DIY | How to Make MAC Lipstick Colors With Crayons

September 25, 2024 By DIY Projects 82 Comments

Do you love MAC lipstick?

Love Mac lipstick? Do you love crafts? You’ve come to the right blog. Quick Disclaimer – this fun lipstick craft will have you pouting in pretty colors in no time. It’s not the equivalent of MAC, but it sure is fun to make something yourself and enjoy being able to show it off!

The colors of Mac lipstick are some of my favorites, and you will not believe what I just learned… You can make these cool Mac lipstick shades at home for pennies! This weekend, I learned how to make five fun colors of DIY Mac Lipstick. I can’t wait to make more. This step-by-step photo tutorial will show you how you can avoid spending a ton of money and time picking out lipsticks in department stores. It’s a fun way to obtain the colors you want and experiment with colors that are pretty hard to find (such as bright blue, green, or purple). Best of all, you only need a few ingredients to make amazing lipstick and it is a super quick DIY beauty idea. Also a cool and fun project for “girls only get togethers” and teens.

There are many different options for making your own homemade lipstick and the ingredients can vary from person to person.

To Make DIY Mac Lipstick You Will Need:

Coconut Oil
Crayola Crayons (as many colors as you like)
A jewelry or tool organizer
A pot of water
A small glass bowl

Check out this awesome video that shows you how to make Mac Lipstick:

DIY Mac Lipstick Tutorial

Step 1.

Gather your materials

Coconut Oil
Crayons
Lipstick

Step 2.

Place a crayon on a napkin and cut it about once inch from the tip. In this example we will use pink. This will make a color in MAC Lipsticks Amplified collection. The color is called Impassioned! If you’re a color fanatic you’ll know the color I’m talking about.

Step 3.

Remove the paper from the part of the crayon that you just cut like so:

Step 4.

Fill a pot of water about this size:

Step 5.

Set the temperature from LO-MED

Step 6.

Place a bowl or cup in the middle of the pot full of water (this will serve as a melting pot).

Step 7.

Take out your coconut oil. This is where you will determine which finish you want for your lipstick. If you’re looking for a sheer finish use 1/2 a tsp of coconut oil per inch of crayon. If you’re looking for a matte finish, use 1/4 tsp of coconut oil per inch of crayon.

Step 8

Mix the desired amount of coconut oil with the portion of the cut crayon and put them into the center pot.

Step 9

Once the crayon and coconut oil have fused together, you can pour it into your jewelry tray! Make sure all of the ingredients are mixed well and you have a creamy texture. Pour hot liquid into your tray like this:

Step 10

Apply with a lipstick brush applicator!

You’re finally finished! You can make all of your favorite MAC colors (or pretty darn close) by mixing different crayons to make your own custom colors!

Have fun! We hope you enjoyed our tutorial on How To

Make MAC Lipstick Colors With Crayons!

Comments

rachel says

April 26, 2014 at 4:19 am

Amplified is a texture of m.a.c. Lipsticks, not a color. 🙂

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rachel says

April 26, 2014 at 4:21 am

It looks like an Amplified lipstick called ‘impassioned.’

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- Christina Boothby says
  
  May 7, 2014 at 9:51 pm
  
  It actually says that under number 2:)
  
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Renee Romeo says

May 5, 2014 at 9:55 am

Thanks, Rachel! Awesome!

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Lola says

June 18, 2014 at 11:57 am

Crayons are NOT LIPSAFE; they are not intended to be eaten and so if you use them as bases for your lipsticks you eat poison.

In Italy we take this page as an example of bad DIY cosmetics; if I were you I would eliminate this page and write it again using lipsafe colours (for example lipsafe micas and oxides, you can find them for example on TKB trading)

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- Renee Romeo says
  
  June 18, 2014 at 12:04 pm
  
  Hi Lola,
  
  Crayons are COMPLETELY safe to use as a lipstick base as most of them are lead free and non-toxic. Crayons are made to be non-toxic in case a child accidentally swallows them. Here is a link to a Crayola website that guarantee’s the safety of their crayons. http://www.crayola.com/faq/safetymsds/are-crayola-and-silly-putty-products-nontoxic-even-if-ingested/
  
  Thanks for your comment! Enjoy
  
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  - Bek says
    
    January 4, 2015 at 3:46 pm
    
    Hello! Not to be a debby downer, but there is a lot of information out there on why using crayons to make lipstick is a bad idea. This is some info I found on a forum discussing the use of crayons as lipstick:
    
    “Every once in a while, I see a post/tutorial/diy that makes me cringe. One that has been around for a while and has made a resurgence in various places (here, youtube, other makeup forums) is the DIY lipsticks made using crayons. This is a bad idea, for many reasons. One of the most common justifications for why people think this is ok is “They are non-toxic! They were made so a kid could eat the whole box and be fine!” Here is why that is not a good enough reason to use art supplies as makeup.
    
    1.) The term non-toxic is sort of misleading. Non-toxic typically means not toxic or is not capable of causing harm to human health. However, have you ever heard the phrase “the dose makes the poison”? Many chemicals/compounds/materials are fine in small doses, but toxic/harmful in larger doses. Toxicity therefore depends on the amount of the chemical/compounds/whatever that can interact with you to cause harm. The larger the amount that can be consumed, or the less available the compound in question in the product that is being consumed is, the less toxic the material. Which brings me to…
    
    2.) What happens when a kid eats a crayon and how is that different than turning a crayon into lipstick? When little Timmy is left unattended and eats part (or all) of a crayon, it enters his stomach. There it is subjected to heat (from his body) and stomach acid. What happens to the crayon? Not a lot, actually. The wax that is typically used in crayons, paraffin wax, has a higher melting temperature (between 115 and 154 Fahrenheit) than body temperature and crayons aren’t really soluble in acid. This means that any pigment/dye or additive in the crayon is not really able to make it out of the crayon and be absorbed in Timmy’s little crayon eating body. (This also explains the chunky rainbow diapers that parents may have experienced after their kid had a couple of crayon appetizers.) Now, if you were to say, mix the crayon with a wax or oil with a lower melting point to make it spreadable, all bets are off when it comes to ingestion. While it would depend on the particular colorant, typically if a dye was soluble in the harder, higher melting point wax, it will be soluble in the softer, lower melting temp wax/oil. A similar thing would happen with insoluble pigments. This means if you ingest it (highly likely with lipstick wear), there is a chance that the what was “trapped” in the hard, high melting point paraffin (which would lower the toxicity) now is mixed in with a material that melts at body temp or below, making the “dose” of the dyes/pigments/additives much higher than what the crayon company had intended when it made them non-toxic for kids.
    
    3.) Crayons are typically made of two things; paraffin wax and dye/pigment. Since we have talked a bit about the wax, let’s move on to the dyes/pigments. There are a couple of points with this. First, typically, the pigments/dyes used in art supplies are not meant/safe to be used for cosmetics. Cosmetic pigments and dyes are regulated by the FDA to be safe for use in, well, cosmetic products. It is interesting to note though that not all of the FDA approved cosmetic dyes are even approved for use on the lips (some go as far as saying that they are strictly forbidden for lip use). This is most likely due to the more delicate skin of your lips and the proximity to your mouth (i.e. ingestation/absorbtion). But, couldn’t the crayon companies color a crayon with a lip safe pigment? Well, yes, but this brings me to my second point. Many of the pigments/dyes that crayon companies use are a proprietary blend. Which means that you cannot know for sure if the colorant used to color the crayon is a lip safe dye/pigment. Why does this matter? Well there is a good chance that you are now ingesting a more soluble vehicle for the dye (see point 2), so there is that. But it should also be noted that common art supply dyes including azo dyes (reds/oranges), anthraquinone (yellows), rylene dyes (darker reds), and alizarin dyes (various colors) can all cause skin irritation or contact dermatitis. This means that the crayon lipsticks can lead to itchy, flaky, chappy lips that are not cute (and health issues too of course).
    
    4.) On a practical level, it is unlikely that crayon lipsticks will give as good of a result as an actual lipstick. With such a high concentration of paraffin wax, it will likely make a lipstick with poor texture (difficult to spread). Also it will smell like crayons.
    
    So while some of you still may be like Cartman (“whatever, whatever, I do what I want), for the others of you who needed more of a reason to not do this than “well kids can eat it!”, here are some points to think about.”
    
    “I’m not advocating any sort of fear in using crayons (or any product really…there is too much fear mongering when it comes to something “chemical” as it is). In reality, it most likely isn’t dangerous long term to use crayons as lipsticks. The biggest issue I had is that people may unknowingly be opening themselves up for some sort of skin reaction on their lips (painful and unpleasant) by using a product is a way that it was not intended. It is really easy to just get on the band wagon and try a project that has saturated places like Pinterest and Youtube without really thinking or knowing whether it is safe. Basically, just be informed!”
    
    Micas and iron oxides are very cheap and MUCH better alternatives!
    
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    - taylor says
      
      April 30, 2015 at 8:40 am
      
      But after boiling the crayon to melting point it then goes back into a solid after cooling. THUS you would have to reach those high temps to melt it again and youve alteady stated that our stomachs aren’t capable of that.
      
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  - pixie says
    
    February 9, 2015 at 9:39 pm
    
    I’m just going to leave this here…
    http://www.crayola.ca/faq/safetymsds/is-it-safe-to-use-crayola-crayons-to-make-lipstick/
    
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- Kaitlin says
  
  April 16, 2015 at 2:47 pm
  
  Google crayola crayons, big green letters on the bottom of the box says non-toxic.
  Still don’t believe me?
  My small dog ate three huge boxes of crayola crayons, perfectly fine. Though he did shit the rainbow.
  
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- Aisha says
  
  April 22, 2015 at 9:13 pm
  
  ITS FINE MY FRIEND MAKES IT ALL THE TIME WHATEVER
  
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exitplanetdust says

June 18, 2014 at 2:29 pm

Crayons are safe if ACCIDENTALLY ingested. But what about a systematic, potentially daily, continuous, ingestion? Do you have a study that claims there are no risk? I don’t think this product is safe about this kind of use, and it looks like an inappropriate utilization. My suggestion is to use specific materials for this purpose, and let the children play with colours.

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- Renee Romeo says
  
  July 14, 2014 at 12:10 pm
  
  Crayons are made to be non-toxic. Do you know what is in store bought, name brand lipstick?
  
  Check it out here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/400-lipstick-brands-contain-lead-fda-says/2012/02/14/gIQAhOyeDR_story.html
  
  Lead free is the way to be! http://thelabratory.blogspot.com/2013/04/100-safe-crayon-based-homemade-lipstick.html
  
  If you’d rather go the “safe” route and continue to purchase store bought lead-full lipsticks that’s your choice.
  
  Best of luck
  Renee
  
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CE says

July 4, 2014 at 5:50 pm

Can we use olive oil instead of cocunt oil and add some Vaseline

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- Renee Romeo says
  
  July 5, 2014 at 11:19 am
  
  Hi there,
  
  I know coconut oil is better than olive oil – but try it and see what your results are. We always recommend coconut oil, and it’s much healthier!
  
  Thanks for asking,
  Renee
  
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Sandra says

August 9, 2014 at 5:08 pm

These make lip gloss, not lip stick. Lipstick is opaque and you cannot smudge it as easily as gloss. Besides, crayons and some coconut oil will never match to a quality, meant-to-last, pigmented-for-lips lipsticks.

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- fay says
  
  September 29, 2014 at 2:58 am
  
  So rather than being a whiner why don’t you just leave people be and go buy some actual lipstick then?
  
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  - Ann says
    
    November 15, 2014 at 6:15 pm
    
    Nice!
    
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danna says

August 9, 2014 at 11:19 pm

I have sweet almond oil could that work too? Because I kind of don’t want to buy coconut oil since I have everything but that *-*

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danna says

August 9, 2014 at 11:21 pm

Could I use almond oil?

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- Lauren J says
  
  August 11, 2014 at 10:45 am
  
  I don’t see why not! Almond oil is rich in all sorts of good vitamins that your skin and lips love. Give it a try and let us know how it goes! 🙂
  
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Stephanie says

August 21, 2014 at 2:26 pm

Thanks for your fun tutorial…as for the negative comments, if you were not interested in making a lipstick from crayons then you should have never visited this page. I think you should be more concerned with the unpublished lead in brand lipsticks, pesticides on your fruits and vegetables and feces in your beef.

Now, Ms. Renee…carry on. thank you

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Renee Romeo says

September 5, 2014 at 4:38 pm

Hi there,

Thanks for the kind words, Stephanie. We’re glad you enjoyed the article!

Best,
Renee

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Alyson says

September 12, 2014 at 6:57 am

You could add the lipstick to empty glue stick containers

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- Brenna Gwyn says
  
  April 18, 2015 at 7:27 am
  
  I save my old lipstick containers and collect vintage ones. You can transfer over new lipsticks to old containers, but I’m sure you could figure out a way to mold this craft into a stick form and use actual lipstick tubes, too!
  
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diksha says

September 22, 2014 at 11:22 pm

Hey are you using wax crayons or plastic crayons? and what about oil pastels?

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- Marley says
  
  March 27, 2015 at 5:12 pm
  
  I’m pretty sure she’s just using regular wax crayons.
  
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Katie says

October 8, 2014 at 3:01 pm

I just tried this and it doesn’t work. All I got was melted crayon in a jar.

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- Renee Romeo says
  
  October 20, 2014 at 10:47 am
  
  Are you mixing the ingredients properly with enough coconut oil?
  
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amber says

October 15, 2014 at 2:34 am

Is there any way to find out which crayons or mixtures of crayons make which of these colors?

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- Renee Romeo says
  
  October 20, 2014 at 10:38 am
  
  We use Crayola because we’re sure they’re safe and non-toxic. The colors used here come in that large 24 pack of standard Crayola Crayons!
  
  🙂 Happy lipstick making!
  
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  - Amira Gauthier says
    
    November 11, 2014 at 8:30 am
    
    Can you use mango and lime locking gel?
    
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    - Renee Romeo says
      
      November 14, 2014 at 3:37 pm
      
      Hi Amira,
      
      Give it a try! We haven’t tried that out yet, but I am sure it will work!
      
      Best
      Renee
      
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Leila says

October 20, 2014 at 10:04 pm

Does it come off easily?

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- Renee Romeo says
  
  November 14, 2014 at 3:55 pm
  
  Yes, it does so I recommend re-applying.
  
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kris says

November 2, 2014 at 7:36 am

re: using another oil besides coconut oil. I don’t know if subbing olive or another oil for coconut oil would work because aren’t those other oils liquid all the time (I don’t have any experience with anything but coconut, olive, or canola oils)? coconut oil solidifies and melts to liquid at body temp, so your finished product should be a solid (read: easier to transport) until you apply. I guess if you don’t mind having a liquid product other oils could work (maybe figuring out how to store it in an empty gloss tube with a wand?). just a thought. love the idea, though. i’m all about inexpensive and easy to make cosmetics.

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- Jai says
  
  November 20, 2014 at 7:19 pm
  
  Kris
  It will still solidify because crayons are solids at room temperature. So regardless of what oil you use the composition of the crayon is going to determine the consistency of the lip gloss/stain. That’s why people are still getting results using vegetable, olive, vaseline or other oils. Good try though
  
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  - Jai says
    
    November 20, 2014 at 7:21 pm
    
    The oils are doing nothing more than making the crayon softer and manageable enough to be applied as a lip color.
    
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Amira Gauthier says

November 11, 2014 at 8:29 am

Can you use mango and lime locking gel?

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BB K says

November 21, 2014 at 12:16 am

Yay this looks super fun thank you so much for the tutorial! Does anyone know if it works with paw paw ointment? Or vaseline? (I know its not as healthy, just curious) xx

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Billie says

November 21, 2014 at 12:34 am

We just made this. ( and it was very fun to make.) But When we put it on it didn’t even show up! I understand that not all DIY projects work out, but if you’re going to pin this ( or repin. ) please pick a different picture so it’s not misleading. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. 🙁 Sorry

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- Lisa Loperfido says
  
  April 24, 2015 at 12:03 pm
  
  Sorry if you experienced trouble! Some DIY projects are a gamble, half the fun is the process! Best of luck on your next DIY. 🙂
  
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angela says

December 5, 2014 at 1:02 pm

For the record i just made some for my four year old she loves colored lip gloss and this is so much cheaper

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Xuan says

December 6, 2014 at 5:05 am

I just tried the DIY Crayon lipstick a few hours ago. It works well, the result is as I expected. I used coconut oil and crayola crayons with selected colors of my choice, when I apply it smells like coconut oil but of course not that heavy just about of the smell makes it nice though! Thanks! It’s so creative and save hell load of bucks! ^~^! Negative people will always be negative, just ignore them ms Renee! :)!

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emma says

December 14, 2014 at 4:58 pm

looks cool im going to try it im going to make blue good idea for christmas presents too and i think if you cut up the crayon it will melt better …

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emma says

December 14, 2014 at 5:33 pm

just tried it i thought it would be more like waxy but its not(witch is good)great idea and i also tweeted it;)

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- Rynna Machate says
  
  December 15, 2014 at 11:54 pm
  
  Thank you Emma. We’re glad you liked it 🙂
  
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DSM says

December 17, 2014 at 12:58 am

Would natural Shea butter work instead of coconut oil?

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- Rynna Machate says
  
  December 30, 2014 at 1:54 am
  
  That would also work. We just preferred coconut oil but you can also use Shea butter.
  
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Misty says

December 19, 2014 at 3:09 pm

Can you post which crayons you used to make the different colors?

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tiff says

December 27, 2014 at 1:56 pm

These definitely are NOT MAC quality. They’re melted crayons… Seriously if anyone thinks this is a dupe you’re nuts.

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- Lisa Loperfido says
  
  April 24, 2015 at 12:47 pm
  
  Excellent observation Tiff. These are by no means the same as Mac. They are fun lipstick to make in fun colors. MAC uses a system that goes beyond melting wax and coconut. So if you’re looking for a colorful craft fix, this is the project for you! If you’re looking for amazing mac lipstick – head on over to your nearest dept store! At only $15 a pop, real MAC lipstick is highly attainable.
  
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Veronica says

December 29, 2014 at 2:54 pm

What kind or brand of coconut oil is recommended??

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- Rynna Machate says
  
  December 30, 2014 at 12:41 am
  
  You can use any brand available. We used Trader Joe’s for this one.
  
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Stephanie Hogue says

January 16, 2015 at 2:54 am

Hi Renee. First time here. This looks like a fun project for my daughter and I. How much coconut oil per crayon do I use? Not sure if you mentioned it.

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- Rynna Machate says
  
  January 16, 2015 at 9:11 am
  
  Hi Stephanie, we’re glad you want to try it out. The coconut-crayon ratio was mentioned on step 7: If you’re looking for a sheer finish use 1/2 a tsp of coconut oil per inch of crayon. If you’re looking for a matte finish, use 1/4 tsp of coconut oil per inch of crayon. Hope it helps!
  
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Madison says

January 27, 2015 at 7:36 pm

Could I used a dash of flavorings so I don’t have a crayon flavored lipstick?

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Madison says

January 27, 2015 at 7:38 pm

Could I use a dash of flavoring so I don’t have a crayon lipstick flavor

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- Rynna Machate says
  
  January 29, 2015 at 10:37 am
  
  You can definitely add something that fits your preference 🙂
  
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- Heather Lynn says
  
  April 5, 2015 at 5:40 am
  
  Just a thought.. Maybe depending on the color you want to do, you could buy some of those mini flavored water packets (since every beverage company has made their own version.. The choice of colors are almost endless lol). Anyhoot! Maybe adding a little bit of the powder into the mixture (and mix it super duper well!)… Maybe that will help with that wax taste/smell!
  That’s what I’m going to do! 🙂
  Thank you for this idea btw Rynna!
  Heather Lynn
  http://about.me/HLynn14
  
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Emma says

February 3, 2015 at 11:38 am

love the idea

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Roman says

February 15, 2015 at 1:18 am

You say one 1/2 a tsp but u show a table spoon in the picture? Is it table spoon or tea spoon?

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Cam says

March 11, 2015 at 7:59 pm

I’m trying this out right now! How long should it take for the crayon to melt? I’ve had mine in the glass bowl for about 15 min so far and the coconut oil is melted, but the crayon looks exactly the same. Maybe this is what I get for using off brand crayons.

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Lisa says

April 16, 2015 at 2:20 pm

So has anyone road-tested these in the wild? How do they feel on? Do they last all day? Do they stain the lips? Does the color bleed into fine lines? Eating & drinking? Anyone?

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Scarlett says

April 17, 2015 at 2:20 am

I love this idea! I’m getting me some crayons and coconut oil and doing this! Also, yes crayola is non-toxic. it is made up of almost the same non-toxic wax as those little wax bottle candies. technically you weren’t suppose to eat the wax part but you were supposed to bite the top off and drink the juice or chew it. though millions of kids back in the fifties (when it was first introduced)and now always EAT it and are just fine, my aunt is one of them, she is 97 and still eats them! So to all of you with bad and rude comments, how about you really do some research and find out what is in your “name brand” lipsticks before you go hating on other peoples alternative and NON-TOXIC ways of making their own lipsticks.

~Scarlett

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Tonya says

April 17, 2015 at 2:34 am

hate to say it but my daughter has metal allergues.. we uses every top of the line product ( which are manufactured in china mind u) and even ” natural” make up like bare minerals is full of lead. rust. and other metals to help with pigment and such.. mac is horrible n cheaply made. mass produced and so bad for ur skin.. i feel like were in the 1700-1800s when woman put mercury and poison based rouge on there faces coal was used for eyeliners.. ive severly looked into non toxic edi le style make ups so my 16 yr old wont lock herself in her room. for a fee yrs she didnt hang out with friends.. she didnt go to dances.. she even refused school pictures.. because every time she wanted to feel n look pretty she ended up on life support.. so no one can tell me how great these high end products are.. ya there natural rust lead.. so is opium and syanide hey go roll in some poision ivy….. i showed her this shes in the kitchen trying it now ( its almost 1 am here) lol.. i have 4 other girls who have no problems with even cheap dollar store make up… so im almost in tears over here seeing her get excited about make up she can wear.. i look forward to more (prefer pic) tuts on natural SAFE make up…THANK YOU 😀

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Beth says

April 18, 2015 at 2:15 am

It seems like you’ll be fine using crayola (if you’re really that concerned, seek out an organic/all natural brand), but since it’s not made for skin, especially skin as thin as on the lips, you **might** irritate your skin.

Great tutorial. Too bad people just want to rain all over it.

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Natasha Kundi's London Blog says

May 15, 2015 at 10:34 am

I wouldn’t use crayons no matter how safe they are 🙂 personally.

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