Just recently I picked up a book at the library called How To Not Look Old. How brilliant is that marketing? I challenge anyone over 30 to resist a title like that. (Or the follow-up book How To Never Look Fat Again by the same author. C’mon!)
Apparently, I’m doing okay on several of the “young and hip” rules. Wear my own nails? Check. Lighten your hair? Of course. But one surprised me: “nothing ages you like dark lipstick.” What?! Apparently dark lip colors emphasize dark circles and also make lips look thinner. Yikes. Not good. Darker lipsticks can also be trickier to apply precisely, which could be adding to how it makes us look older. Okay, I’ve surrendered my darker lipstick. Now what?
What we should be wearing? Shimmery pink lip gloss. A gloss complements natural lips much better and gives them a natural-looking glow. I know, I can hear you through the screen—we don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of ready-made lip glosses to use.
Here’s the good news – you can clean out your lipstick collection and easily turn your favorite red into a shiny berry-colored gloss. And while you’re at it, add a bit of cinnamon flavor to naturally plump your lips. Did you know that’s the magic ingredient in those lip plumping lip glosses? Me neither. But my babysitter did. She was like, isn’t that what they put in those lip plumpers anyway? Yes… of course… darn those young hipsters!
Red Hot Cinnamon DIY Lip Gloss
Supplies needed
Supplies needed- Lipstick
- Un-petroleum jelly
- Almond oil
- Cinnamon extract or flavor
- Lip gloss container
Put a glob of petroleum jelly in a microwave safe bowl and add a small bit of lipstick. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir to combine. If needed, microwave a few more seconds until everything is melted. Make sure to stir it well so that the lipstick pigment is evenly dissolved in the jelly—we’re looking to change from a lipstick to a sheer wash of color, remember?
Tip: For a little bit of shimmer, you could add a bit of powdered highlighter—this is a great way to make use of any shattered highlighter pans that you just haven’t got around to re-pressing. However, this is totally optional and only if you want that extra shimmy-shimmer on your pout.
Add a few drops of almond oil and 3-5 drops of cinnamon. Almond makes everything a little softer and more nourishing, plus adds a nice natural shine. A little bit of cinnamon goes a long way so use a dropper to avoid overdoing it with the cinnamon. We want our lips to look and feel good! Check the flavor – add more if you want it hotter! Pour mixture into a lip gloss container and let cool before using. It won’t melt down in a pocket, so feel free to make a few to store in various pockets and bags to ensure that you’ve got younger-looking lips, everywhere you go!
Not only does this stuff smell awesome but the cinnamon makes the lips tingle (plumping in action!). I look younger already, right? Don’t answer that….
Love this idea, Looks so cute.
I think this is great! At my age (14) I should start wearing lipstick but most shades are too dark for my pale skim. This gloss will definitely help me along the lip product evolution
Can I use Olive oil instead of almond oil??
Stephanie your post raised some interesting points from the commenters. Thanks for posting this. Looks like people prefer not to use cinnamon extract but rather use cinnamon essential oil and have a dislike of petroleum Jelly. Valuable information for us.
If you want to try our authentic Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil and maybe experiment with coconut oil or shea butter or both we would love to send you a complimentary bottle of high quality Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil. Just email us.
I would love to try a free sample of Ceylon cinnamon bark oil
I would love to try a free sample of ceylon cinnamon bark oil
I would love to try a free sample of Ceylon cinnamon bark oil
Wonder if you can use that BAG BALM stuff??
I’m sorry to say that there has been a study proveing that vaseline can break the elastin links of the skin :/
insead of cinnamon can i add vanilla extract??
I bet you could! It might not have that strong of a flavor because if you add too much it will get watery, but give it a try!
Oh don’t use extract on the skin!! It contains alcohol and can burn and irritate your skin. Use essential oils instead…doesn’t irritate and much healthier for your skin anyway. Plus they smell AMAZING!!!
This looks great, love the bright color and shimmer :) You always look young Steph, maybe it’s your lip plumper gloss :)
Petrolium on lips?! Come on girls!!! Please don’t put that product into your lip gloss. Instead use lanolin. You can buy one in pharmacy (for nipple care). It’s perfectly eatable and natural. Plus it has lot’s of vitamins in it. Be well.
That is such a great tip, thank you!
I have a question. Where do you find almond oil?
I got mine at Whole Foods – they usually have a body care section.
Ok, since when are we worrying about looking ‘old’ if we’re just over 30!?!? Uugggh! 30 is the new 20, 40 the new 30, and 50 the new 40! So basically the world “old” does not even come into the vocabulary until we hit around 60?? And even then it’s not old, just ‘grown-up’. :) Yummy sounding gloss thou!
True, true!! But it’s funny how suddenly I started worrying about this kind of thing when I hit 35 – or maybe it was the 3 kids. Their crazy energy makes me feel old on daily basis – I can’t keep up, ha!
Hey! This is really cool! Well, can’t say about its age reducing effects but its a great way to save those dying lipsticks! And of course, its a great way to create a personalised flavor for yourself or friends!
Thank you so much! Loved this post!
Hugs!
Nidhi
Definitely younger already! My sister keeps telling me I need to start wearing lipstick (at 28 I probably should!). Maybe this could be my stepping stone?
Yeah, lip gloss is way easier to wear than lipstick – I can never keep lipstick on for more than 5 minutes! And I didn’t know you were such a spring chicken :)
You are a super woman!
This is so creative!
Love this idea! I have a pile of old lipsticks just begging to be turned into cute lip gloss :-)
Very cool way to reuse colors that don’t work or that you just don’t like
Brett