Welcome to Humblebee & Me!
I’m Marie—the “me” in Humblebee & Me. I love to make things—cosmetics, soaps, lotions, lip balms, and most of all… messes. I’m on a journey to ditch shop bought body products and cosmetics and swap them for homemade, high quality alternatives. I post new projects twice a week (every Monday and Thursday), and I’ve already got over 1100 formulas up here for you to look at, plus an FAQ and an Encyclopedia. I’d love it if you DIYed with me!
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New Projects
Soft Velvet Cleansing Oil
Today we're whipping up a velvety cleansing oil that's great for all kinds of facial cleansing, but especially brilliant for removing makeup. I created it with waterproof eye makeup in mind, as it likes to hold onto my lashline for dear life! This cleansing oil has a...
Lavender Aloe Foaming Hand Wash
Today we're creating a lovely Lavender Aloe Foaming Hand Wash—a cheery purple liquid that transforms into mounds of rich, lavender-scented lather when you run it through a foamer top bottle. It comes together in a flash and is easy to scale up so you can always have...
Featherweight Hair Oil
Today we're creating an ultra-lightweight hair oil that's designed for hair that's really not very tolerant of oils (like mine). Some of my favourite-for-hair oils are blended into a silky, fast-evaporating base to create a water-free hair oil that smooths and...
Lavender Aloe Hydrating Facial Toner
'Tis the season for heaps of hydration! This DIY was initially inspired by a popular lavender witch hazel toner product, but I decided to really amp up the hydrating/humectant-y goodness in the spirit of Asian-style hydrating toners (rather than Western astringent-y...
Moisturizing Repair Cream
Welcome to our first formulation of 2020—a beautiful Moisturizing Repair Cream! I am so excited about this rich, nourishing hand cream. It's positively perfect for this time of year, helping protect skin against the winter dry and cold. Our two power ingredients are...
How to Research Your Ingredients: Part 1
We're kicking off 2020 with a bit of a multi-part guide on how to research your ingredients—a super important skill! I often hear from people who have bought something but they don't remember what for, so they're left with an ingredient with no defined purpose or use....
Things I Learned in 2019
Welcome to my annual "things I learned" post—and the last one of this decade (the first one was in 2012)! This piece of introspection and sharing is one of my favourite posts each year. The affection is not only for the reflection and distillation this post allows me,...
Winter Solstice Bath Bombs
Today we're creating some striking bath bombs to celebrate the winter solstice (technically the solstice was the night of the 21st, but here in Calgary the 23rd is only 8 seconds longer than the 21st, so I think we can still call it solstice season!). A cool, purpley...
The Best of 2019
Happy it's nearly 2020! I can scarcely believe we're at the end of another decade. I can't help but think about where I was ten years ago—in 2009 I was pretty sure I'd work as a graphic designer in an ad agency or fancy design firm. I never could've imagined I'd be...
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My Most Popular Posts
Pemberley Hand Lotion
I'm really excited to share this formula with you guys—this Pemberley Hand Lotion was my Formula Botanica final project, and I received a mark of 100% for it! The project was to create a product for a specific customer. I designed this gorgeous hand lotion for...
Soothing Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum
Today's recipe is kicking off a new soothing skin care series that is perfectly timed for the driest, darkest, and often coldest part of the winter here in Calgary. The formulas in this series star a beautiful selection of wonderful, effective ingredients that have...
Formulating and DIYing with Spreadsheets
Today I want to talk about something that really isn’t all that sexy or exciting, but it is super useful—using spreadsheets for your DIYing and formulating! Even if you don't formulate I'd recommend stepping away from online recipe calculators in favour of...
Sugar Plum Cleansing Conditioner
This Sugar Plum Cleansing Conditioner is a wonderful continuation to the fun I've been having making cleansing conditioners over the last few months. My aim with this one was to create something lighter that could work better for anyone with hair that can be easily...
Sugar Plum Conditioning Body Butter
I'm having a hard time deciding if I can give this Sugar Plum Conditioning Body Butter away. I mean... it's just so nice. I really want to keep it for myself. I really should give it away. I am a one-woman skin care stuff factory and I am not due to need another body...
Rose Witch Hazel Facial Toner
This sweetly fragrant, refreshing facial toner has become a fast favourite of mine. It smells deliciously of roses, features several soothing and lightly hydrating ingredients, and leaves my skin feeling revived and gently cleansed. It's also crazy easy to make (no...
Oil Cleansing Gel
When I was in Montreal last year I visited Coop Coco, a local DIY supplier, and poked around, looking for things I didn’t have that would fit in my suitcase. I ended up picking up a bottle of Sucragel, a cold-process emulsifier I’d never worked with before, brought it...
Creamy Stick Lip Tints
When it comes to makeup I actually wear on a regular basis I find I tend towards subtle, easy-to-apply stuff (read: stuff that goes on easily and lightly enough that it disguises my amateurish makeup application skills). These lip tints were born of my initial...
Coconut Massage Butter
Massage lovers everywhere: prepare to fall in love. This silky, glide-y Coconut Massage Butter gives you eons of working time on the skin for a luxurious, satiny massage. It isn't oily or greasy, but you'll find your hands gliding over skin with a wonderful, soft...