I’ve been pretty quiet these few weeks as I’ve been ramping up basic materials to get me going with my homemade ideas. It doesn’t seem like it but I love making diy products : they’re inexpensive, natural and the best thing of all – they’re cruelty free! I started a few weeks ago making aromatherapy oil mixes and ointments and decided maybe it’s time to take it a notch up higher.
I’ve used Maybelline’s EyeStudio Long Lasting Gel Eyeliner for as long as I can remember. I just love it and I haven’t used anything that’s comparable. I’m a cats-eye kind of girl, and I don’t leave home without my eyes made up. But for asmuch as I’d want to use the gel, I decided, okay, it’s time to move on. As I started changing products a year ago, I’m no longer comfortable using those that aren’t cruelty-free. Mostly these are the commercialized brands whose ingredients are just not readable (too many chemicals -ates and the like). And seriously, have you seen how they test the makeups on animals? It’s really heartbreaking. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I was trying to look for a vegan gel eyeliner online to replace my current one. Since those products aren’t typically sold here in the Philippines, I really had to find one. Hahm, lo and behold, the prices were just too much for me (shipping fee and all)!
So it all boiled down to – Oh, what better thing to do but to make one!
This recipe of mine is 100% natural and waterproof. I had to research a lot prior to making it because I wanted to make an afforable, long lasting and a safe product. The shelf life would be six months and it would be best to have this stored in room temperature (not under the sun!)
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp Castor Oil
1/8 tsp Vitamin E Oil
1/2 tsp Activated Charcoal
1/2 tsp Candelilla Wax
1/8 tsp Shea Butter
4 drops Lavender Essential Oil
5g, Plastic Cream Jar
Toothpicks
Medicine glass droppers and small glass bowls
Directions
Tip: Before starting, it would be best to have a cover on your table (and your hands) Activated charcoal with oil can stick and stain into your nails too! Pretty easy to remove though, use oil or a makeup remover on cotton to remove the stains. Just don’t get them on your clothes!
In the small cream jar, pour in the Castor Oil, Vitamin E oil and the Activated Charcoal. Mix it well using a toothpick until there are just bits of the charcoal evident. Add in drops of the Lavender essential oil.
Tip: Collect the Castor and Vitamin E oils using different glass droppers. Using a single dropper may contaminate the other product.
On a small glass, mix in the Shea Butter and the Candelilla Wax. Place them inside the microwave with a medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes.
Tip: Make sure you watch them melt. Candelilla wax hardens fast so you might get a hardened one by the time you transfer it to the small jar. You can also opt to use a double-boiler to melt the wax.
Mix the wax-butter into the small jar.
Tip: Since the wax hardens pretty quick, you can also opt to pour in the charcoal-oil mix into the melted wax-butter on the small glass. Heat it again if it hardens and pour it into the small jar.
To test, I ran it under the faucet and it didn’t smudge at all. I also dipped it in a basin of water for about half a minute and the application is as strong as I first applied it
Unfortunately, it’s not as thick as how I’d expect it to be unlike normal eyeliner products. I need a few strokes in before I get a strong black color but it works and I love it. I can control the color and can put in a lighter or a stronger streak.
Of course, I’d have to compare both (Left) my homemade eyeliner and (Right) Maybelline’s Gel Eyeliner. (Pardon the messy eyebrows, I haven’t groomed them yet). Quick to remove too, just use a makeup remover or oil (I love Jojoba) with cotton and gently wipe it off your eyes.
It takes a few minutes to mix these all up. It’s messy but quick and it’s really fun to make!
What I love about this recipe is that they’re not only homemade, natural and waterproof, but they also promote hair growth and thickness. Castor, Vitamin E oils as well as Lavender Essential Oil are all known to promote hair growth. My homemade eyelash serum has lengthened my eyelashes over time and yes, these were key ingredients.
I love it and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to using eyeliners that aren’t homegrown. I’m pretty sure I’ll be updating this from time to time so I can log in details of the product over a few weeks or months.
I want to hear your DIY stories. Tell me all about them!
Love and light,
Photos were taken by the author.
One Happy Candy 
HI, Uhm how can I make it waterproof without using candelilla wax or beeswax?
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Hi, I havent tried that at all. The wax helps wade of water on the skin. But if you do figure it out, please let me know!
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Thank you for the inspiration, I just whipped up a batch! It’s shiny and not smudging! I have tried similar recipes before, using just coconut oil and activated charcoal. The results were smudgy, but it had a beautiful color. When I modified the recipe and added beeswax it became too thick to use as a eyeliner, but made a great mascara. This time I used equal parts activated charcoal and Egyptian magic (olive oil + honey, beeswax etc) about 1/2 tsp each. Just gently melted together. Very happy with the result!
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Oh this is just lovely! Thank you for your response. I think it also depends on the actual brands of ingredients used and how they were manufactured. But thanks for sharing! I will definitely try that adjustment you made as well! 🙂
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why do you use lavender essential oil?
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I use lavender oil for anti-bacterial properties since but do make sure to be careful when you apply it on your eye as well.
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Hi, are you sure the measurements you’ve written are right? I’m just making this, so far so good apart from it only makes a minute amount, like a teeny tiny bit, so just wanted to double check the quantities you’ve put.
Thanks!
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Yeah the measurements are about correct for a 5g plastic jar. How minute was it? I made sure my measurements were a little too so I can also whip a small, fresh batch each time. Do let me know 🙂
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Just mixed it, I use bees wax instead of candellila wax, and jojoba oil instead of castor oil. I’ll tell you what I think as soon as I tried it, but it looks awesome. Thank you for the recipe ! 😉
Just a suggestion : pour the essential oil at the end, when heating is no longer needed (but the mixture is still warm enough to mix) 😉 It’s better for the essential oils 🙂
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I’m glad you loved it! And also you made substitutes! Got it on post heating for the essential oils 🙂
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Can I use beeswax instead?
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Yes you may 🙂 Some have changed it from cand to bees wax 🙂
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Basically you separate the charcoal from the oil, leaving behind the darkened oil? Can I use a coffee filter or cheese cloth for this step?
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Hello Paula I’m not sure what you meant by that. What I did was I mixed the charcoal and didn’t extract it using any filter. Do let me know what confused you. Thank you!
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Hi there, I just made 2 batches of this eyeliner for myself and my Mom. Well it came out too thick and it wouldn’t dry. It got all over my eyelids. Thank God, I was testing it out and didn’t go out in public. lol lol. How can I make this thinner? So it will dry and be waterproof? Thank you
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Hello Yolanda, correct – always test before going out in public! I did that several times as well. As commented by from Jamie Yettaw — This time I used equal parts activated charcoal and Egyptian magic (olive oil + honey, beeswax etc) about 1/2 tsp each. Just gently melted together.
I hope this helps! Jamie, you rock 🙂
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I’m not sure if my first message went through. I just made 2 batches of this eyeliner, one for my and one for my Mom. Well, it’s too thick. I tried putting it on to test it and it smeared all on top of my eyelids. How can I make this thinner and dry faster?? Thank you
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Hello, I’m sorry you had to go through that. I couldnt find your previous message. I’m sorry I was away for a while as well. You may substitute it with this (from Jamie Yettaw) — This time I used equal parts activated charcoal and Egyptian magic (olive oil + honey, beeswax etc) about 1/2 tsp each. Just gently melted together.
I hope this helps!
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Hi Candy, What is Egyptian magic? 1/2 tsp or olive oil 1/2 tsp honey 1/2 tsp . So then you add 1 1/2 tsp Activated charcoal? Sorry I got confused.
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Egyptian magic cream is a mixture of olive oil, beeswax pellets, raw honey, bee propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen (all of which are unavailable where I live and also comes from bees so I doubt I will try it) about 1/2 tsp each and then you add the activated charcoal as 1/2 tsp as well. Hope that’s clear 🙂
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Which ingredient in the above mentioned list makes the product waterproof ?
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Hi, its the wax and the oil 🙂
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Hi Candy! Did you try making Mascara with these same ingredients?
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Hello Joanie, unfortunately I have not tried that yet. But do let me know if you’ve tried that at home!
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Hi I am really looking to try this , would beeswax work in subsitute ? 🙂
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Yes bees wax could work. There have been several comments that they’ve replaced the cand wax with bees wax instead 🙂
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