About a year ago, I posted a recipe for my Thank Goodness it Ain't Maybelline Mascara made from beeswax, coconut oil, and activated charcoal--much safer and cheaper than your average drugstore beauty product.  It has all the effects of a quality mascara without the scary chemicals.  Yet even homemade mascara can be fated to cause the much maligned racoon eyes, natural enemies of a perfectly quaffed look, especially in the summer when the desert heat sets everything to melting and sweating.

With this in mind, I put together a clear mascara recipe for those hot summer days when you want to look a little extra polished but don't want to be constantly worrying about black circles around your eyes.  Like any clear mascara, it offers a little extra length and curl, but won't necessarily give you the high-drama of super long, dark lashes...which is just fine by me come summer time when the less makeup, the better.

The recipe is much the same as my black mascara, swapping out the charcoal for the aloe vera gel for added lightness.  The mix comes out slightly yellow in the tube because of the beeswax, but it does go on clear.  Make sure when you apply it to really comb through your lashes so the oil goes on evenly without clumping.  You should also run an eyelash comb through your strands to get a more even look.  You can recycle old mascara tubes for this or buy new ones here.

Ingredients:

2 tsp coconut oil

1/2-1/3 tsp grated beeswax

1 tsp aloe vera gel (optional)

Melt beeswax on low heat.  I do this by placing the wax in a clean tin can.  This tin can then goes in a saucepan with about one inch of water in it (see photo). Once the beeswax is melted, mix remaining ingredients into can and allow to melt.  Remove from heat and carefully pour liquid into your clean mascara tube.  I do this by pouring from a tin can that has been pinched on one end to create a spout (again, see photo) or by pouring the cooling mixture into a plastic bag that has a corner cut out of it.  Place the open corner of the bag inside the mascara tube and slowly push the liquid into the tube.  Allow to cool before using. Makes one tube.