These days, some form of lip treatment is a very integral part of a woman's makeup purse. There are a wide range of lip sticks, liners, glosses, stains and balms out there on the market, all in varying colours, flavours and scents. However, who needs to pay big money for these when you can make your very own lip gloss or balm at home? You can include ingredients in your recipe to make a plumping lip gloss, or even match it to your favourite lipstick shade! Here you will find a basic lip gloss recipe with many variations, so you can make a lip gloss or balm that's just right for you!

You will need:

Petroleum jelly, original Vaseline or similarly named product.

Lipstick (optional)

Glitter (optional)

Eye shadow (optional)

Vanilla/peppermint essence (optional)

The first and most basic ingredient of any homemade lip gloss or balm is petroleum jelly. You can usually find this in the personal care or medical aisle of your local supermarket. There are a few varieties, but they all do the same job, and so to make a cheap lip treatment you should stick to the supermarket's own brand. Petroleum jelly has a moisturising and conditioning effect on your lips.

Here is a basic recipe to make your own homemade lip gloss or balm:

1)  Scoop out the desired amount of petroleum jelly that you want to make your lip balm into a bowl. The amount of petroleum jelly you use roughly equates to the amount of lip gloss you will have.

2) Melt the petroleum jelly in the microwave, keeping a careful eye on it. You want it to be a nice, runny consistency.

3) Add your other ingredients.

4) Pour the lip gloss or balm into a container and leave to set. If you're impatient, you can put it in the fridge, but do not freeze it.

5) Congratulations! You now have your very own homemade lip gloss!

To make a glittery or shimmery lip balm:

After you have melted your petroleum jelly, you can add ingredients such as loose glitter (found in craft stores) or loose body glitter (which you can find in the cosmetic section of most discount variety stores).

Additionally, if you want your lip gloss or balm to have a little shimmer, you can add some crushed or loose shimmery eyeshadowin the mix.

To make a lip gloss or balm that matches your favourite lip stick shade:

Once again, after you have melted the petroleum jelly, you can cut little bits off your favourite (or any) lip stick and add it to the mix, microwaving it again to soften the lipstick. Then, simply mix it up and you're good to pour it into a container. Take care to make sure there are no lipstick lumps.

To make a scented/flavoured lip balm:

You can make your own scented or flavoured lip gloss or balm by adding an extract to your melted petroleum mix. These may include peppermint or vanilla for a nice scent and flavour. also, adding peppermint extract into your lip treatment will give your lips a nice tingly feeling after putting it on.

To make a plumping lip gloss:

To make a plumping lip gloss or balm, all you need to do is add some plumping lip treatment like Avon's Plumping Lip Conditioner. You can use this in place of or additional to lipstick.

Other variations:

Don't be afraid to get creative with your lip gloss or balm making! As a substitute for or addition to your extract or essence, you may like to try other fruit juices to get a really nice combo. You can add a little honey to the mixture to sweeten it, or even food colouring for a really bright shade like fire-engine red. If you have loose black eyeshadow or powder you can also make a really nice black lip gloss. Other cosmetics make great additions to this recipe, too. Fruity or glittery body sprays work really well. Its all just a matter of experimentation. These recipes only take a few miutes and will save you lots of money.

These home made lip glosses are great to keep for yourself or give away as cheap but cute gifts. Your friends are sure to love them! You can dress up your lip gloss or balm by pouring it into a cute little container, which you can find locally or on eBay. You may also wish to re-use lip gloss containers.