How we do (1)
Chapter 1: Lipsticks
Tell ya what....how about I just tell the process and wait til after to do the obligatory anecdotal nonsense that seems to accompany every online recipe. Sound good? awesome....I guess this makes up for the fact that I will absolutely NOT be giving away our recipe.
Phase A: make sure all tools and equipment are cleaned and disinfected. this part is kind of obvious. Wash out all the residue and wipe with high-percentage isopropyl alcohol in the borosilicate and silicon labware, and bleach for tables and equipment. Mask up, glove up, and tie back hair to avoid any contaminants. Phase B: Gather the necessary equipment. Double boiler with extra water, glass griffin beaker, stirring devices (glass, stainless steel, or silicone work great. we also sometimes use popsicle sticks.), anything use to weigh (silicone cups, wax paper squares, etc.), liquid measuring doohickeys (glass graduated cylinders, measuring cups or spoons, etc.), cleaning rags or paper towels, seasoned molds, decent music, and a positive attitude. Phase C: Measure and weigh ingredients. Metric is preferable due to how easy it is to convert for larger batches. It also helps one feel more scientifical. We like to weigh on a piece of waxpaper to avoid messing up the scale. Always tare the scale if using paper or silicone. Our standard base lipstick recipe is as follows:
X g Ingredient 1
x g Ingredient 2
x g Ingredient 3 X g Colorant matrix
X ml Ingredient 4
X g Ingredient 5
A few drops Ingredient 6 In a griffin beaker, in a double boiler set on about 2.5, melt ingredients 1-5 into a viscous liquid. Feel free to agitate the concoction....it doesn't really help until you're stirring, but it IS fun to play with as it melts. Once you have a nice, melted, thick liquid, add ingredient 6 and stir. be careful you don't break the beakers or stirrers (done both a few times.), because then you gotta toss the whole batch to avoid injuries from glass shards. Once it's all liquid and in a state of singularity....the fun part. Add color, mattefying agent, liquid or powder coloring, any desired or unintended effect additives (all safe and approved by the USFDA.)...this....this part requires....this is the artistic part. Every human has an inherent ability AND need to create, so do what you will. Color is weird, so experiment, and accept what you have already created as adequate. there is no need to chastise yourself over an unintended new color. Mattify, add gloss, add metallicity....f--- it. Life is way too short to be conservative at this point.
Phase D: Assumptively, the pre-seasoned molds are assembled and tightened, and it is time to pour. KEEP WATER AWAY!!!!....condensation and drip from double boiler can completely ruin a stick. as it turns out, wax, oil, butter, etc.... and water....do NOT mix, and it should be obvious, but we learned it over time(after we forgot it from chem class).
Tilt the dried Griffin beaker to necessary angle to pour evenly into Lipstick mould. Wait a few minutes, then add a few drops into the inevitable hole that occurs during cooling. Take mould to refrigerato and allow it to cool for about a half hour to an hour. Accept inevitable flaws in the finish that will be removed as soon as the customers use the stick. Once cool, take mould and scrape excess, toss back into the pool. Demold and insert into tubes. Clean up and package for shipping. Clean that mess up. You know there is a mess to be cleaned up, so do it now....don't wait.
And there ya have it....the lipstick recipe, for what it is. Now, I guess I can wax idiotic about whatever i so choose. Hehehe.
Ok....Here is where I reminisce about the topic I originally blogged about and how blah blah blah....(feel free to skip this part, as it adds nothing to the main questline, but is a decent lore dump.)
I have never worn lipstick, and cannot therefore relate to it in any real way, just vicariously through my sister. Jessica deserves more credit than she gets. Not only for keeping me alive, but for the HEAVY influence she had on me. Technically, I am a"Xennial", but she anchors me, quite firmly, into the "X" generation....which I am TOTALLY fine with. Honestly, I was/am more team Vedder than team Cobain, but that's just me.....F-me for having a modicum of hope, right?....
Let's get that train of thought back onto some semblance of the rails. My older sister had a lot to do with how I view makeup this far ahead in life. I remember a pan-decade fad-fest with fashion. And music....oh, man....i owe her about half of my taste in music, and we haven't lived together since the mid-90's. I attribute a hell of a lot of my ability to "Riff" (it's like a sarcastic voiceover) life in general, along with any media input to her. NOTHING is above being joked about....but luckily, she is there to keep me from verbalizing when necessary (funerals....when I show up). As i lose momentum, and drift closer to exhaustion, I will leave it with this: Jessica, I thank you. X also thanks you, as does Casandra ("guys with older sisters act more respectfully towards women"), though their reasons differ. You are one hell of an aunt, sister, person, walking dichotomy, as well as your occupation. I will end the rough draft of this while "Shoop" by Salt-n-Peppa plays in the background. Gotta go back and grammar-police myself. Spell-check is pretty automatic, so I don't need to fix that. Love you, Jessica.
Your dorky little brother, -'Squito Valdez
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