Easy Niacinamide Serums for Beginners
Niacinamide—also known as Vitamin B3—is a potent, effective, and popular active ingredient with amazing brightening and barrier-boosting skincare benefits. But, it can be a bit intimidating to work with. So, if you’ve been wanting to start formulating with niacinamide...
Hyaluronic Acid Serum: 3 vs. 5 vs. 8 ingredients
In this post I'm going to teach you how to make three different hyaluronic acid serums; one with 3 ingredients, one with 5, and one with 8. Each formulation builds on the one before it so you can see how to modify and expand on (or, if done in reverse, simplify!) a...
Easy 2% Salicylic Acid Solution
In today's formulation we're harnessing the skincare powerhouse that is salicylic acid with a simple formulation featuring a low-but-effective concentration of our star ingredient. Salicylic acid is commonly used in products for blemish-prone skin and has all kinds of...
Easy DIY Vitamin C Suspension (Just 3 ingredients!)
This formulation is a super simple, beginner-friendly vitamin C suspension. You don't have to worry about oxidization or pH, you'll only need three ingredients, and the finished product will help fade hyperpigmentation, increase collagen production, boost healing, and...
5% Lactic Acid + Hyaluronic Acid Exfoliating Serum
Reveal even, smoother, glowing skin with this 5% Lactic Acid + Hyaluronic Acid Exfoliating Serum formulation. Gentle AHA lactic acid offers mild chemical exfoliation, backed up with a blend of skin-soothing and hydrating actives to reduce inflammation potential and...
Beginner-Friendly Salicylic Acid + Squalane Serum
If you've been wanting to formulate with salicylic acid but haven't been sure where to start; start here 😄 This five-ingredient Beginner-Friendly Salicylic Acid + Squalane Serum doesn't contain any water, so you don't have to worry about pH, making it super...
Brighten & Boost Facial Serum
This cold-processed face serum does a whole lot of awesome things: it hydrates, brightens, reduces fine lines, evens out skin tone, boosts barrier function, soothes, softens, and might also know exactly which mango in that display at the grocery store will taste the...
Passionfruit Pressed Oil Serum
This four ingredient Passionfruit Pressed Oil Serum was formulated to let all the ingredients shine brightly. Made from three luxurious Brazilian ingredients and rounded out with a wonderful skin-loving antioxidant, this pressed oil serum can also be used as a...
Brightening Hyaluronic Acid & Niacinamide Facial Serum
The two stars of this formulation are niacinamide (Vitamin B3) and hyaluronic acid; two of my favourite skin care ingredients. They team up with fragrant sweetgrass hydrosol and a few other functional ingredients to create a simple, hydrating, brightening facial serum...
Rosehip Oat Solid Oil Serum
This Rosehip Oat Solid Oil Serum formulation is a non-greasy, packaging-optional facial moisturizer starring some beautiful oils and antioxidants. The original inspiration for this formulation was Robbie Burns Day, which is tomorrow. I was thinking about Burns' "A...
Mango Rosehip Solid Facial Oil
You'll need just six ingredients to make this cheery all-natural Mango Rosehip Solid Facial Oil. It stars two stunning lightweight emollients and it is packaging-optional, so it's a great way to reduce your packaging needs a wee bit. Making this formulation is a...
Berry Glow Facial Serum
Today's formulation is a bit of a formulation love song—an ode, if you will. A loving ballad to beautiful, fruit berry oils. A syllable-free sonnet to anti-inflammatory, barrier-boosting, antioxidant-rich oils that smell wonderfully of fresh air and make me think of...
Skin Brightening Toner Mist
This all-natural Skin Brightening Toner Mist formulation is part hydrating toner and part serum, featuring some fantastic soothing, moisturizing, barrier-boosting, and brightening ingredients. It's quite simple to make, with just a wee bit of heating, and you can...
Summer Stone Fruit Facial Oil Serum
Today we're blending up a wee taste of summer in the form of a Summer Stone Fruit Facial Oil Serum. It smells softly of marzipan and stars oils from three of my favourite summer stone fruits, plus a solid dose of some potent anti-oxidants for skin-loving benefits....
Silky Soothing Facial Gel
Today's formulation is a richly moisturizing, cold-processed, Silky Soothing Facial Gel. It was inspired by a La Roche Posay product—their B5 gel. This DIY is definitely more "inspired by" vs. attempting to duplicate their product as I don't have all the same active...
Açaí & Jojoba Facial Oil Serum
Today we're blending up an all-natural, lightweight oil serum that is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory goodness. Starring exotic açaí berry oil and featherweight Neossance® Hemisqualane, you can easily mix up this serum in just a few minutes—just weigh, cap,...
Hyaluronic Acid B5 Facial Serum
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...
Passionfruit Facial Glow Oil
Today we're getting our glow on with a simple & shimmery Passionfruit Facial Glow Oil. This beautiful facial oil serum features a blend of luxurious, exotic carrier oils, a potent skin-repairing antioxidant, and a touch of customizable shimmer. The end result is...
Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer
Today's Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer is a riff on something I first tried back in 2016, and it's lovely. Massage this soft, putty-like Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer into your skin and you'll feel it turn into a velvety, super-smooth...
Prickly Pear Eye Gel Cream
Today we're blending up a cold-processed Prickly Pear Eye Gel Cream! This lovely DIY is designed to hydrate and soothe the delicate under-eye skin, and also packs a de-puffifying (that's a word, right?) punch thanks to the inclusion of some pure caffeine powder. Since...
Brightening Gel Serum
I first developed this cream last autumn under the title "ultra gel cream". When you look at the ingredients you'll know why—it's pretty darn "ultra". It is positively packed with things that are bomb-diggity awesome for the skin, helping to brighten, hydrate, soothe,...
Cranberry Orange Facial Serum
Today's Cranberry Orange DIY is a silky, indulgent oil serum packed with antioxidants and some of my favourite natural carrier oils. A pump or two at the end of your skincare routine is all you'll need to keep your skin soft and glowing through these dry, cold winter...
Rose Ceramide Facial Gel
Today we're making a simple, fragrant facial gel starring ceramides. This gel not only moisturizes and hydrates the skin immediately, but it also helps strengthen your moisture barrier. This leads to stronger, more resilient skin and less transepidermal water loss...
Cacti Q10 Ageless Facial Serum
This Cacti Q10 Anti-Aging Facial Serum features a base of beautiful plant oils spiked with some potent Coenzyme Q10. It's rich in antioxidants, has rejuvenating properties, and leaves your skin positively glowing. It's also a rather pretty orange colour, and comes...
