How to make a golden lip oil that’s better than store-bought

Ever wondered if you could make your own lip oil at home that’s just as luxurious as the ones you see in stores? Well, good news: you absolutely can.

In today’s post, I’m going to show you how to make your own golden lip oil using premium botanical oils that nourish, protect, and leave your lips looking and feeling silky soft – all under 15 minutes.

This lip oil is wonderfully versatile: you can use it as a balm, a gloss, or even as a topper over your favourite lipstick. And it’s so easy to make that you’ll wonder why you ever bought one in-store.

Ready to make your own lip oil? Let’s get started!

Why you’ll love making this golden lip oil

This golden lip oil is lightweight, silky, and gives your lips a perfect glossy finish without feeling sticky. It’s also packed with skin-loving ingredients like marula oil and raspberry seed oil that bring amazing benefits to your lips. And it only takes 15 minutes to make!

And because you’re making it yourself, you can also tailor the texture, colour, scent, and benefits to suit your personal preferences. Keep on reading to find out more.

How to use your botanical lip oil

This golden lip oil sits right between a traditional lip oil and a balm – rich enough to condition, yet lightweight enough to feel comfortable and breathable.

You can even elevate it into a full-on lip serum by adding oil-soluble actives like hyaluronic acid or vitamin C(more on that later).

To use this golden lip oil, apply it as you would any lip product. Wear it on its own as a hydrating gloss, layer it over lipstick for a juicy finish, or use it as a daily lip balm.

Why lip care matters

The skin on your lips is incredibly delicate: it only has 3 to 5 thin layers to protect it from harsh weather and environmental stressors. That’s why lips dry out, chap, and crack so easily.

This botanical lip oil creates a soft, nourishing lipid barrier that helps lock in moisture, prevent dryness, and maintain the health of your lips.

The result? A smooth, hydrated pout with a natural, healthy glow.

What you’ll need to make this golden lip oil

To make a 50g batch of golden lip oil (which is approximately 5 tubes), you’ll need the following:

Ingredients

Let’s start with the ingredients. Making this golden lip oil is delightfully simple. You only need five oils, one wax, and two botanical extracts.

For the oils, you’ll need castor oil, jojoba oil, marula oil, and raspberry seed oil to form the nourishing, glossy base of your lip oil. You’ll also need Cera Bellina wax to create this oil’s unique gel texture.

Let’s break these down:

1. Castor oil:

INCI: Ricinus Communis Seed Oil

Castor oil is a must-have for lip formulations because it’s thick, glossy, and adds a beautiful shine to cosmetic products. It’s also packed with omega-9 unsaturated fatty acids, which are responsible for castor oil’s anti-inflammatory and moisturising properties.

Interested to learn more about this botanical oil? Then check out this post:

Surprising benefits of common castor oil

2. Jojoba oil:

INCI: Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Next, you’ll need jojoba oil. This is a beautiful plant oil that has a similar chemical structure to the oil found in your own skin. It will nourish your lips and lock in moisture.

Find out more about jojoba’s extraordinary benefits below:

Jojoba: Unlocking its benefits in cosmetic formulations

3. Cera Bellina:

INCI: Polyglyceryl-3 beeswax

Cera Bellina is a unique ingredient that is often used in natural lip oil products to improve their texture and stability. It is a modified form of beeswax which has oil-gelling properties and creates textures that are more viscous and silky smooth than traditional beeswax and do not have a “dragging” feel on the skin.

It’s what gives this golden lip oil its thick, silky-smooth feel that glides effortlessly onto your lips. Unlike traditional waxes, Cera Bellina can help to stabilise the texture of a formula, preventing separation or graininess over time.

Beyond that, it also forms a protective barrier that locks in moisture, keeping your lips moisturised and preventing dryness. This is the secret ingredient of this lip oil!

4. Marula oil:

INCI: Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil

This nutrient-rich botanical oil is extracted from the fruit kernels of the marula tree. When it comes to lip care, it offers a host of benefits.

First and foremost, it is deeply moisturising, making it ideal for treating dry, cracked, or chapped lips. It’s also packed with antioxidants, helping to protect lips from environmental stressors and reduce dryness.

Marula oil contains high levels of oleic acid, which has anti-inflammatory properties and can help soothe and calm irritated skin. Overall, it’s a powerful, nourishing ingredient that keeps your lips healthy, hydrated, and protected.

You can learn more about African-origin plant oils like marula in this article:

10 natural African skincare ingredients

5. Raspberry seed oil:

INCI: Rubus Idaeus Seed Oil

Raspberry oil is a gorgeous, cold-pressed oil extracted from the seeds of the raspberry fruit. It is a very popular ingredient for upcycled beauty formulations as the seeds are waste by-products of the food industry left from the production of juices and jams.

The redundant milled seeds are also used as exfoliants in skincare products.

You can learn more about zero-waste and upcycled cosmetics below:

Podcast 199: Upcycling and zero waste with Thomas Kerfoot

Is zero-waste beauty the next big trend?

10 best zero-waste oils for skincare and haircare

Episode 20: Zeroing in on zero-waste in green beauty

Raspberry seed oil also has several benefits on top of its zero-waste credentials. For one, it is high in essential fatty acids, which can help restore the natural lipid barrier of the lips and keep them hydrated by reducing transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

Additionally, raspberry oil contains ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant that can help to protect the lips from free radical damage and may protect the lips from collagen degradation. Overall, raspberry seed oil is a highly effective ingredient for keeping your lips soft, smooth, and plump.

6. Raspberry CO₂ extract:

INCI: Rubus Idaeus Seed Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract

Raspberry CO₂ extract is a very special type of botanical extract made using carbon dioxide under high pressure instead of traditional solvents.

This process gently pulls out the essential compounds, antioxidants, and natural aroma from the raspberry seeds without using heat or harsh chemicals, preserving their potency.

You can learn more about this extraction process below:

What are CO2 extracts? Mystery & methods explained

Raspberry extract has a mild, fruity aroma that closely resembles the natural scent of fresh raspberries. It’s not overly sweet or artificial, making it a subtle and natural fragrance addition to this lip oil.

7. Vitamin E:

INCI: Tocopherol

Finally, vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects your golden lip oil from going rancid and also offers potential skin benefits.

All of these ingredients are natural, easy to source, and fun to work with. You can find them at reputable cosmetic suppliers, and I’ve shared a recommended list at the end of this post.

Equipment

You will also need the following equipment:

• A water bath, which you can easily set up using a hot plate or your stove and a pan of water
• A jewellery scale which goes down to 2 decimal places
• A small and a large glass beaker
• Pipettes and a spatula
• A mini whisk
• Lip gloss tubes

And that’s it! You can find all of this equipment in our Amazon storefront.

You’ll also want to tie your hair back, wear an apron, and pop on some disposable gloves to keep everything safe and clean while you make this lip oil.

How to make a luxurious golden lip oil

• Makes: 50g (around 5 tubes)
• Formulation: Warm process
• Time taken: 15 minutes
• Level: Beginner-level with customisation options

Step-by-step method:

Now for the fun part: let’s make this golden lip oil!

This makes approximately 5 tubes, so you’ll have plenty to share with friends and family, or just to keep for yourself! You can also adjust the quantities if you’d like to make less.

Here’s how to make this gorgeous golden lip oil, step-by-step:

• Step 1: Clean & prep your workspace and equipment

Before we start formulating, let’s talk about hygiene. Keeping everything sanitary is essential when making your own products.

Start by washing all your equipment with hot water and soap. Then, give everything a thorough spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol to sanitise it and let it air dry.

Isopropyl alcohol is easy to find and ensures you’re working in a hygienic environment. This step helps prevent microbial contamination and starts to elevate your work from just following a DIY beauty recipe on the internet to becoming a professional formulator.

Once your equipment is clean and ready, set up your water bath to gently heat up while you weigh your ingredients.

• Step 2: Weigh your ingredients and heat them in your pre-heated water bath

Next, weigh 20g of castor oil, 16.25g of jojoba oil, 5g of marula oil, and 2.5g of cera bellina wax into a glass beaker. Make sure to tare your scale after each addition to get an accurate reading – that means you set it to zero each time you’ve added a new ingredient, using the ‘tare’ button.

Once you’ve weighed those ingredients, place the beaker into your warm water bath. The water should be hot, but not boiling – just enough to gently melt the wax. This should take a few minutes.

• Step 3: Weigh the raspberry seed oil and extract

While the wax is melting, weigh 5g of raspberry seed oil and 1g of raspberry CO₂ extract into a smaller beaker.

The raspberry CO₂ adds a light scent to your lip oil and brings extra antioxidant benefits. Stir the mixture well to blend the oils together.

• Step 4: Cool the mixture until it’s thickened

Once your wax has fully melted in the oils, carefully remove the beaker from the water bath and give it a good stir to ensure everything is fully combined.

To speed up the cooling process, you can place the beaker into a bowl of cool tap water.

Stir gently as it cools to make sure the texture remains smooth and even. The mixture should thicken but still be fluid enough to pour.

• Step 5: Add the extracts to the cooled oil mixture

When your mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the raspberry blend and mix it thoroughly. Then add 0.25g of vitamin E. The vitamin E will act as an antioxidant to protect both your product and your lips.

Stir everything well one final time to blend it all together.

• Step 6: Package & label

And that’s it – your golden lip oil is ready to use! All that’s left to do is to package it.

Here’s a small hack to make this easier for you: place the container in a small beaker to stop it from falling over, and then pour it into the tube. Once you’ve poured your lip oil into your gloss tubes, label them with the date and name of your formula, and you’re done!

Now you have a luxurious, versatile lip oil to keep your lips hydrated, nourished, and glowing.

Download the full formulation and step-by-step guide in this handy free PDF

How to customise your lip oil

One of the best parts about making your own lip oil is how easy it is to customise. Once you’ve mastered the base recipe (aka the formula), you can tailor the texture, benefits, scent, and finish to suit your personal style. Here are a few ideas:

• Try different oils such as sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, camellia oil, or plum kernel oil. Each botanical oil brings its own texture and skin benefits, so experiment with combinations until you find a blend that feels perfect for you.
• Explore oil-soluble actives to turn this lip oil into a targeted lip serum. Ingredients like squalane, CoQ10, vitamin C, or oil-soluble hyaluronic acid pearls work beautifully. Just follow your supplier’s usage guidelines, ensure you’re using oil-soluble ingredients, and keep the overall formula at the same total weight.
• Customise the scent by adding a small amount of another CO₂ extract or vanilla-infused jojoba oil for a soft, natural aroma. I don’t recommend using essential oils here, as the lips are an extremely sensitive area.
• Add a touch of colour with plant pigments or lip-safe mica to create a sheer tint and subtle glow. Do keep in mind that mica comes with ethical considerations, so choose responsibly sourced options wherever possible.

The sky is truly the limit here. Once you learn how to make your own professional-grade skincare, you can tailor any product to match your personal needs and personal – and you can then even sell it!

Learn how to formulate your own natural & organic skincare

I hope you enjoyed making this golden lip oil! I can’t wait for you to try it out and share it with your family and friends. To use the lip oil, simply swipe it onto your lips or layer it over another lip product.

It’s truly the perfect balance, if I can say so myself: it’s thicker than a regular lip oil but lighter than a balm, moisturising your lips without feeling heavy. It also looks absolutely gorgeous, leaving your lips shiny and smooth.

If you’d like to learn more about making your own natural and organic skincare, why not check out our free formulation course? In it, you’ll learn how to create professional-grade natural and organic skincare from the comfort of your home. Discover how fun, easy, and empowering it is to be a cosmetic formulator by joining us today.

Suggested suppliers

Here’s a handy list of suppliers you can refer to to source the ingredients for this golden lip oil:

INKY Ingredients (UK)

Aroma-Zone (EU)

Aromantic (UK)

Alexmo Cosmetics (EU)

Manske (EU)

The Soap Kitchen (UK)

Ellemental  (EU)

Lotioncrafter (USA)

Essential Labs (USA)

Go Native NZ (New Zealand)

Naturally Balmy (UK)

O&3 – The Oil Family (UK/EU)

Soap & More (Canada)

Handymade (EU)

Formulator Sample Shop (USA)

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Brooke Medhurst

Brooke Medhurst is a Tutor at Formula Botanica. Find out more about the Formula Botanica Team.