lip gloss

A few months ago I saw a Pinterest on lip gloss.  I looked it up and saw that several people have used the same recipe.  Problem is, the recipe as written, results in gritty lip gloss.  More appropriate for a lip scrub.  And while lip scrub of that sort is wonderful to help reduce dry flakes, it is not the type of gloss that you'd love to wear and would feel... well... KISS-able. 

The basic recipe is to take drink mix like crystal lite or Koolaid, and stir it into petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline).  One of the recipes announced that you just have to stir it longer, but I tried it, and it does not work. 

One of my biggest complaints about recipes in some networks (and on some internet sources, and in some books) have not been tested.  I had wondered about this for years, and then I saw "Julie, Julia", where they mentioned that a specific cookbook of Julia Child's era had not been tested.  The recipes were made up by what sounded good, but without regard to the chemistry of the process.  For example, there may have been no explanation that the reason pasta water needs salt is that this is the only opportunity to season the pasta from the inside, where it needs it.  And when you boil the pasta in salt and it gives off its gluten, it makes a liquid that is perfect for the task of giving sauces the proper texture.  Save some of the pasta water and you've got the perfect additive to cheese to form the perfect alfredo, for example. 

Watching that movie made me realize that the problem with many of the ideas out there that people have, for food as well as home improvement projects, as well as smaller craft projects such as I am describing here, is that they were created without regard to whether or not they really work. 

Which is why I found myself wondering whether I could figure out how to mix a watery drink mix with the crystals dissolved, into a hard oil like Vaseline.  I decided to try it out.  I took some drink mix, put just enough water in to dissolve the crystals.  But it was clearly not going to mix up properly.  It didn't work.  So I left it on the counter, overnight, rather than washing out the little dish.  I was thinking on it.

Miraculously, the next day, the water had mostly evaporated, leaving a sticky, nasty mess in the little dish.  A mess that would have been a pain to wash... like syrup, not like a drink.  BUT... WAIT... it's no longer watery.  Maybe...

I tried mixing in a little Vaseline.  Wow.  Magic.  LIP GLOSS.  No crystals, no strange problems with water refusing to mix with oil...

So, here's the formula.  Get a small dish, put drink crystals in it that are colored in the palette you choose (pink lemonade may yield pink... pomegranate may yield darker rose, cherry will be red, etc.)  Put a few drops of water in until it's all dissolved, and then let it wait.  Once the mixture is sticky and no longer watery, mix it with Vaseline.  Then fill a lip gloss pot (available at craft stores, or in kits for air travel liquid containers), and enjoy.  The flavor is more enjoyable than most lip glosses, so be careful, you will be tempted to re-apply more frequently through the day. 

My next experiment will be to use coconut oil instead of Vaseline.  The difference is that coconut oil is an opaque white color when room temperature, more the texture of a lipstick, and may hold the color better.  It will be less like gloss and more like lipstick.  IF this works. 

Stay tuned, I'll let you know the results of that experiment when I do it.  But first, I need to finish using my wonderful new lip gloss! 

Oh, and P.S.  This is a great project to do with your teen girls.  It tastes great, and supplies just a tiny bit of color to the lips, just like the glosses that are made for tweens, but much, MUCH less expensive and much more fun!