Wanna enjoy chocolate-y bliss without the calories and saturated fat? (Duh!) Look no further than this easy-peasy, lipsmackingly delish DIY chocolate lip gloss recipe!

Chocolate Lip Gloss

Anywho, Goth Cupcake aka Mary/co-nominee for Best Vegan Lip Balm Makin’ Duo or Group of 2011, has a super cute Etsy shop where she sells handmade vegan and cruelty-free mineral eye shadows, tinted lip balms, beautiful-smelling bath salts and recycled [...]]]> Um, can I just start by saying Goth Cupcake is like, the greatest name ever!? ‘Tis!

Anywho, Goth Cupcake aka Mary/co-nominee for Best Vegan Lip Balm Makin’ Duo or Group of 2011, has a super cute Etsy shop where she sells handmade vegan and cruelty-free mineral eye shadows, tinted lip balms, beautiful-smelling bath salts and recycled sticker hair flower clips (← ridiculously cute!!). In Mary’s words, Goth Cupcake is a “one stop shop for all things spooky, weird, cute, and vegan.”

Mary was kind enough to send me a couple of lip balms and Zombify eye shadows to try, and I’m lovin’ ‘em all! Sers, I can’t get enough of her sparkly sinister shades! I’m especially fond of Sandman, Black Tears and Death Kiss (pictured below, in that order). All of her shadows are richly pigmented, easy to apply, and hella sexy!

Other Zombify shades include: Haunted Moor, Forbidden, and Bat Song ($8 each).

Considering some mineral eye shadows on the market can cost upwards of $15-20 a pop, $8 for a 5 gram sifter jar of Zombify shadow is a steal (plus you’ll get mad internet karmic points for supporting a talented and crafty Etsy-er).

What are some of your favorite vegan Etsy shops?

I make many a product over at StrawberryHedgehog.com. From organic oils soaps to whipped body creme, I have my hands full with my current product [...]]]> The following guest post is by Tracy Perkins of StrawberryHedgehog.com. She makes specialty handmade vegan bath & body products, and she has a special vegan lip balm recipe to share with you all!

I make many a product over at StrawberryHedgehog.com. From organic oils soaps to whipped body creme, I have my hands full with my current product line. Over the years I’ve had to streamline and eliminate some products so I can handle things best and give 110% to what I am doing. On that list of products once loved and eventually nixed was my fabulous vegan lip balm. I tend to use my unrefined shea butter now, or straight mango butter, but a good tube of lip balm can’t be beat, especially if it is tinted!

In comes my buddy, Mary, vegan mineral makeup extraordinaire and fellow crafty-guru behind GothCupcake.Etsy.com! She mixed up a couple of beautiful lip-safe mineral pigment blends, I had all the goods for the balms and we made a fun filled night of it!

Ratio: (given so you can play with the recipe and make smaller batches – try tbsp instead of cups for a smaller qty)

• 3 parts butters
• 2 parts wax
• 4 parts oil

Tinted Vegan Lip Balm
makes 2 1/4 cups, i.e 18oz, i.e. lots of lip balm!

• 1/4 cup unrefined shea butter
• 1/2 cup fair trade cocoa butter
• 1/4 cup candelilla wax
• 1/4 cup carnuba wax
• 1 cup jojoba oil
• 1/2 tsp vitamin e oil (soy)
• * 90-180 drops essential oil or organic flavor oil
• * 3/4 tsp mineral pigment

Your measurements should be of the melted material so use a heat resistant measuring cup to measure and heat. Many recipes call for a double boiler but because I like to use the same container for heating and measuring I use the microwave in 30 second bursts and remove when there are no solid pieces remaining. I like to melt my waxes first, then my butters and then add my oil. When you add your oil it may cause it to solidify a bit so just pop it back in the micro for a few more rounds of 30 seconds. Test the consistency on your hand (this is crazy hot! Don’t burn yourself, I stir with a chopstick then let it cool a bit on the end and put a dab on the back of my hand to see if the consistency is what I am going for).

If it is too thick/waxy, add more oil, too thin, add more butter. Play around with the oils and butters you use – cocoa is harder than shea, jojoba is a liquid wax so provides a more shelf-stable product and is great for your lips. Castor oil would have a wonderful consistency that might lead to longer wear while apricot kernel or sweet almond would be light and readily absorbed. Once you have the consistency you like start adding your organic flavor oils and essential oils.

We split our batch into two at this point so we could have two colors/flavors. Be sure you are using high quality oils! Never ever ever use a “essence” “perfume” “fragrance” or anything of the like. Organic extracts are great for scents that can’t be obtained as essential oils. If you are using extracts be sure they are in an oil base rather than alcohol as alcohol will not mix with your lip balm, it will just bead up and be yucky. Be careful with citrus, mints, anise, cinnamon, and clove as these are wonderful but powerful oils. Test as you go to see if it is too warming or cooling and play around. Also, if you wouldn’t eat it from your garden or spice cabinet do not use the essential oil in something that goes on your lips – i.e. no mugwort lip balm!

Our oil combos:
Tropical Bliss:

• 90 tangerine essential oil
• 30 coconut organic extract

Peppermint Kiss:

• 60 peppermint essential oil
• 60 spearmint essential oil
• 60 vanilla organic extract

You can add in some mineral pigment as long as you know it is safe for lips. Just because it is a mineral doesn’t mean you can use it without caution. Lead is a mineral, my dearies, you don’t want that on your lips! :c) Micas and iron oxides are your best bet. Mary mixed up two beautiful mica blends for our use!  A coppery, sun-kissed blend and a shimmery wine tint, both beautiful. Just stir them in gently until the color is distributed throughout. If things start to solidify put them back in the micro for 30 seconds but use a lid once the essential oils are in to avoid them volatilizing too much.

Now you can pour! Tubes and a little pouring tray can be found online and are very helpful to do many at once but you can just as easily use empty candy tins, small jars, etc. For the trays and tubes just pop them in securely and begin pouring. Don’t worry about getting it on the tray or even spilling over (as long as you are working on a very clean surface, of course!) as you can just scrape off the cooled excess, remelt, and pour again. Once cooled thoroughly scrape off the top, wiggle and twist to get the lip balm out (I find this is easier in the thin tubes), wipe off or scrape off the top for an even and clean surface and put on the lid! You’ve just made magical home made vegan lip balm. :c)  Any excess can be poured into a Tupperware and kept for your next batch.

I feel lucky to live in an age where [...]]]> If I were trapped on a deserted island and could only have 3 things, I’d have my hubby (and my cats… ooh, I’m already at 5), a gigantor box of vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and vegan lip balm. That’s pretty much me in a nutshell.

I feel lucky to live in an age where vegan lip balm is easily accessible and there are so many fabu brands and flavors to choose from. Today I wanna talk a bit about Amour Souille Beauty lip balms.

The first thing I read when I went to their website was “The Best Vegan Lip Balm Ever!” This obviously made me extremely curious and excited because I’ve tried some pretty amazing vegan lip balms in my life.

Amour Souille Beauty was kind enough to send me a couple samples of their Freaky Lippies Lip Balms. I got to try their original flavor and their orange lip balm (they also carry pink grapefruit, vanilla bean and spearmint—lip balms are $6 each).

I went flippy dippy for these lippies, especially the orange flavored one. First of all, they are cutely packaged—very emo/indie/über cool. The consistency (no random chunky bits), texture (not too oily or slimy; it’s soft and smooth) and scent (citrusy yum-yum) did indeed make this lip balm the bomb (bomb balm? Love it! Someone should market that!).

It’s also long lasting (which is a must for my thirsty puckers), and it’s made with pure organic ingredients: Organic Olive Oil, Candelilla Wax, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil, Vitamin E, Rosemary Oleoresin, Neem Oil, stevia leaf extract, and Pure essential oils. Me and my lips say “YUM!”

LUSH (one of my all time fave vegan-friendly skin care companies ever) is here to the rescue. Just because it’s getting chilly outside, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still sport an elegant, sun-kissed [...]]]> All right, you palies (aka peeps with lily white, bright, reflective skin)! Let’s get some color on them sexy legs of yours.

LUSH (one of my all time fave vegan-friendly skin care companies ever) is here to the rescue. Just because it’s getting chilly outside, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still sport an elegant, sun-kissed glow. What am I talkin’ ’bout?

Black Stockings ($8.95) This shimmery, coppery, shea buttery bar of heart-shaped goodness pretty much stole my heart and wowed my eyeballs. I was sold at shimmery. I need shimmer 24/7/365. Not only do I look like a California hottie boombalottie in the chilly willy weather, but I smell delicious when I wear this (not meaning to toot my own horn… I give 100% credit to this amazing one-of-a-kind product). The best part (and maybe I just have special nasal receptors)—is that this body tint smells like frickin’ lebkucken!  If you don’t know what that is, it’s a German holiday baked good that unfortunately that hasn’t been veganized yet (at least not to my knowledge)… so I get to experience my Germany/youth nostalgia via Black Silk Stockings. Thank you, LUSH! xo As an FYI, the description says its scent is Caribbean-inspired… now I know that’s not anywhere near Germany, but regardless, it smells fabu!

Silk Stockings ($9.95): If you’re on the fairer side of the spectrum, this body tint is gonna be perfect for you. It’s a natural pinky shade, and it smells like jasmine (one of my favorite floral scents). I’ve been using these body tints as I would regular massage bars; they’re moisture-rich and make my skin feel wunderbar!

Double Choc Lip Tint ($6.95): I’ve discovered I love rubbing chocolate all over my lips almost as much as I love cramming it down my throat. This lip tint gives a subtle bit of bronze color, it’s creamy and goes on smoothly, and most importantly—it tastes like chocolate!  FTW! I’m definitely going to be keeping this in my purse for the next few months (assuming I don’t eat use it up before then).

Which LUSH products are your currently crazy about?

Crazy [...]]]> Crazy Rumors fans everywhere must be stoked! Not only do they sell amazing vegan lip balms that smell and taste amazing (i.e. their famous tea-inspired Brew & coffee-inspired Perk lines) but now they have their signature lip balms with all natural mineral pigmentation that’ll add a lil’ subtle hint of color to those sexy smackers.

Crazy Rumors Lip Balms are all natural, vegan, gourmet and these particular ones in this post are hibiscus inspired lip tints that come in a variety of shades: Tropical (red with purple undertones), Coral (rich pink), Sunset (red-orange), Sunrise (orange-ish), Pearl (light pink) & Breeze (brownish-pink). If you’ve never tried Crazy Rumors before, you really need to treat yourself to a yummy tube. They are ultra moisturizing and to be quite honest, they are addictive. I keep one in my purse, one in each bathroom, one in my car and one by my bedside.

Tropical HibisKiss $6

If you can’t decide on a single shade (my favorite happens to be Tropical), buy all six for the price of 5 ($30). They’ll even throw in a bonus Red Hibiscus Lip Balm with every 6 pack order.

Try all 6 shades for $30

Ingredients: Certified Organic Jojoba Oil, Certified Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Certified Organic Shea Butter, Candelilla Wax, Soy Wax, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Natural & Organic Flavors, Vitamin E, Certified Organic Carnauba Wax, Natural Stevia & Hibiscus Flower

Other Crazy Rumors lip balm lines include: Fresh Squeezed, A La Mode, Brew, Perk, Gumball & Candy Cane – I highly recommend them all!

Related Post: I’m Spreading Crazy Rumors… All over my lips!

For more info: Crazy Rumors