When I first published my Red Rose Lipstick, I had a few requests for something that wasn’t quite as strong. This is what I came up with. It’s fairly simple, following the same principle, and can be made with a couple different secondary clays. It’s a lighter, more day-to-day friendly shade than the Red Rose, and I like it quite a bit.
The base is beeswax, unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada), cocoa butter (USA / Canada), camellia seed oil, and just a hint of magnesium stearate. I’ve formulated the base for summer temperatures, so it doesn’t get too soft in weather over 25°C. If you live somewhere colder, or like a softer lipstick, I’d drop the amount of beeswax by a gram.
In different lights it can have plum or coral undertones, and you can layer it for a darker colour. I call it “Red Velvet” because you’ll get a red velvet cake type tone if you put on two or three coats—it’s also smooth and delicious 😉
NOTE: I no longer recommend this formulation due to clay not being a reliable colourant, and potentially not meeting the safety requirements for lip-use pigments. My book, Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care contains far better lipstick formulations, with both vegan and non-vegan options, and a far wider array of colour possibilities.
Red Velvet Lipstick
4g beeswax (USA / Canada)
7g unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada)
4g cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
9g camellia seed oil
1g magnesium stearate1 tsp Austalian red reef
1 tsp light clay (zeolite ultrafine, white kaolin, Australian ivory)5 drops peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada) (or another you like)
Melt the beeswax, unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada), cocoa butter (USA / Canada), camellia seed oil, and magnesium stearate together. Stir the clays together in a small cup, and pour in the melted oils. Stir to combine, adding the essential oils.
Once the mixture has cooled enough to be thick enough to support the clays (but not so thick that you can’t pour the mixture), decant it into 4 standard size lip balm tubes. Enjoy!
I think you should call it Australian or Aussie Red Velvet Lipstick, but then I am biased – I live in Australia. Love all your recipes – edible and skincare. I look forward to trying some of them real soon.
I lived in Aus for a while & loved it, so I am all in for naming some of my products after your awesome country! I just want to make one that just screams “OI OI OI!” at me, and then Aussie it shall be 😛 Thanks for reading!
I wonder if you could use this clay as a cheek stain/blusher?
Definitely, though holy WOW is it strong and stain-prone 😛 My blush recipe uses French Red clay, but if you have darker skin you could switch it for the Australian Reef Red, and I bet it would work just beautifully! Thanks for reading!
I’ve got olive-y skin so I think I’ll get some of the red reef clay and see how it works…will report back:). Did I mention how much I love your blog? Cause I do:). Also going to get some oxides for the powder.
Cool, I can’t wait to hear how it goes! Thanks for reading & loving my blog, it’s great to have support for all the hours (and dollars) I sink into it 🙂
I recently found your blog and love it! I love all your bath and body tutorials, keep up the good work! I can’t wait to try this recipe out once I order some clay!
Awesome, I’m so thrilled you stumbled upon my wee corner of the internet, Sophia 🙂 Have fun with the lipstick and let me know how it turns out for you!
Okay, just made this today!
I made half the batch (just in case I screwed up haha).
Now the funny thing is I kinda used that s-something mica instead of magnesium sterate (I’m a new Mom and sleep deprived) oops. Still it turned out great. The colour was rich red velvet cake-brick sort of colour. Goes on smooth and dark. I don’t really wear lipstick so I probably won’t use it much or at all for that. I did dab some on my cheeks and bam! BeautifulI rosy cheeks. Very natural and just layer to make darker. Works like a charm! If I have some time to take a picture I will:). Yay for cream blush!
Awesome! I love hearing that people actually make my recipes, and don’t just look at the pretty pictures 😛 And I’m even more thrilled to hear that they work, of course, haha. How funny that you’ve turned it into cream blush, I just made myself a batch of cream blush using Australian pink clay (it’s not quite as dark). Three cheers for homemade cosmetics!
I have Australian pink clay as well, and never thought of making it into a blush until I used the red reef:). I will try as well but maybe I’ll wait ti see the recipe you post and see if it works for you:).
It sounds like you might have the same clay problem I have 😉 It’s getting a bit out of hand…
Hi, can you tell me whether you get any “bleeding” or “feathering” of the colour around your lips when you use this? Also, are there any health concerns associated with the use of clays? Thanks for the info!
Yes, there is some bleeding, but I imagine the use of some lip liner would fix that (I’ll figure out how to make that eventually…). As for health concerns with the clay, I believe you should be fine. I’ve read quite a bit about actually ingesting clay as a detoxing agent, and even though I don’t eat it myself, if it’s ok to eat, it should be fine around your mouth. Also, the supplier I bought the clay from listed lipstick as a suggested use 🙂 You can read the MSDS sheets at NDA.
Just like my sea buckthorn oil was super-concentrated, I think my red reef clay is mutated as well… it’s far more brown than red. Before putting it into tubes I tested it since I was suspicious, and it is definitely brown. I went in different light, and there is no “red” to be seen 🙁 I poured it all into a tin instead of tubes in case I find SOMETHING to do with it. Definitely not lipstick though! Do you think my batch is that radically different than yours, or is my sense of colour somehow distorted? haha
Hmmm, weird! Mine definitely has some brown to it, and can appear brown in certain lights, but definitely has loads of red. Next time we skype we should compare our batch numbers on both the sea buckthorn and the red reef clay and see. In the meantime… try it as a cream blush? Or a serious bronzer, hahaha 😛
I can’t seem to track down magnesium stearate. Could you suggest an alternative slip agent?
I found it here—does that work for you?
I just tried to make this. What a disaster!! It is the color of compost, too thick to use, and there is lipstick everywhere – my counter, sink, trashcan, clothes, pot, whisk, spatula – I looked at your website but didn’t see any helpful hints about cleaning. It is thick and just repels water. I finally used Bar Keeper’s friend, dishwashing detergent, and laundry detergent, but I’m still finding globs. I have read when you say you have to throw something away, and now I know how much that hurts!! All four tubes will be heading to the trash bin.
Oh no! I’m sorry the colour didn’t work out for you. The clays can vary in colour, and their appearance seems to shift under different lights, so this does happen to some people. You might want to try an oxide based lipstick recipe in the future, as the oxides are generally more uniform in their colour. Something else I like to do is make up one batch of the base, and then measure out four little dishes with different colour blends in them. That way you can try four different colours quickly and easily, and if you hate it, there’s only one offending tube 🙂
I formulate my lipsticks on the thicker side to help with the risk of over-application. My first lipstick was softer, and it went on so thick and strong that I modified later recipes. I like to apply with a brush, for added precision. That said, you can try using a wee bit less beeswax for a softer final product.
And yes, lipstick will always make a big ‘ol mess. It’s an entirely oil based product, so it will repel water (which is great when it’s on your lips, it helps it stay on), and it’s heavily pigmented because, well, it’s lipstick. For clean up, I start with a silicone spatula to scrape pots and bowls as clean as possible, and the paste goes into the trash. From there it’s lots of hot water and detergent—washing soda helps cut the oil as well.
But hey, congrats on your first flop 🙂 If you’ve never had to throw something out, you aren’t trying hard enough 😉
Two days later the color is a little better, but much more brown than red. Still, it is very matte – not at all sparkly like your picture. I have found that it is OK if I apply it and then put lip balm over it – yours, which I made with no problem! Thanks for the cleaning tips – I have relegated the whisk and one pot for nothing but makeup. I will keep trying! I have a bit of pink clay – could I add that to the red to make it pinker rather than browner?
Hmm. I think the shimmer-like effect in the photos is likely a result of the bright daylight the photos were taken in as it doesn’t look like that when I’m just looking in a mirror. If you want to add a bit of shimmer, silver mica is a great place to start 🙂 The lip balm topper is also a great solution, of course.
Why not try making a batch of four different colours with the pink clay? One that’s 100% pink, one that’s pink & white clay, one that’s pink & red, and one more—take notes, have fun, and in the end you’ll have four new stick of lipstick 🙂 You’ll want about half a teaspoon of clay per tube.
that’s a great idea – thank you! I will also reduce the beeswax a bit.
Let me know how it goes—I hope it works out for you 🙂
Might want to re-consider your use of magnesium stearate in your DIY formulations: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/23/whole-food-supplement-dangers.aspx
Magnesium stearate gets a 0/10 over at Skin Deep for safety, which is as safe as it gets—as safe as water! The source you linked to seems to be talking about eating it in measurable quantities, which I’m not really advocating.
Hey, I was wondering how exactly do you decant? I did a google search, but I haven’t been able to find a definite answer. Do you filter it (like with a coffee filter) or do you just wait for the bigger particles of clay to reach the bottom and then pour the rest? If so, then won’t it all come out since the mixture has thickened?
Hi Lily! Here I’m just using decant in the sense of “to pour out, transfer, or unload as if by pouring/to pour from one vessel into another”. So just pour the lipstick into the tube—no worries about the sediment.
Hi Marie,
As I told you before on a previous comment on a different lipstick recipe, I love all this, and I try other lipstick recipes from other sites with not to good results.
I will start doing the recipes you post, but i have another doubt before getting start.
You mention this recipe is for a place with a temperature equal or lower than 25°C, but I live in a hotter place, where the tempature is always from 28°C to 35°C.
Could you help me giving the measures of the basic ingredientes (beeswax, essential oils and butter) for a lipstick that wouldn´t melt in the place where I live? I know probably iyou wont know the exactly measures, unless you try to prepare them, but it will mean a lot if you coud suggest me what ingredients I need to add more or less in order the lipstick won´t melt.
I appreciate all the post you wrote and all the advices you could give me I will be entirely thankful with you!
I have been preparing different recipes of lipstick with no good results, because they melt too soon and I don´t get the colors I want, I live in Puerto Vallarta, México and it´s also almost impossible to get the ingredients. I will look for the ingredients here in Mexico for giving the colors to the lipstick in case I dont found them I will buy them online on the webpages you give. But definitely Im so thrilled with all this, that i won´t give up, until I have made a good lipstick!
Thanks for everything Marie, I really appreciated.
Regards! 🙂
Hi Estefanía! Try adding one extra gram of beeswax to this recipe. In any event, the lipstick shouldn’t melt entirely, it will just be softer than it is here as beeswax has quite a high melting point—much higher than 35°C 🙂 Have fun!
Thanks so much Marie! 🙂
🙂
Why zeolite ultrafine and australian ivory? Also, if we are out of kaolin can we use bentonite. If not why? Please let me know. Thanks!
Hi Melissa! As with most cosmetics, colour is important. I’ve chosen zeolite ultrafine or kaolin because they are both very pale and help tone down the red clay without effecting the colour much. Also, all the clays I’ve chosen are light, fine, and smooth. Bentonite clay is a rather unappealing colour for this blend, heavy, and gritty. I would never recommend adding it to a lipstick.
I am about to make this recipe for the first time and I am so exited tp see the results! Though I have a question, is bentonite clay good for this recipe instead of the zeolite clay tou are using?
Hi Ofelia! Bentonite is rarely a good swap for other clays as it is very gritty. Think of using sand instead of flour 🙂
Hi there:
I am so excited to try these. As I’m seeing conflicting information on the safety on magnesium stearate, it’s making me nervous. Have you found a suitable alternative at all? I have so many other ingredients I could play with-would love to just buy the clay and have at it. What exactly does the magnesium stearate do?
Hi Michelle! I have yet to find a good alternative for magnesium stearate. It adds slip, and I’ve found homemade lipsticks to be very unpleasant (texture-wise) without it. Keep in mind that you are using very little of it, and then divide that between all the tubes and the individual uses. And, safety wise, it gets a 0 on SkinDeep, which is as safe as it gets!
Hi Marie! Your blog is so inspiring! I was gonna make my firts homemade mascara and then I come across your lipstick recipes that I finaly reopen my order and I am adding some thinks for lipsticks too!
I just have some questions. Can you please tell me what specifically is magnesium stearat for in those lipstick? What is its funktion.
And second one – I am a beginer and so I do not want to buy a lot of types of oils and butter (in a fear I’ll try to make lipstick and then never have time to do something with the rest of the butters and oils). Is it neccessary to combine all of them? I ordered shea butter and I have some coconut butter and beewax. I cannot find any camellia seed oil in Czech republic, but I can buy the cocoa butter. Thx! Bety
Hey Bety! Magnesium stearate helps on two fronts; it improves slip (which we need because the pigments are quite skiddy and dry), and improves adhesion (so the lipstick stays on). I don’t recommend leaving it out, but if you can’t find it the lipstick won’t fail without it—it just won’t be as good.
For basic starter buying guides check out this article, and for information on how to make substitutions (to help you realize what you might not need to buy/be able to swap out), read this 🙂 If you want to make more makeup, this article is also useful!
Marie!! You look positively almost Asian in this photo. That got me thinking – it’d be so cool to see you with darker/blackish hair and a middle/slightly off center hair part. You kind of look like that here, and it looks amazing~
Ha! That’s actually not the first time I’ve heard that, though people who know me well never see it 😛 I once had a cabbie insist that I was Chinese despite my telling him multiple times that my ancestry is entirely Scottish/British/German haha. I was rather surprised by his certainty!
I have dyed my hair darker brown before, which likely amplifies the effect, but it’s been close to ten years since I last did that. Perhaps I’ll consider giving it another go… I sure did like it at the time! And now that I have WAY less hair it’d be easier to do without recruiting a friend to help… and I’ve still got the towel I sacrificed to the cause haha. Hmmmm 😛
Hi! Love your posts! I tried making these lipsticks as well, I bought the red reef clay and white kaolin. Red reef by itself has a brown color to it that I just can’t get rid of. I tried using equal parts of red reef and white kaolin, or little red reef and mostly white kaolin, or even adding red iron oxide (which also has a smaller brown tint) and I can’t get a beautiful red color. I also tested it with adding different amounts of rose kaolin clay, makes it more blush red but I’m trying for a red red. Do you have any ideas what other clays or oxides I can mix it with to make it red red? It’s so frustrating haha. I also didn’t buy these clays from your source since yours says that I have to pay a $20 members fee if I don’t spend a certain amount. Thank you so much!
If you want a beautiful red colour you won’t get it from iron oxide—you’ll need carmine or a D&C red (I find #7 is very close to carmine). The natural red clays & pigments are very brown, as you’ve noted, and you cannot get rid of that any more than you can get rid of the red 🙂
Hi Marie, would Mediterranean red clay work similarly? I live IN AUSTRALIA but New Directions has sold out of red reef clay, other suppliers do not stock it and the sellers on eBay are charging about $10 AUD for 100g! More than double the price. Sigh. I though in Australia it would be easy to get Australian Red Reef Clay but clearly I was mistaken! Thank you for this beautiful formula and I can’t wait to make it!
I would actually recommend using red iron oxide instead; the INCI for the red clay is actually “iron oxide”, and actual cosmetic grade iron oxide will be more pure 🙂 Happy making!
Knowing what you know now, do you still support using clay for lipstick color? I thought I recall you saying that clay won’t give you a true color.
It’s not a choice I’d make anymore, no. Not only are the colours not super reliable and generally less potent than oxides and dyes, but clays aren’t held to the same purity standards as cosmetic pigments are. Naturally occurring iron oxides (which is what makes red reef clay red—the INCI is ‘iron oxide’! Scroll down in that document for a Prop 65 statement about trace heavy metals.) contain traces of heavy metals, which is partially why the ones approved for use in makeup are synthesized—it allows for better control of heavy metal levels/purity.
Thanks for reminding me this formulation exists—I’ve gone in and greyed out + noted the rationale for doing so on this and all other clay-powered lip colour DIYs on the website 🙂