If you’ve been wanting a transparent lip gloss base from scratch, this is the formulation for you. You’ll need just three ingredients to make a clear and versatile gloss base that you can customize in oh-so-many ways, with different carrier oils, colours, micas, and more!
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The idea for this post came from two places. The first was the product description for polyamide-3 from Making Cosmetics: “If added to castor oil you will get an instant lip gloss with very nice feel and gloss.” (Their sample formulation for polyamide-3 is also a lip gloss). I shared a Blackberry Lip Gloss using it last month and that took me on a deep-dive of research and experimenting with Polyamide-3. All that research and formulating got the brain gears turning—I’ve had a lot of requests from viewers on YouTube to share a formulation for a clear lip gloss base that could be an alternative to Versagel® ME 750.
Versagel® ME 750 is a product from Univar (made by Penreco); I discovered it through TKB Trading (Voyageur now sells it in Canada, as does Windy Point!) and have had a lot of fun playing with it. It’s a crystal clear glossy base that can easily be customized into all kinds of lip gloss type products (like this!) as well as used in hair care, skincare, and other cosmetic formulations. It is mostly hydrogenated polyisobutene that has been gelled; there are four Versagel® ME products with different viscosities. It’s a pretty awesome product for making lip glosses with, but if you have to order it internationally it can get pretty pricey as it is often used at upwards of 60% to create lip glosses.
So, that’s where polyamide-3 and castor oil come in! Polyamide-3 also isn’t terribly widely available, but since you’ll need far less of it (it works out to roughly 10% of a finished gloss) you won’t need to pay to ship nearly as much product (castor oil is very widely available, so you should be able to source that domestically). You also have more control over the viscosity of the gloss base. I did some quick math, incorporating international shipping from the US to Canada, and found that this base is roughly 30–35% cheaper than full-priced Versagel® ME 750 (though of course, this will vary with where you live, the sizes you purchase, shipping costs, currency conversion, how you use the base, etc.).
Part of my research intopolyamide-3 revealed that there are three different products with the same INCI, and they all perform a bit differently. Making Cosmetics and TKB Trading do not sell the same polyamide-3; there’s lots more information about this in the ! I am sharing two versions of this formulation; one for each polyamide-3. The finished glosses are very similar; I think I like the feel of the TKB one better, but they are so similar I do wonder a wee bit if I’m imagining that. If overall cost is a concern, the TKB Trading version ends up being cheaper as you only need 10% polyamide-3 vs. the 15% you’ll need of the Making Cosmetics product.
Making the base is a simple matter of melting and stirring everything together. Once that’s done, the fun begins! I’ve structured the base so you’ll use it at 80% and then you’ve got 20% to play with (you could shift those ratios around if you want to, but I like the viscosity and feel of the gloss at that base to add-in ratio).
Because the bulk of this gloss base is castor oil, and castor oil is pale yellow, the finished base is transparent, but it does have a pale champagne colour. If you add any sort of colour to the gloss base that champagne colour won’t be at all noticeable. If you don’t want a coloured gloss, simply use a colourless emollient and your finished gloss will be almost completely colourless. This photo shows 80% gloss base + 20% TKB Oil Fusion (which is totally colourless), but fractionated coconut oil, squalane, and hydrogenated polyisobutene would also work!
This is 80% gloss base + 20% clear emollient (TKB’s Oil Fusion). It’s pretty clear!
If you’d like something clear and colourless, you might prefer combining polyamide-8 and mineral oil. Kell has left a very helpful review on the TKB Trading product page for polyamide-8 (Opal Clear Wax); click here and give it a read for some ideas!
Colour the gloss
If you want your gloss to tint lips, I recommend using a dye or pigment. TKB’s Lip Liquids are the easiest way to go as they’re already pre-dispersed, so they stir in really easily with minimal blending required. I’d start with 5–10% of the overall formulation. If you only have dry pigments, use half the amount (2.5–5%) and make sure to blend thoroughly so you don’t end up with clumps.
Add shimmer to the gloss
Mica is where it’s at if you want a shimmery lip gloss. Micas will colour the gloss in the tube, but won’t add much colour on the lips, so you may want to use both a dye and a mica for a shimmery tint. It’s up to you! I’d start with 3-10% mica. Bio glitters are also a great option!
Improve slip
I highly recommend making at least 10% of your customizing space some sort of carrier oil for improved slip. I’ve been having lots of fun playing with matching the oil I choose to the colours, like using coconut oil with a white iridescent glitter, or cranberry seed oil with a red lip liquid. If you don’t include ~10% oil in your add-ins the finished lip gloss might be too thick.
Add scent to the gloss
1% or less lip-safe essential oil or flavour oil will do the trick! You can also choose carrier oils that have some scent to them, like virgin coconut oil or cranberry seed oil.
Some lip gloss examples
“That wasn’t supposed to be purple” Cranberry (video)
80% lip gloss base
10% cranberry seed oil
8% Candy Cane lip liquid
2% Totally Blue lip liquid
Summer Poppy (video)
80% lip gloss base
15% poppy seed oil
4% Cali Sun lip liquid
1% Sideshow Pink lip liquid
Passionfruit (video)
80% lip gloss base
15% passionfruit oil
5% Black Amethyst Mica
Sparkle Coconut
80% lip gloss base
18% traditional virgin coconut oil (USA / Canada)
2% reflections pink bio-glitter
Soft Pink
80% lip gloss base
10% cranberry seed oil
10% Coming Up Roses lip liquid
Poppin’ Pink
80% lip gloss base
10% baobab oil
10% Sideshow Pink lip liquid
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Relevant links & further reading
- Polyamide-3in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Castor Oilin the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Tocopherol (Vitamin E)in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Citrine Clear Wax (Polyamide-3) at TKB Trading (read the reviews for more tips!)
- Other lip gloss formulations without polyamide-3:
- Fireworks Lip Gloss
- Blackberry Lip Gloss (the cera bellina version)
- Rose Gold Lip Gloss
- There are also two natural lip gloss bases in my book, Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care
Clear Lip Gloss Base (without Versagel!)
TKB Trading Version
Heated phase
10% | 5g Polyamide-3
89.5% | 44.75g castor oil (USA / Canada)Cool down phase
0.5% | 0.6g Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)Making Cosmetics Version
Heated phase
15% | 7.5g Polyamide-3
84.5% | 42.25g castor oil (USA / Canada)Cool down phase
0.5% | 0.25g Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)Stovetop method: Weigh the heated phase ingredients into a small stovetop safe beaker or saucepan. Place that on the stovetop over very low heat to gently and slowly melt the polyamide-3.
Oven method: Preheat your oven to 210°F (100°C). Weigh the heated phase ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup or a heavy glass custard cup—what makes the most sense for you will depend a lot on your batch size. Place the measuring cup in your prepared oven to melt everything through.
After about 20–30 minutes everything should be completely melted through. You’ll know it has melted when you can no longer see any wee air bubbles in the mixture; the beads vanish into the oils and the only visual sign they leave is a bubble of air in each bead. Remove the mixture from the heat and set it on a towel or hot pad to insulate it from the counter and stir the mixture with a flexible silicone spatula to combine everything.
Leave the mixture to cool and thicken, stirring occasionally. Once it has cooled a bit and thickened to about the consistency of runny honey, weigh in the cool down phase and stir to combine. With that done, you are ready to package it up and start making lip glosses! I poured mine into a 60mL (2 oz) jar.
To make lip gloss from the base
80% | 4g lip gloss base
20% | 1g lip-safe additives of choice (pigments, micas, glitters, essential oils, flavour oils, carrier oils, etc.)Combine everything in a small bowl. Gently heat in a slightly warm water bath to soften the gloss base. Whisk to combine and package once uniform. I’ve been using 5mL black cosmetic tubes with doe-foot applicators from TKB Trading; 5g of lip gloss fills one perfectly.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this gloss base is 100% oil-based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens. I would store the base in the fridge for the longest possible shelf-life; no need to refrigerate the finished glosses, though!
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 50g of base, which will yield 62.5g lip gloss if you manage to use every little bit of the base.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this formulation, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the . It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- Do not substitute the castor oil or polyamide-3. They are bothessential to the formulation. If you don’t have them or can’t get them, this isn’t the formulation for you. Please read through the list of suggested reading above the formulation for some other formulations.
Gifting Disclosure
The Reflections Pink Bio-Glitter was gifted by YellowBee.
The coconut oil was gifted by Baraka Shea Butter. Links to Baraka Shea Butter are affiliate links.
The polyamide-3, lip liquids, Black Amethyst mica, and lip gloss tubes were gifted by TKB Trading. Links to TKB Trading are affiliate links.
The cranberry seed oil was gifted by Plant’s Power.
The poppy seed oil and passionfruit oil were gifted by Mystic Moments.
Humblebee & Me is an Amazon Associate and earns income from qualifying purchases. This is at no additional cost to you.
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Before you comment with a question...
- Please read the entire post.
- Please read the Substitutions list in the post.
- Please look up any ingredients you have questions about in the
- Please check out the as well—there's over 100 articles!
Comments that ask questions that are answered in the post, Encyclopedia, or FAQ are unlikely to be answered. I'm sorry, but I'm just one person!
Aprilon July 23, 2021 at 12:32 pm
I ordered the polyamide-3 from TKB so I’m just waiting for it to arrive. I can’t wait to make this! I have your book and have made quite a few of your formulas which have all turned out great! Can’t wait to try this one! I love lip gloss and lip balm!
Reply
Marieon July 23, 2021 at 1:40 pm
Hooray! I hope you adore it ❤️ I am using lip gloss all the time now 😀
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Aprilon August 17, 2021 at 11:51 am
Hi Marie!
Soooo I tried twice to make the gloss base. Once in the oven and once on a stovetop with direct heat. After I pour it into a container and stir for a bit the polyamide-3 starts to glob up. What do you think I might be doing wrong? The poly 3 just won’t stay melted and separates from the castor oil.Reply
Marieon August 25, 2021 at 7:58 pm
That’s really odd. Where is your PA-3 from?
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Aprilon September 2, 2021 at 2:54 pm
It’s from TKB. When I did the oven method I left it in for quite some time. I checked and stirred every so often and the P-3 just wasn’t melting. The direct heat method I just waited until the P-3 was melted.
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Laineon October 25, 2021 at 11:35 am
I love the color you have on your lips in the video. Is it one of the glosses you made here?
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Brenon November 25, 2021 at 6:22 pm
I loved the way this came out when I made it. I also have some Polyamide-8 (Opal wax from tkb) and it’s meant for mineral oils. I’m going to try a version with Mineral Oil 350 and Polyamide-8 to see what happens. It might crack the code on a type of silicone based lipstick I’m working on!
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Mandy Welchon June 30, 2022 at 9:07 pm
This is such a fun project! I accidentally dyed my lips because I initially missed the part where you said to start with 2.5-5% powdered dyes – oops! I think I used about 12%! I made a second version using some micas paired with dyes and used much less. The third time I made a “barely there” tint with strawberry seed oil and strawberry flavor. Perfection! The polyamide-3 from TKB melted in about 25-30 minutes over the lowest setting on my hot plate. I subbed some of the castor for rosehip and jojoba. It’s lovely!
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Elizabethon July 8, 2022 at 11:28 pm
I’m going to be filling 40 wine glass shaped lip gloss tubes with wands (8 ml) for a bridal shower. The bride is a fan of mimosas. What would you suggest I add to your base recipe to get this flavor and a shimmer glossy color?
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Elizabethon July 29, 2022 at 1:09 pm
I found a recipe that used essential oils (tangerine, orange, and copaiba) for a mimosa flavor. Do you think I can just add these oils to the ready made TKB Flexagel? The shower is next weekend!!!
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Matton December 22, 2022 at 1:55 am
Thanks so much for this post! I did it for the first time and I found it great for a lip oil, but does anyone notice that up close it smells and tastes… bad?
I cooked this on high in a double boiler, for what it’s worth.
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Marieon December 31, 2022 at 6:51 am
Hmm. Any chance your castor oil has gone rancid?
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Carolon February 2, 2023 at 12:52 pm
How long does the stronger lip colored last in this formulation? I want something that is shiny like your gloss but let’s the color last a long time. Would it work to use some film fix in this?
What color lip liquid most resembles carmine? Or is one of your other formulations better for what I am looking for?
Thank you for your time.
CheersReply
Ellieon July 12, 2024 at 10:37 am
Hey, can you make a video on using a natural alternative to polyubotene, and polyamides? Like sucragel? Some natural thickeners and stabilisers x
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