Today we’re squishing up a creamy off-white Gentle Clay Facial Cleansing Bar, starring velvety white kaolin clay and a gentle surfactant blend that kicks off dense, rich lather. You don’t need any heat or even a mould to make these—just a bowl, a dust mask, and a pair of gloves! We’ll smoosh and squish seven ingredients together, shape that dough as desired, and leave it to age. And that’s it! Gentle Clay Facial Cleansing Bar, here we come.
When I first dreamt up this cleansing balm, the dream was of a seaweed and clay cleansing balm. How romantic and exotic-sounding, no? A hefty dose of vitamin-rich green seaweed powder would star, and how lovely it would be. There was just one problem with that. Seaweed smells, to put it mildly… awful. I started work on the seaweed version and while its consistency was lovely, and the cleansing was beautiful, the scent was thoroughly offputting. Blech. It was a sensory experience not too far removed from doing a face plant in a pile of wet seaweed (and possibly dead fish) on a beach at low tide. So, I re-dreamt the balm, swapping the fragrant seaweed powder for some much more pleasing powdered rose petals, and here we are! This balm has that same lovely consistency and beautiful cleansing, but it smells softly of roses instead of… yeah 😝 I think you’ll like it!
If you’re looking for an indulgent facial, I think this Creamy Oat & Shea Face Mask is just the thing. A rich base of shea butter and safflower oil suspends a blend of soothing, moisturizing ingredients to create a really decadent masking experience. Try using this mask while soaking in the tub—it’s downright lovely!
This decadent Whipped Cream Calendula Facial Cleanser is a riff on the Rose & Honey Rich Cream Cleanser I shared earlier this summer. That cleanser was really popular, and I really loved it, so I thought I’d play with the idea a bit more. This variation features a touch of surfactant for improved rinse-off, a slightly larger oil phase, a slippy-er skin feel, and it’s whipped for added fluffy decadence! It’s still a rich, gentle cleanser, with a fairly simple ingredients list, and I love it 😄
If you’ve been reading Humblebee & Me for more than a few weeks, I’m sure you’ve heard me say that Calgary (where I live) is dry. It’s the kind of dry where bread usually goes stale rather than sprouting mould. If I visit somewhere humid and buy crackers they are probably going to go all floppy and soggy on me because I am not in the habit of carefully re-sealing bags of things that are supposed to be crispy because, well… they’d stay crispy sitting in an open bowl in my kitchen at home! While this dry-ness is very handy for things like airdrying laundry, it’s less awesome for my skin, as you can probably guess by the constant parade of moisturizing skincare formulations I share! Today’s project is another float in my dry-skin-battling parade—a richly hydrating Hyaluronic Acid B5 Serum.
Today we’re creating an ultra-gentle Creamy Jelly Facial Cleanser! This gelled facial cleanser features some lovely soothing ingredients, a super mild surfactant, and a really fun, jell-o-y consistency. I’m loving it as my sole cleanser first thing in the morning, and as a secondary cleanser in the evening (before bed I use an oil-based cleanser to remove makeup and sunscreen first). It leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean but not dry or tight ❤️
Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care is now available at booksellers all over the world!