Submitted by nicole on Wed, 12/19/2018 - 02:00

Cranberry lip gloss is fun to make for Christmas, and is a fast and easy craft to make with kids. This homemade lip balm looks like it has a rich, lustrous red color, but it truly is a lip balm, not a lipstick. The color looks amazing in the tube, but it only makes the barest hint of color on your lips.

Cranberry flavored homemade lip balm surrounded by fresh cranberries.

There's no need to buy expensive cosmetic mineral powders and colorants to get this amazing lip gloss color with shimmer and shine. My secret ingredient? Luster dust from the cake decorating store!

What is Luster Dust?

Luster dust is a shimmery powder typically used in cake decorating. It is typically dry brushed on cakes and fondant or gumpaste pieces used to decorate cakes, or mixed with vodka or an extract to paint shimmering highlight details on a cake. It can also be used to transform drinks into magical, scintilating potions.

Ingredients for making homemade cranberry lip gloss for Christmas, surrounded by fresh cranberries and evergreen branches.

Materials for Cranberry Flavored DIY Lip Gloss:

1 Tablespoon beeswax pellets
1 Tablespoon cocoa butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
cranberry flavoring (I love the LorAnn Oils brand)
luster dust (made for cake decorating)
lip balm containers (either pots or twist up tubes)

Homemade cranberry lip gloss melted in a white bowl, surrounded by fresh cranberries and empty lip gloss containers.

Melt the olive oil, beeswax, and cocoa butter together in the microwave. Stir in the luster dust and cranberry flavoring. Use a disposable pipette to transfer the liquid lip balm into the lip gloss containers and allow to set (it only takes a few minutes). If the lip balm gets too solid before you've filled all of your containers, just put the mixture back in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it again.

Pots and twist up containers of homemade cranberry lip gloss surrounded by fresh cranberries and evergreen branches.

I used Super Red and Rouge Flambe colors of luster dust to create the fabulous, shimmering red color in my homemade lip balm. But you could use any color of luster dust you want to make your lip balm. (Just look at all the different pretty red and pink luster dust colors you can choose from!)

Pots and twist up containers of homemade cranberry lip gloss surrounded by fresh cranberries and evergreen branches.

As rich and shimmery and intense as the color looks in the container, it doesn't really look like anything on your lips. But it sure does look pretty in the lip gloss container!

Eggnog and cranberry homemade lip balm on a wooden cutting board.