It's all about the lips! (All Natural Cosmetics, Vegan/Vegetarian Information)

FAQ about lip products, lipstick history, inflamed lips, and crafting lip cosmetics

What ingredients can I use in a lip scrub?

I suggest making a brown sugar scrub. You can also try making a scrub with things like jojoba spheres and ground almonds.

What are some toxic ingredients that have been used throughout history in lipsticks?

Lead has recently been found in some brands of lipstick (despite claims that lead in lipsticks is a hoax). Women who wear lipstick on a regular basis ingest a lot of lipstick over time, I believe somewhere along the lines of 5 lbs of lipstick throughout their lives. It's learning about things like these that made me go all natural in the first place!

Eosin: a red dye that people have been poisoned by using lipstick

Phthalates: reproductive toxins

From a natural lipstick stand point: the ultramarines which are not FDA approved colors for lips. So MIY mineral makeup crafters please do not use the ultramarines in lip products!


My lips are dry and inflamed, what should I use? I use currently use Yves Rocher Calmille moisturizer and things like Blistex, Carmax, Chapstick, and Burts Bees.

I suggest lip products with chamomile, lavender, or helichrysum (all of these essential oils have anti-inflammatory properties) or other soothing herbals. Or an all natural cream made with these, since lip balms do not contain moisture/water.

Though Yves Rocher pure calmille moisturizer does have chamomile in it, it also has a lot of synthetics in it (in 2001 when I was using this before I switched to all natural, this was one of the products that I became sensitive to that gave me a rash).

I would also recommend not using Blistex, Carmax, Chapstick, etc which all contain vaseline/mineral oil which has no nutrients, does nothing to heal the skin, and over time actually dries out the skin.

Burt's Bees is a good choice but contains peppermint oil, which is soothing in small amounts but in large amounts can be irritating and somewhat drying to some people.


Are Monave's (a MMU company) lippies vegan or vegetarian? How is the pigmentation, are they drying? How do the minis compare to the full sizes?

If you tried their lipstick maybe a year or so ago (not sure of the date) their lipsticks had lanolin and beeswax (but no carmine). Currently their lipsticks are now vegan (no lanolin or beeswax or carmine). So if you read the ingredients you can tell if it is the old or new formula (if you get them directly from Monave, they are vegan, but if you buy from a Monave reseller, you should read the label to make sure you are being sold the new formula).

For pigmentation and dryness: for the old formula, I think it depended on the color, because I had some samples that were moist and creamy and very pigmented, but one color was a bit dry. The new vegan formula I think is a little less pigmented than the old one but they are very creamy and still deposit a good amount of color. I've only gotten minis of the new vegan lippies (I prefer minis over full size) so I don't know how they compare to the full size, but I assume they would be similar. Just when you order the minis be sure to ask for the vegan formula in the comments section since they may still have some of the minis in the old formula.

They also sell lip glaze (I love these, they are vegan too). They also sell lip gloss (in a wand and potted form. The potted form is pretty pigmented and very nice) and I think also lip tints, but while these glosses and tints are vegetarian, they are not vegan (contain beeswax but no carmine). So there are many different formulas that you can try. (Monave while not a completely vegan company has many vegan friendly formulas. All the formulas are vegetarian though).

What are some other vegan lippie brands?

Aubrey Organics makes a nice vegan lip balm and tints called natural lips that comes in three colors plus clear (highly recommend getting the kit since they are way cheaper than getting the colors individually. For the cost of 2 of them individually, you can get all four colors in the kit for about the same price). While not MMU, they are 100% natural, and the color is herb based. (Note: while most of AO products are vegan two or so of them are not vegan or vegetarian).

Sevi Cosmetics also makes a vegan lip gloss, and soon will have vegan lipstick available too (completely vegan company).

How do you make vegan liquid lip gloss?

I'm actually working on vegan glosses for my future line. They are similar to making a lip balm, but you have to use more carrier oil than in a balm so that the texture is soft/loose.

About pigmentation: when I made gloss I made one with a small amount of pigment and then one with double the pigment; the one with less pigment was very sheer and the one with a lot was almost too pigmented (for gloss but not for lipstick). To add opaqueness, you can try a mica/iron oxide blend (like how they do in some lipsticks) but you only need a tiny amount of iron oxide.

Tip: If you make a base, and it is thin enough, there is no need to remelt it to add your color if you are only using micas (make sure the base is room temperature though). But if you are using a mica and iron oxide blend, you'll need to heat it before you add the blend.

To scent: citrus (like sweet orange), herb/flower (like lavender), or spice (like cardamon) essential oils are nice to use.