I was reading one day on reddit (go figure) about things that are cheap to make and have a high markup. One person talked about Makeup. That sent me on another research hunt to find out what it takes to make makeup. One of the easiest things to make is Lipstick.
I took a look at the site www.tkbtrading.com which has a kit with a mold. The only problem I had when I went to their site was that they were out of the lipstick molds. (This seems to be a frequent occurrence because as I write this, they are out of stock.) But I had a problem; I WANTED IT NOW! So I cheated a little. I ordered everything individually that came in the kit minus the lipstick mold (and probably some instructions). I found a few other sites that sold lipstick molds, but the only other place that had an inexpensive lipstick mold that was the exact shape I wanted was Lipstix Remix (and they are currently not taking orders… that’s interesting…) Lipstix Remix is really meant to take the leftover lipstick in the bottom tubes to remelt them and create a new usable lipstick. That’s not really what I was after, I just wanted the molds. I bought two kits so I could have two molds.
So now armed with my materials and tools, I got to work! Here are the basic steps:
- Clean all the materials you are going to use with rubbing alcohol.
- I use olive oil on a cotton swab to rub the inside of the mold so it will release the lipstick bullet easily.
- Melt about 4 grams of the uncolored base in the microwave in 20-30 seconds at a time. WATCH CAREFULLY to not over melt. (I think I use more base than is suggested because I don’t want super strong colors)
- Add colorants to the uncolored base until you get the color you like.
- Remelt in the microwave if it starts to get too hard to stir anymore.
- Once you’ve got the color you like, pour into the mold.
- Place the mold in the freezer. I’m pretty impatient and pull it out of the freezer about 10 min after I put it in, I think recommended is 20 min.
- Carefully press the empty tube onto the bottom of the bullet.
That’s it! Pretty easy and only about 30 minutes worth of work for some professional looking results. The TKB Kit is about $57 and makes 16 lipsticks and comes out to about $3.56 per lipstick. Not too bad and it gets cheaper as you go since the mold is probably half the cost.
Here’s a picture of my first color!
For a little more information on lipstick in general, check out TKB Trading’s FAQ on Making Lip Products