The C.H. Booth Library hosted its first Lava Lip Gloss Workshop on Wednesday, July 19, in the Meeting Room. Sixth to tenth grade students were invited to make lip glosses that replicated the awe-inspiring retro-lava lamps of the 1970s.

The class was led by Laura Luther, owner and chief mixologist of Olive My Skin, who creates a variety of small batch skin care products and soy candles made in Connecticut. All of the products Ms Luther designs are free of parabens, petroleum, and any artificial fragrances and colors.

For the Lava Lip Gloss Workshop, Ms Luther instructed students on the step-by-step process of how to create their very own lip glosses.

Each student received an apron and gloves to wear, as well as three small lip gloss bottles and various all-natural, skin-friendly ingredients to use.

Step one included putting 1½ pumps of coconut-based glycerin, which is a clear liquid used in moisturizers, into the bottles.

From there participants chose their favorite colors for their "lava." They were given red, yellow, blue, and green food-safe food coloring, and were able to mix them to create more color options if desired.

"You can make it anything you want," Ms Luther encouraged the class, who were eager to experiment with the colors and mix it with the glycerin.

While stirring the colorful concoctions, one of the students asked if the color would show up on their lips and Ms Luther assured that the color of the lava would not determine the lip gloss's actual pigment. No matter what colors were used, when the lip glosses get applied they all go on as a clear gloss.

Next Ms Luther handed out bottles of cherry, watermelon, bubble gum, and spearmint essential oils to customize each lip glosses' flavor and scent.

For the final steps, students filled the remaining empty space in the lip gloss bottles with castor oil - a vegetable oil produced by the seeds of a castor oil plant - then put the application roller, cap, and a label on.

Students spent the remainder of the workshop turning their lip glosses upside down to watch the colorful bubbles cascade throughout the bottle, reminiscent of how a previous generation would gather around the lava lamps.