it, I’m really not sure if it would work. 🙁
Okay. Maybe I’ll check out menthol and see if it works. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Fingers crossed!
I actually read in the Essential Oils Handbook that orange is the only essential oil that is not photosensitive, at least sweet orange, that’s why it is used in so many products for brightening qualities. I’ve used it with no issues, and I’ve used bergamot, the kind that was photosensitive before, eeeeoowww irritating! Never heard of this kind that you used before, I’ll be sure to check it out!
Hmm. I just spent a bunch of time researching the specifics of photo-sensitivity, and it seems like nobody agrees on much of anything! Some sources said orange was ok, others said you’d have to stay out of the sun for 24+ hours. There seems to be some amount of agreement on steam distilled EOs being less/not photosensitive, but the sources on that were pretty limited from what I could find. I think with my super pale skin I’ll err on the side of caution without much conclusive evidence :/
Where did you get the twist up lip chap tubes?
If you scroll up to the big grey box with links to my suppliers, they all sell ’em for $0.14+/tube (depending on the quantities you want to buy). I buy mine 100 at a time nowadays.
Do you know of a USA source for the liquid lip tint? I went to the site you suggested but it is going to cost me way more than the order to have it mailed. 🙁
I tried to search but only get prepared cosmetic liquid lip tints with all the garbage. I couldn’t find a source for the product to use in making your own.
Any help would be so appreciated
Dorsey,
I Googled this and found this company in the US.
http://www.tkbtrading.com/item.php?item_id=667
TKB Trading, LLC is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Oakland, California.
Thanks so much, Becky!
Thanks big time. 🙂
It looks like Becky found you a good source 🙂 On another note—sadly, it doesn’t cost much more (maybe $2) to send something to the USA from Saffire Blue than it costs to have it sent to me within Canada. We have really expensive shipping up here, so you’re not actually getting gouged for being in the USA… it’s just Canada Post 🙁 Boooooo.
I absolutely love your blog and all of your recipes and very creative ideas. I have tried many of your body and make up recipes and really love them. I so appreciate how you have taken chemical-filled products and have made then natural, safe and easy to make. I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope you have a wonderful, joy-filled holiday season and PLEASE keep up the fantastic work.
Thank you SO much, Melissa! This was such a wonderful comment to wake up to this morning 🙂 Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me—I love hearing that people are actually making my recipes! Have a happy holidays as well, and stay tuned for more awesome recipes—I’m planning into February & March now and I’m really excited about a lot of the stuff I’ll be publishing soon 😀
Yeah! I am always happy to see a Humblebee&Me email waiting for me to open and be amazed and inspired.
Aww, thanks Melissa 😀
On average, how tinting are these lip tints?? I want one that will work to use more dye to produce lipstick color, and less dye for more of a tint…
It definitely depends on how much you use, but if you want to get a lipstick colour, I probably wouldn’t choose a liquid tint as a primary colourant as they just aren’t very efficient. You need so much colour to get an opaque lipstick, and the tints have already been diluted in liquid (plus you’d need an opacifying agent like titanium dioxide or clay). I’ve been toying with the idea of making a lipstick that gets its colour from a combination of clays/oxides and a liquid tint, so you might try that. If you do want to test the upper limits of the liquid tints, be sure to reduce the amount of liquid oil in your recipe as large amounts of liquid tint will effect the final product. Have fun!
So, I asked this question already, but I’ve been searching for a while and I can’t find where it was… How much clay would you recommend for adding opaqueness to a recipe like this?
I want to make a slightly to more tinted lip balm with carmine dye, red mica, and white clay. will that work? or does the clay have to be colored for it to work?
Sorry! Found the answer saved on my computer somewhere. Thanks!
No worries 🙂
I’d start with two to three teaspoons of clay for this recipe, and work your way up from there to get the desired effect 🙂 Kaolin will contribute some opacity along with brightening the colour, so you will likely need more dye and mica to get deeper shades.
Hi! If i were to use red oxide instead of the liquid carmine, how much should i use?
do you think i should just like mix the oxide with some almond oil, and then add 20 drops of the oil/oxide mixture?
I’d start with what I did for this lip balm, and then work your way up from there if you want a darker colour 🙂 Do note that that recipe makes a wee bit less than this one, so you’ll get a slightly lighter colour initially. Have fun & let me know what you settle on!
Hey Marie! I have a question for you. It’s not really related to this recipe but generally about lipbalms-lipsticks. So: can use other EOs as long as I like the smell? For example can I use lavender or chamomile that I have from other projects?
Thanks a lot! 🙂
Of course! Just make sure it’s not photosensitive (the citrus EOs, mostly) or poisonous (tea tree, for example). Have fun with your lipstick/lipbalm!
I just found your blog and it is fabulous! Your recipes sound so yummy! I would love to try to make some natural lip balms for my daughter who has very sensitive and very dry skin. The problem I’m having is that every recipe I find calls for shea butter or coconut oil. She is allergic to both!!! Do you have any suggestions for substitutions? I read your post about substitutions but I didn’t see a solution. Any help you can give would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Nichole! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 It sounds like you should try my cupuacu lip balm (you can also use mango butter instead of cupuacu). Good luck and have fun!
Your blog is awesome. Please tell me how many millilitres or milligrams one of these lip tube thingies hold?
Hi Joy-Mari Cloete! Lip balm tubes typically hold 4.5g of product, but that can vary depending on the tube, so check the package of the ones you buy 🙂
Hi Marie!
I fell in love with your site, everything you do with natural ingredients is awesome.
I´m getting involve in making lip balms and I have a big doubt.
The measures of the ingredients you give in the recipes of the lip balms you measure them when they are melted or solid? I mean, when you write 10 gr of beeswax , you mean 10 gr of melted beeswax or 10 gr of solid beeswax; sorry for this dumb question, hope you answer me.
Thanks for the time and I really love everything, i definitely will start doing more that just lip balms! 🙂
Hi Estefanía! Thanks so much for reading 🙂 The brilliant thing about measuring things by weight is that it doesn’t matter if they are liquid or solid. I like to measure everything as solids into one pan and then melt it all together, it’s very easy and makes for the easiest clean up.
Hi Marie,
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful DIY recipes with us! Just wondering if you have ever tried ‘tinting’ your lip products with Acai powder? I have tried beetroot powder before and as you know, it just becomes a gooey mess, so just wondering if acai will have the same effect?
Your experience (if any) on this would be greatly appreciated 😀
Hi JT! I haven’t tried acai powder, but in my experience all botanical powders are water soluble, just like the beetroot powder, meaning they make a poor addition to oil-based products. You may be able to tint the oil and strain out the solids, though 🙂 Haven’t tried that yet, but it’s on the list!
For those who want a vegetarian version, you can use beet powder for the coloring agent. You have to strain out the beet solids after warming the beet root powder in the oils/waxes.
Red iron oxide is also an option, with the added benefit of not losing its colour over time as beetroot powder does 🙂
Bergamot EO’s (4drops)
Clove bud EO’s (2drops)
Cardamom EO’s (2drops)
Peppermint EO’s (15drops)
This mixture same as cranberry scent?
That is exactly what I’ve called for, just be sure to use bergapatene free bergamot so you don’t give everybody sunburns with your lip balm 🙂
Thanks ^^
🙂
I was just looking at your fb page and saw that you had just placed your first tkb order. Wish I’d seen it sooner! This is what happens when one is a techy luddite and don’t do the social media thing. lol
I have only purchased from tkb a handful of times- mostly nail polish related stuff. I’ve also tried their micronized silk and pearl powders and like them a lot. In fact, I added a touch of the silk to this lip balm recipe as well as the Manitoba Forest Balm just for fun. I LOVE that it’s oil soluble! I hope those two items were among the things you bought. 😉 I am wondering about the different varieties of sericite micas they have and which would work best with your recipes… perhaps I’ll try a sample each on my next order. 😛
Remember our earlier conversation about Carmine? Man, am I feeling foolish now… tkb carries both the powdered and liquid version! I can’t believe I didn’t see that and ordered mine all the way from Canada. D’oh!
I just made this recipe and it’s such a pretty color in the tube and it smells wonderful! Wondered though if you had any hints on pouring into the tubes. I stirred and waited until the mixture thickened a little so the mica would stay incorporated, but by the time I got to the 5th tube, the mixture would no longer pour. I put it back in the water to reheat and poured again. Is this normal? Thanks again for the lovely recipe!
Hey Coreen! That is super normal and happens to me every time I make tinted lip balm—no worries there 🙂 Thanks for reading and DIYing with me!
Hi Marie, I love reading your articles and recipes, and watching your videos, they’re so inspiring! I’m a complete beginner and have started making my own cosmetics following your recipes and tips. I want to make a pink lipstick using red iron oxide but would like to know what ingredients are suitable to use as a white pigment to obtain a pink colour? More specifically, can I use kaolin clay to achieve this? Thanks 🙂
Hey Marion! Thanks so much for reading and watching 🙂 You will never get a pink with iron oxide—it is much too muddy of a red. You will need carmine. I have a bunch of videos here that show carmine in comparison with iron oxide to show you how different the colours are. The lip stain one is especially relevant. For pink, you’ll need titanium dioxide—kaolin clay isn’t a pigment in any way, it’s just white (like flour).
Hi Marie, thank you so much for your reply! I am not vegan but was trying to avoid animal products including carmine, although it is very tempting to try this one as the colour is incredible. I made a lipstick using manganese violet for my partner’s daughter because she loves the colour purple. It actually gives my lips a dark pink shade when I put it on, not purple, which is strange but perfect lol. I got really excited earlier when I discovered your recipes to make deodorant. Can I just ask, do these tend to leave greasy or yellow marks on your clothes under the armpits? If so does it wash away easily? Thank you for being such a great inspiration 🙂 I wish you could come and do some workshops in the UK! xx
Hmm. Honestly, I don’t really remember; I’ve been experimenting with some deodorants that aren’t on the blog for the last year or so. I don’t remember any staining, but I may also be an unobservant dolt. Perhaps try perusing the comments on the recipes to see if anything has been mentioned?
hi .. thank you for the nice recipe you have shared, I am a first timer on DIY lip balm, so I have a lot to learn. may i know if its possible for me to make this lip balm using beetroot powder as colorant? if yes should I add glycerin.
my objective is to make lip balm using beetroot 🙂
really looking forward to your advice
thank you
Hey! Read this and this and this, and then this for a guide on how it might work 🙂
Thank you so much .. have some idea on my head now.
Have nice day
Happy experimenting!
Hi Marie,
Thanks for this great recipe! I’d like to make something barely tinted for young girls. In fact, tinted in the tube and not on the lips would be perfect. Would this be appropriate?
I’d test as you go—add a few drops, do a swatch on your arm, and see what you think 🙂 You’ll need far less carmine if you just want a tube tint!
Hi,
I have a hard time finding carmine and iron oxides here in India.
Even if I do fine, they are VERY expensive or then I have to order from manufacturers in bulk quantities (5kg plus!!). I wanted to make a nice tinted lip balm, not too light a tint. Something that will show up nicely 🙂 Is it possible to use food grade liquid colours? Will it work?
While I am writing this, your book has been delivered by Amazon.. I am SO excited, that I feel like taking half day from work and going home to your book!lol.. 🙂
It depends; the dye must be oil soluble, and even then there is so much variation in products like that it’s hard to say. If it’s basically a food grade pre-dispersed FD&C dye that would likely be your best bet. Thank you so much for buying my book! I’m afraid you will need the carmine and iron oxides for pretty much all of the recipes in it, though—good luck!
Hi Marie, I noticed that in your Cranberry Lip Tint recipe, it called for Cranberry Seed Oil. Could I put the Cranberry Seed Oil into this balm recipe to create the scent (instead of adding the different essential oils)? And if so, how much do you think would be sufficient? Thanks!