Chit Chat Lip Laboratory Gift Set

A make-your-own lipbalm kit that sits somewhere between craft project and beauty gift. Inside the box: a block of clear lipbalm base, three small pots of coloured mica in pink, coral and berry, a clear mixing bowl, three empty lipbalm pots and three wooden stirrers. The base melts down soft, the mica stirs through in a puff, and within half an hour you've got three tinted balms to twist shut and label.

The fun is in the mixing rather than the finished balm — which is why this lands best with the eleven-to-fourteen crowd, or anyone who still takes a genuine pleasure in renaming a shade. Swirl two colours together, weight one pot heavier than the others, decide one of them is 'first kiss' and another is 'strawberry lace'.

The pots are small, the base is gentle, and the whole thing washes up with warm water and a paper towel. Good as a birthday gift, a rainy-Sunday activity, or the something-to-do that buys an hour of quiet after school. Pairs neatly with the Mini Beauty Case for a fuller present.