How To Make Homemade Lip Gloss

It's easy to get carried away buying lip gloss, but did you know you can make your own with the ingredients you probably already have on hand? Follow these directions to make custom homemade lip gloss.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 5 minutes

 

What You Need

• Petroleum Jelly
• Blush
• Small mixing bowl
• A spatula is desired, but you can use a spoon if you don't have one
• mica shimmer powder (if desired)
• essential oils (if desired)

Here's How:

1. Gather your ingredients and head to a well lit area, preferably with direct sunlight.
2. Put approximately a teaspoon of petroleum jelly into a small bowl.
3. Mix some blush into the petroleum jelly. You can use any kind of blush, including cream, mineral or powder. You can apply as little or as much color as you'd like depending on the look you're going for.
4. If you'd like to add shimmer, try adding in a hint of mineral eyeshadow with mica shimmer powder. (A little goes a long way!)
5. If you'd like to flavor your lip balm, add in a drop of essential oil such as citrus or peppermint.
6. Mix these ingredients together until well blended and then store in a small tub. An old lip balm container is a great place to store it.

Tips:

1. Instead of blush, consider using a bit of lipstick. This is a great way to use up the very last bit of lipstick in the tube.
2. Instead of mixing an entire tub worth, try just making enough for one use and using the blush you're wearing that day.
3. Try saving the your used mineral eye shadow tubs when their empty. These make excellent lip balm containers.
4. Get creative! Mix and match colors each time until you find your favorite.

 

 

Shimmer Makeup and Skin Tone

Adding Shimmer to Your Evening Look

A shimmery eyeshadow is all you need for this understated yet beautiful evening look.

Adding shimmer to makeup is like adding jewelry to a pretty cocktail dress. It can make your makeup look more festive for parties, special occasions and elegant evening events.
Less is more with shimmer and sparkles, so first decide which areas you want to accentuate—eyes, cheeks or lips. You don’t want to use it all over the face. Don't add shimmer to any place you wouldn't want to draw attention to. The idea is to place the spotlight on a specific area that you intend to be the focal point.
What Type of Shimmer Should You Use?

• Use a shimmer lotion if you want just a touch of shimmer.

• A shimmer cream will give you more of a medium coverage.

• Use shimmer powder if you want more coverage and more noticeable sparkle.

If you have oily skin, make sure that you use a shimmer product with a crease-free formula so that it will not cake or crease.



Glitter Vs Shimmer

Unless you're going to a Halloween party or will be onstage, it's best to use a light touch with glitter.

Mixing a little glitter or shimmer to lotion can look great in moderation, but you don’t want too much shimmer or glitter on the face. Glitter gels and powders can sometimes be a bit much. It’s better for younger skin and should be used sparingly. You usually see more glitter at Halloween parties—so you get the idea.
If you do use glitter, use it in one place, like the corner of the eyes or a little on the cheeks. If it is used for the eyes, make sure that it's not too close to the eyes and that it is made for use on the eye area and won't cause an allergic reaction. Don't use glitter near the eyes if you will be wearing contact lenses.
Another solution is to wear a glittery nail polish or touch up your favorite shade by applying glitter on top.

 

 

Does Skin Tone Matter?

 

 

These days you can find shimmer products that have much better formulations than in the past. Instead of color being the key, it’s really the intensity of pigment. Fair and light skin tones usually look better in softer, lighter shimmers. Intense, vibrant colors are better for deep skin tones because they need more pigment to actually show up on the skin, like golds, bronze and purples.

Because of variations in our skin tones, the choice of shimmer shades for the face is individual and depends on the makeup brand that is used. It comes down to experimentation.
In general some colors have been known to look better on certain skin tones:
Fair/Light - soft pink, soft lilac, sky blue, icy blue and silvers.
Light – Tan - light golden/light yellowish greens for the eyes.
Olive/Medium – rose, brownish-pink, pale or pinkish-gold, light shimmery bronze, sapphire blue, plums.
Medium - Dark – deep lilac, purple (for the eyes) copper and bronze.




Tips For Adding Shimmer:

This golden yellow shadow looks great on light brown to olive skin tones. Finish with a lip-gloss and keep the face nude.

 

 

An easy way to add subtle shimmer is to mix a luminizing highlighting fluid with your foundation for an all over glow. Some luminizers are designed to be used under foundation to give skin radiance.
A shimmer lotion can also be used under foundation or mixed with foundation. Use in a gold shade if you have a warm undertones and icy or silver shade if you have a cool undertone (and light skin).
You can also dust a powder highlighter to add contour to the bridge of the nose, under the brow bone and over the cheekbones.
Mix shimmer powder with your favorite lipstick.
Add shimmer to collarbone, shoulders and décolletage.
Use a bronzer for a natural glow or to contour the cheeks for more depth. For light to medium tones try light golden shades like a peachy gold or golden pinks. Bronze and copper complement dark tones.




Shimmer Shades & Eye Color

Here is a golden bronze eye shadow look that is stunning on this Latina model.

Eye Color
Eye color is something to consider when using shimmer eye shadows. Brown eyes are the easiest to match because they are complimented by most shades, especially blues, plums, greens, grays, and vibrant colors. Green/hazel eyes look great in pinkish browns, plums, lilacs and other reddish tones. Blue eyes look best in orange tones like browns, camel, apricot, and golds.
Using a highlighting shade (the lightest shade) just under the brow bone and in the inner corners of the eyes opens up the eye area, making the eyes look brighter.
Brush a shimmery shadow along the upper and lower lid lines with a flat eyeliner brush and use darker tones for definition.



Skin Tone & Eye Shimmer

Medium to dark tones can use a deep lilac color on the lids, with a lighter shimmery shade by the brow.

So many factors can come into play when it comes to shimmery eye shadows, from skin tone, hair color and highlights to clothing and personal taste. In general lighter shimmers look better on lighter skin tones and darker shades on darker skin tones. Also take into consideration your skin's undertones. Silver looks better on lighter skin with cool undertones and deep gold looks great on dark skin with warm undertones. If you have a warm skin tone you'll look better in warmer shades (warm reddish pinks, warmer golds) and cool undertones look better in cooler shades (cooler pinks, blues, greens).
Light to medium - soft lavenders, pinks, greens, blues, champagnes, light golden peach.
Tan - shimmery pale shades, pale gold, lilac and light green.
Olive - can go a little deeper in color, deeper blues, lavender, coppery peach, copper.
Dark skin – can use more vivid, deeper color--gold, bronze, purple, greens, blues.


Finishing Touches: Shimmery Lips

Deep skin tones can use a golden brown lipstick and then apply a gloss with specks of glitter and shimmer.

Avoid using shimmer on both the eyes and the lips. If you are not playing up the eyes, you can concentrate on the lips instead. Use a shimmery gloss or add shimmer to a gloss or lipstick. 

How to Create Romantic, Kissable Lips For New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day and Other Romantic Occasions

Whether you’re about to have a romantic evening out, ending (or beginning) with that special New Year’s Eve kiss, or will be enjoying a Valentine’s Day dinner, a special date or occasion, your elegant, classic or sultry makeup look is incomplete without stunning, kissable lips.

Start With Soft & Smooth Lips
Exfoliate dry lips. Coat the lips with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly or lip balm and slough off dry skin with a soft toothbrush or damp washcloth, using gentle, circular motions.
Or
Mix a little olive oil and (white or brown) sugar into a paste and gently scrub lips with a circular motion using a soft toothbrush or damp washcloth.
Rinse off lips and apply lip balm or lip conditioner.

How to Apply Lip Color
Before applying color, coat the lips with lip balm or lip conditioner. Blot any excess with tissue.

To Prevent Bleeding
Dip a cotton swab in translucent powder and roll outside lip line before adding color. (Some people prefer to do this after applying color.)
Line and fill lips with a matte nude shade or a shade close to the lipstick color you will be wearing, keeping to the natural lip line.
 Another method is to outline with concealer which also keeps the lips from smudging or lipstick from setting into lines around the mouth and looks less harsh than a lip pencil.

To Prevent Fading
Fill in entire lip area with lip pencil, using the side of the pencil (not the tip) using gentle strokes. Or pat on a lip stain with the pad of the ring finger. Clean around edges with concealer.
Use a lip pencil to fill in color on the lips, just inside the edge of line so you can keep the defined lip line intact. Start at the center of the upper lip and draw a line down first one side and then other side of the Cupid’s bow) to each outer corner and following along the natural lip line to finish the lower lip.
Blot with tissue. Put on a little loose powder over the first coat and then reapply lip color. Softy brush loose powder to outside edge of lips around lips.

Lip Gloss Tips
If you plan to use gloss, apply two or three coats of a deep shade and leave on for a few minutes. Blot with tissue and then apply lip gloss. This will help gloss last longer. You can also use a lip stain first and then apply gloss, but lip stains tend to make lips dry.
If wearing regular lipstick, add a touch of gloss over bottom lip.
Use a metallic lip-gloss in the center of lips.
Older women look better in subtler, opaque gloss with a dewy finish instead of the super-shiny gloss and glazes.

Bold Lips
There’s something about red lipstick that just dresses up the face. A matte red always gives the look of elegance and sophistication, but if you have dry lips you might want to use a creamy formula instead.
Avoid using high-shine gloss or lipsticks when opting for bold lip colors.
Keep eyes minimal with soft eye shadow shades, black eyeliner and a coat of mascara.
For Asian or small eyes, define eyes with soft black or brown liner.
Use a little bit of shimmer in the inner corner of the eyes, and if you want, use a shimmery liner very close to lower and upper lashes.
Use a very light or nude shade of blush.

Uneven Lip Color
If you tend to have discolored lips, dab foundation on the lips, blot and then apply lipstick.
Dry Lips
If you tend to have dry lips, you will want to avoid matte lipsticks, which tend to be dry and opt for a creamy formula or gloss. They don’t last as long, but won’t dry out lips.
If you try a long wearing lipstick make sure that it has a moisturizing formula since these lipsticks also tend to dry out the lips.
If lips are very dry and chapped, avoid shiny or very dark lipsticks, as this will emphasize the dryness. Use a gloss or creamy lipstick and chose lighter colors (soft roses, golden peach—according to skin tone).

How to Get Rid of Scaly Lips

If you suffer from scaly lips, a simple do-it-yourself trick to exfoliate them takes only a finger scoop of Vaseline and a toothbrush.
Step 1: Slather lips with petroleum jelly
Step 2: Use a toothbrush to massage in the jelly in a circular motion.
Step 3: Wipe off the excess petroleum jelly.
The toothbrush exfoliates lips while the petroleum jelly leaves lips extra soft. Repeat a couple times a day until your lips are no longer scaly.