I had some free time so I decided to do a little tutorial on making your own lip balm stain. This, in essence, would be similar to Benetint Lip balm, but a lot easier on the wallet! You can use whatever balm you have available, from Chapstick to Chicken Poop, anything will do. Also, a fun "green" alternative would be to use Burt's Bees Lip Balm and Organic Food Dye. Not only is this balm useful for lip stain purposes, but it is also great for moisturizing since you are using a balm you already love. Have fun experimenting with colors and mixtures... this is fairly easy, but you might make a bit of a mess in the kitchen if you aren't careful!

First, start off by twisting the tube of lip balm all the way up and removing the balm from the tube. If your balm is very soft, like Blistex Complete Moisture, you might want to consider putting the mixture, when complete, into the optional pot container since it might not stay intact otherwise. But, that's up to you to decide later. For now, place the balm you just emptied into the microwave safe bowl/cup and microwave on high for 15 second intervals, until your balm has melted completely. This time will vary, mine took about 50 seconds, so be sure to keep an eye on the balm!

Then, you wanna add your color. I used pure red, so I didn't have to worry about mixing colors, but you could add a little blue to make a berry stain that would be gorgeous as well! Just be sure to take a nice hefty amount. Remember: you want this to stain your lips, not just color them temporarily. Keep the amount in proportion to the amount of balm you have though... I had a decent amount of balm so I added about 1/4tsp. If you want a really dark stain, add more. If you want a light stain, add less... you know the drill.

Now, this is important, when you add the color if you are using a gel food dye like I used, pop that baby back into the microwave for an additional 10-15 seconds. This is important because the gel is harder to blend into the balm than liquid so you want to make sure it really melds into it. Remove from the microwave immediately and start stirring like you would with a whisk. Whip it up! While the balm is in liquid form, it will NOT blend directly with the food dye. Keep mixing as if you are trying to blend salad dressing.

You will notice the balm starting to harden up; this is your cue to pour the mixture into your original tube! Make sure you've twisted the tube back "down" so that it can be filled up! Pour away. If your mixture has hardened too much to pour, like mine did, then scoop it in. It doesn't have to be perfect! If you want a more streamlined final result, put it in the optional pot container or melt it down in the microwave if your original tube can handle it. Be careful while microwaving these products and be mindful. No metal or foil in the microwave, please! It might be kind of sloppy otherwise, so if you're nit-picky, feel free to smooth it over by slicing off the top or patting it down instead. I didn't bother.

Let the mixture set for about 15 minutes, then enjoy. Apply with a lip brush or q-tip, as this is sure to stain your fingers. Make sure you exfoliate your lips (warm washcloth, toothbrush and Vaseline -- pick your poison) prior to applying, as this will stick to and color any dry areas first! It will look like a matte lipstick on and then as it wears off you should be able to see how it has stained your lips nicely. The longer you let it sit, the more stained your lips will become. I took a quick pic for posting purposes: