I’m really excited about this brightlighter! I know I seem to be saying that a lot these days, but it’s true. I feel like I’ve figured a few great things out over the last few months, and I’m having tons of fun with those discoveries. This little stick is fantasticāit instantly brightens your face and eyes, and it smells like chocolate thanks to the cocoa butter (USA / Canada) it’s made with. It’s great for quickly pulling yourself together, and since it’s in a tube it’s perfect for throwing in your purse or gym bag.
It’s smooth light, with a slight pink hue and just the slightest hint of shimmer. It blends easily into your skin, and is light enough that you can easily layer it to work up to the tone you need. I love it around my eyes (under my eyebrow, dabbed on the inside of my eyes by my tear ducts, and under my lower lash line), and in a “C” shape above my eyebrow and then down and around, and across my cheekbones.
This stick is formulated for warmer weather (I’ll be making another, softer version come winter), so if you live in a colder climate (I’d say an average temperature lower than 20Ā°C) you’ll want to drop a gram or two of beeswax.
And the best part? Tubes of similar stuff sell for $30/10g at Sephora. Ha. Booyah.
Brightlighter
4g | 0.14oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
7g | 0.25oz capuacu butter
5g | 0.17oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
8g | 0.28oz grapeseed oil
1g | 0.03oz magnesium stearateĀ¾ tsp titanium dioxide
Ā½ tsp sericite mica (USA / Canada)Ā½ tsp silver mica
1/32ā16 tsp red iron oxide (I use these tiny measuring spoons for tiny measurements like this)
Tiny speck blue ultramarineMelt the beeswax, cupuacu butter (USA / Canada), cocoa butter (USA / Canada), grapeseed oil, and magnesium stearate together in a small saucepan over low heat.
Blend in the titanium dioxide and sericite mica (USA / Canada). Add the sliver mica, and oxides to reach a light, slightly cool shade of pink. You’ll need to do quite a bit of blending and smearing of your flexible silicone spatula along the bottom of your saucepan to ensure the micas and oxides break up and incorporate evenly.
Pour into lip balm tubesāit’ll fill four. Let cool and enjoy your new little “I swear I’m awake!” stick.
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog. I think that you may have a natural ingredient list that rivals my own. š It is always a pleasure to open emails from Humblebee and Me. I never know what I will find and it is always something interesting. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into sharing your discoveries with the rest of us.
Aww, thanks so much, Jennifer! It’s always nice to hear that people like you appreciate what I’m doing, especially after I’ve spent a day mixing up concoctions, and then throwing them all out because they all failed (aka today) :/ Thanks for reading!
Thank you for sharing! This seems interesting ^_^.
Just wondering though, does it work as a concealer for dark eye circles too? I have a pair of frighteningly dark eye circles that I desperately want to hide.
Do you think the colour used in this recipe would be suitable for yellow-tone oriental skin? If not, I guess I need to do some experiments first. Any suggestion would be much appreciated. Sorry for the barrage of questions ^_^;;
Thanks for reading! This isn’t really a concealer as much as it is a highlighter, so I can’t really make any promises for how it’ll work on under eye circles. It may brighten them enough that they don’t seem as dark anymore, or it could just, well, highlight them, and make them look worse. I don’t know… I don’t have the under eye circles to test them out on. Something it will do is make you look more awake, so it will likely distract from the circles, even if not applies directly to them. I will be developing a concealer stick in the near future, though, so stay tuned!
I know I look pale as a sheet in all my photos, but my undertones are really quite yellow (I even once had a cabbie insist I was Asian and tell me I was lying for telling him my ancestry is Scottish, but that’s another story…). I can’t wear pink eyeshadow without looking like I have an infection, but the pink here is super subtle. You might consider swapping the silver mica for a bronze or gold mica, but I don’t think you’ll have issues with the pinkish tone as it is barely noticeableāit’s just a kind of “healthy” tint so the Brightlighter doesn’t go on pure white, so you look like you still have some blood circulation š
Do you sell this? If so, I’d like to buy some!!
I don’t sell anything I make, sorry Loriann! That’s why I provide the recipes instead š
Thanks again for sharing this. Just wondering like Yuliani if I could add maybe some yellow oxide for more olive/yellow complexions. I don’t have silver mica, does it act as the brightening agent? Excitedly awaiting all my raw ingredients so I can start š
The brightening agent is mostly the titanium dioxide, which adds some white to your skin. The silver mica is to catch the lightāit isn’t noticeably sparkly, but it is definitely part of the brightening effect.
As for the yellow, I think you might just have to try it and see. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. That said, I barely notice the pinkish hue when its on my skin, so the change might not even be necessary.
I have been following your blog for about a week now. You are brilliant!! I love all your beauty products. And of course I want to try every single one!!..so I am anxiously waiting for my package to arrive! Once it does I shall get busy! I appreciate individuals as yourself, taking the time to share your ideas with others. Thank you for sharing!
Awww, thanks Kyra! I love getting positive feedback like this, especially on days when my various DIY endeavors resulted in nothing but food for my trash can š Thanks for reading, have fun, and feel free to get in touch with any questions or recipe requestsāI love a good new DIY idea š
Hey Marie, your recipes are amazing…Just wondering, if I could use this on dark skin, as in Indian skin.
Hey Tanya, thanks for reading! You can definitely use this on darker skin, you just might want to use less titanium dixode so it isn’t as white/opaque. I’m pretty pale so I need a lot of brightness to surpass my natural skin toneāif you have darker skin you won’t need as much š
Hi! I just randomly stumbled upon your blog after Googling “chia seed tea.” I love the photos on your site, and since being drawn in by the visuals, I have raided your site! I love it! I want to know if you have a pinterest account I can follow because I love your photos, but I am not big on instagram. I love the work you are doing! š YAY! (It is so rare to find quality photos and writing in one place–THANK YOU!)
Awesome! A big thanks to Google for sending you my way š I do have a Pinterest account, you can follow me at @MarieRayma. Thanks for reading and see you ‘around’ soon š
I just looked through your site/ blog and I think you’ve just become my new best friend. Lol! I am super excited about trying out the bath and beauty “recipes”. Thank you for sharing these, keep up the awesome work. You’re amazing!
Awww, thanks Star! I wish all my blog friends lived nearby… though I’d probably have a hard time actually writing blog posts if I had that many friends to spend time with š Luckily my social life is much more subdued, lol. Thanks for reading and feel free to get in touch if you ever need any help!
Just made this finally! I halved the recipe since I was using the skinny lip balm tubes (as you suggested), but I made the mistake of adding the oxides to my powders, mixing, then adding it all to the oils. It was waaaaay too pink. In the end, I added another 1/32 of a tsp of red oxide and 1/2 tsp French pink clay to make a highlighting blush stick! It filled one of those mini “solid lotion” tubes (clear mini deodorant tube) from SB, which fit perfectly.
So, for attempt #2 I only used 1/64 of a tsp (a “nip”, hehe), and that was MUCH less red. Again, why are my ingredients so much more concentrated than yours?! For future reference, a 1/2 recipe filled 5 skinny tubes š
Yay! The annoying thing about measurements under 1/4 tsp is they are darn hard to regulate without a set of tiny measuring spoons (which I finally got! But they weren’t around for this recipe). And even then they’re not that accurate, it seems. I have bits and pieces of 5 different measuring spoon sets and I swear some 1/2 tsps are totally different sizes than others. I will blame it on the measuring spoons before I blame it on the ingredients, I guess. Given what the spoons are made for (measuring out bits of salt and baking soda), they don’t have to be uber accurate since small variations in those things doesn’t make much of a difference in a batch of cookies. However, the difference between 1/32 & 1/64 in something like this is pretty darn huge.
Since I didn’t have the wee measuring spoons for this I would have eyeballed it as a percentage of the 1/4t measuring spoon that was full. It would have been about 1/4 or the 1/4 tsp (hence 1/16 tsp), but that’s hardly scientific. Anyhow, I’m sorry you ended up with a highlighting blush stick, but it sounds awesome! And yay for it working out in the end š
Haha, it’s always a learning experience without an actual lab to experiment š I actually do have those tiny measuring spoons, and they’re quite handy. But yes, I would say 1/32 of a tsp is probably too high, unless I do have super pigmented iron oxide. Now I know to start with half of what’s “called for”, just in case š
Besides, I quite like the “blush stick”, so I’m not too disappointed. I usually opt for powder blush because it’s easier, but the stick gives a more dewey look an blends really nicely. It does tend to rub off easier though, so you have to be careful.
I finally got those tiny teaspoons! I needed something to push me over the free shipping threshold on Amazon and I’ve been ogling them for years (and now I finally have a concrete “need” for them lol). So, from now on my measurements involving tiny spoons will be much more accurate. I’m sure I’ll be making more of these awesome Brightlighter tubes at some point so I shall correct it when I do š
Hi, I do not see blue oxide on NDA’s website, can I use blue mica?
Blue oxide š Also, mica’s are craaaazy sparkly, so I wouldn’t do that swap unless that’s the look you’re going for š They are also not as strongly pigmented, so you’d have to use more, meaning glitter galore.
I was thinking to make mine more like a blush stick adding a rose mica & a gold mica skipping the titanium dioxide altogether. I may add some beet power also. thoughts
My first thought is that it sounds like my strawberry shimmer stick š The second thought is not to waste your beetroot powder, it’s water soluble and is just wretched in oils… I know because I tried š I love having one of these on the go for my lips and cheeks, but it’s definitely not the same as this, which I use nearly every day to brighten up my eyes. I’d really recommend trying this recipe as well if you love the bright-eyed look š
What could one sub in for the capuacu butter? Is Shea similar?
And could I use milk of magnesia as a sub for magnesium stearate? (Realizing that may give me a more liquid product than a stick)
Shea butter is greasier than cupuacu butter, but otherwise relatively close. Mango butter would be a better alternative, though.
I haven’t tried it, but I wouldn’t recommend milk of magnesia as a swap for magnesium stearate. Most of the versions I found were water based, so you’ll run into some pretty serious solubility issues, plus it doesn’t sound like it would do anything close to what magnesium stearate does for the recipe (increase slip).
Hi! I am wondering did you use the titanium dioxide from NDA for this recipe? Thanks!
I believe so š In any event, I know I have since used NDA’s TD in oil based concoctions and it works well. Enjoy!
Hi Marie love your recipe’s. A question can I mix
cericite with a purple mica for eyeshadow and would it stay put as i wear glasses. Normally powder would fall on my glasses. Lol
Hi Lynn! I’d recommend checking out my eyeshadow recipeāyou can make it in any colour you like š If you blend it in well, it should stay put.
I’ve searched and searched for a Chinese translation of cupuacu butter to try to find it. From what I can gather? There is no translation! So I couldn’t get my hands on it and used shea butter instead. It is a wee bit greasier, but I figure meh. This is my first time making and wearing anything like this so notes notes notes!
Woke up at 3am this morning and just couldn’t get back to sleep. So decided to create something. I couldn’t decide between this one and the high beam creme from another post. I decided on this one for somewhere else you mentioned you preferred this one near your tear duck or something like that. And the lip chap tubes are mucho cheapero than the other tubes so want to make sure I’ve got the basics down.
My silver stash of micas is very low and having trouble finding replacements, so used gold instead as it is summer and that would be sun kissed loveliness! I’ve got an olively complextion and found that the amount of red mica in the recipe just wasn’t enough so added a fair bit more.
This is the first time I have ever worn something like this, and I think if it lasts the walk to work and most of the day I might be a convert!
Very cool! I hope you’re still enjoying this stuff š And, if you can find mango butter, it’s a better cupuacu alternative than shea (though shea obviously still works). Yay for DIY makeup!
I did get a fair bit of mango butter in and have been thinking of making this again because I do love it. I’ll let you know how it goes! Because the way everything seems to be going, I’m never going to be able to get my hands on cupuacu butter. I did find carnuba wax, just need to figure out what I want to use it in!
OOoh, carnauba. So hard and glossy! Here’s a good place to start š
And one more question for you. How do you know how much of the stearate and the sericite mica and titanium dioxide to add in each recipe? The titanium dioxide I guess that might be try, try and try again, but the other ones….. how did you figure it out?
Eh… I don’t know? Honestly, it’s been years of experimenting, reading ingredients lists, and working with things and… yeah. I’m afraid I have no particularly helpful advice there :/
I love the look of this recipient and will definitely be trying it. I am on the lookout for a cream eyeshadow recipe, do you think this coulbpd be used as a base for cream eye shadow at all?
Not really š I mean, you could, if you don’t care about wear time or creasing at all. Cream eyeshadow is a lot more like liquid lipstick than cream cosmetics for the cheeks or faceāTKB Trading has a free liquid lipstick formulation that could be a good starting point š