Anne-Charlotte PasseraDon’t you hate it when there is only a little piece left of your favorite lipstick in the container and you can’t reuse it?
What do you generally do with it? Throw it away?
Well, I had this idea one evening, during the Covid quarantine (some slight beer drinking was involved), that there had to be a way to reuse the lipstick container. I have a bunch of old ones laying around giving me the evil eye.
This thought came to me when I was looking into a lip balm recipe which I mention in my DIY Beeswax Wrap Recipe.
I did have all the ingredients already at home to make the lip balm but no container. Also, I realized that by using this lip balm recipe, I could turn it into lipstick. LIGHTBULB MOMENT!
How to repurpose your lipstick as a lip balm
Instead of using pigments for your lip balm turned lipstick, why not use your leftover lipstick for the color. Easy enough right?
Just scoop what’s left of your lipstick and pour it into the mix. Granted the original lipstick color will be diluted but you get a new lipstick out of it.
The base recipe will create a smooth balm that is very moisturizing and protective. Perfect for our cold Canadian winters.
If you don’t want to use what’s left from your lipstick, you can use natural pigments such as:
- Beet root powder (red)
- Cocoa powder (1/4 teaspoon) + a pinch of either turmeric or cinnamon for a brown/tan hue.
Just add the mixture once it has melted.
Ingredients to make your lip balm/ lipstick
- 1 teaspoon of beeswax
- 1 teaspoon of Cocoa butter
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
Where to buy the ingredients
I bought my ingredients at Coop Coco in Montreal but you can also find them at One Soak in Longueuil.
Coconut oil can generally be found in most supermarkets or at least in organic ones such as Rachelle Berry (Canada) or Whole Foods (U.S.).
For the beeswax and cocoa butter, you’ll find them in stores that specialize in DIY homemade products (in bulk) or if all else fails, on Amazon.
A drop of spearmint essential oil can be added to the mix.
The steps
Put all of the ingredients together in a double boiler.
Remove from heat but keep in the double boiler mode.
Add either your left over lipstick or pigment and stir.
Use a dropper and drop your mixture in your lipstick tube. Stop before the top as the mixture will expand while it cools.
Wait an hour and store in a cool place.
Don’t forget to label and date your new lipstick / lip balm container. Dispose of it after 3 months.
If you can’t reuse your lipstick container because you don’t have a dropper, use the smallest container that you can find. That’s what I did.
Other ways to reuse your lipstick container
Due to its size, a lipstick container is easy to carry in your purse and to bring along when you travel.
You can use one to store: pills, toothpicks, matches, safety pins.
Before you do that though, don’t forget to discard any leftover lipstick and thoroughly clean it with the use of a q-tip and alcohol.
If your lipstick came in a tin, you can repurpose it to store pony tail holders, small change, paper clips, earrings, your wedding ring, etc…
Did you know?
Some cosmetics retailers actually have a recycling program.
If you bring back 5 empty and clean black Lush pots to the store, you get a FREE mask in return. For more information about their recycling program, visit Lush.
MAC does the same thing, well sort of. If you return 6 of MAC primary packaging containers at their store, you’ll receive a FREE lipstick of your choice. For more information about their program, visit MAC.
At L’Occitane, love their hand cream, they recycle empty products from all brands. You can receive a 10% discount on your next purchase. To find out about this recycling program, visit L’OCCITANE.
Other wise, check if the plastic container has a number 1 or 2 printed inside the recycling symbol. If so, it means that it’s safe to put in your recycling bin.
Think twice before discarding your next beauty product, there might be a second life for it after all.
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