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Matte Liquid Lipstick Recipe

On this page we provide a recipe for making your own Matte Liquid Lipstick. 

To jump right to purchasing the ingredients and supplies click here.  

Here's the quickstart:

  1. Equipment:
    •  A heat-resistant container which an hold about 1 cup ( gram) of ingredients. We recommend that you use a double boiler or hot plate because you will have more control over temperatures.  However, if needed, you can use a microwave.
    • Two TKB Melter Bowls
    • One TKB mini spatula
    • One TKB small wire whisk
    • One TKB mini sieve
    • TKB 10ml syringes to fill your containers (we recommend an assortment so you can make different colors)
    • Paper towels
    • TKB Mini Spoon 5 or standard kitchen measuring spoons 
    • Alcohol to sanitize your tools and keep your workspace clean
    • Latex gloves to keep your product clean and sanitary
    • About 45 min of time
    1. Ingredients
      • TKB Liquid Matte Medium
      • Beeswax or Sunflower wax
      • TKB Opaque Powder
      • Powdered cosmetic colors of your choice
    1. Containers
      • Liquid Lipstick containers with a wand or brush applicator are recommended to keep the product fresh and not permit it to dry out between uses.

     

    TKB's Matte Liquid Lipstick Recipe
    Will make 8-10 Liquid Lipsticks

    Product Name INCI (Ingredient Name) Quantity
    Phase A TKB Liquid Matte Medium

     Isododecane, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate (and) Polypropylsilsesquioxane, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Hexelene Glycol

    		  80 grams
    Wax (either Beeswax or Sunflower Wax)

     Cera Alba (Beeswax) or Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax

     5-6 grams
    Phase B TKB Opaque Powder

     Nylon 12, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Titanium Dioxide (and) Dimenthicone, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer (and) Silica

     14 grams
    Phase C Color of your Choice * See Notes further in this tutorial for suggestions See Product for INCI Approximately 15 grams (~7-8 teaspoon)

    Instructions:  We recommend that you use a double boiler or hot plate because you will have more control over temperatures.  However, if needed, you can use a microwave. 

    1. Spray and wipe all equipment and tools with alcohol before beginning.  Put on your latex gloves.

    2. Measure out the wax into your heat-resistant container and heat until fully melted.

    3. Take the container out of heat and add just a little bit of TKB Liquid Matte Medium. At this point, you will see that the wax solidifies immediately. Don't worry, you just need to but it back on heat and warm the mixture up just a little bit so that the wax melts again.

      PLEASE NOTE: the reason that we don't tell you to heat up all TKB Liquid Matte Medium along with the wax is because it contains volatile ingredients which are what make the liquid lipstick lightweight and dry out fast.

    4. Take the mixture off heat and add the rest of TKB Liquid Matte Medium in and stir well until the mixture is warm to touch.

    5. Add TKB Opaque Powder and sprinkle it on the cooled liquid.  Stir well with the TKB Spatula to incorporate ensuring that all the clumps are gone. Sieving the mixture would help getting rid of the clumps.

    6. At this point, you may stir in the color of your choice.  Please read below for further details on what we suggest and recommended amount.

    7. Using 10mL syringe, fill your container.

    8. Wipe all surfaces with paper towels to clean, then spray and wipe with alcohol to complete the project.

     

    Here are the Tips, Tricks, Warnings and Details

    Now check out how beauty guru Koren Zander mixed up a special Lippie for his sister with TKB's lipstick mold.

     

    Directions:

    1. Use a microwave to melt Uncolored Base in a melter cup in 20 second bursts until it turns liquid.
      (Warning: TKB's melters cup are microwaveable for short periods of time, but they will melt if you overheat them.)
    2. Add Lip Liquids to create a lipstick shade. Add as much or little as you wish.
    3. Add Colored Micas to change or intensify the shade.
      (Tip: Don't add more than about 1 part mica to 3 parts lipstick base--it'll get too frosty looking.)
    4. Prep your lipstick mold with a cotton swab and some mold release (dimethicone or a lightweight oil such as fractionated coconut oil).
    5. Reheat the colored base and add 1 or 2 drops of Love 10 fragrance or a flavoring oil to your melted lipstick base. Stir well.
    6. Now pour your pretty lipstick shade into the 4-cavity Lipstick Mold!
    7. Put the 4-cavity Lipstick Mold in the freezer.
      (Tip: While Koren recommends only 5 minutes, we suggest 20 minutes prior to unmolding.)

     

    Details about the ingredients:

    TKB Liquid Matte Medium is a proprietary blend of cosmetic chemicals:

    • Isododecane is the main ingredient in this blend.  Isododecane is silicone-free emollient/solvent with moderately volatility which is commonly used in matte long-wear color cosmetics. It is very lightweight and dry out quickly leaving behind a non-greasy soft skin feelings. 
    • We also added a form of Dimethicone which reduces tackiness, increases glide, quick to absorb and is non greasy. This ingredient and isododecane are the 2 ingredients that make the liquid lipstick dry out quickly and not to be heated up.

    • Finally, we added TKB's Flake Resin, solid silicone resin. It is soluble in isododecane as well as silicone oils, other hydrocarbons and anhydrous alcohols. It is usually dissolved with volatile carriers like isododecane, so that when the carriers evaporate the resin will leave behind a flexible and comfort of wear film that remain undamaged upon stretching and washing.

     

    TKB Opaque Powder is a proprietary blend of texturizing powders.  

    • The Silica Dimethyl Silylate is a special treated nano-sized silica (it looks like snow flake and super lightweight!). Silica Dimethyl Silylate can acts a thickener for oils and help suspending particles in oils while keeping the mixture clear.
    • The Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer (and) Silica is is a silica treated silicone powder making it easy to disperse in mixture. It allows pigments and powders to be easily incorporated into the mixture. It also have a wrinkle masking and oil absorbing properties.
    • The Titanium Dioxide (and) Dimethicone is a specially treated Titanium Dioxide. It is treated with dimethicone for the ease of mixing. This would help minimize the problem of having small white clumps in your lipstick batch, However, sieving the mixture a few times would ensure the color is well blended. 

    Choice of Waxes  

    • Beeswax is the recommended wax for this project because it has a melt point of 62 to 66 °C and it solidifies at 60.5 to 63 °C.  Additionally, beeswax is a flexible, matte-appearing wax which is suited for lip products.  It is included in the recipe to help with transfer resistance and provide body, making the formula have weight and feel like a lipstick (as opposed to a gloss or a lotion).
    • Sunflower wax is a good vegan alternate for beeswax that has a melt point of 74 - 77°C.

     

     

    Quick Tips on how to use DYE, PIGMENT, MICA in your Matte Liquid Lipstick

    Here is what you should know before choosing colors for your liquid lipstick.

    In total, the color portion of a lip products recipe will usually be about 15%.

    Learn more about their distinct characteristics:

    Dye

    What: Color additives that dissolve into and ultimately stain whatever you are working with.

    Dye is transparent color by nature!

    Pigment

    What: Color additives that don't dissolve. Think of sand in the ocean. They are much more opaque compared to Dye.

    Due to the high opaque nature of pigment, you could either use it as the stand-alone color additive or in mixture with Dye or Mica. When pair with dyes and mica, it is best to mix them in color ratio of 1:3 (1 pigment to 3 dyes or mica).

    Mica

    What: Natural mineral that adds shimmer and shine.

    Like Dye, they are also very transparent by nature.