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 1200 formulas up here for you to look at, plus an extensive FAQ and an Encyclopedia full of information on the ingredients I use. I’d love it if you DIYed with me!
As seen on…
New Projects
Satsuma Shower Gel
I'm pretty excited to share this Satsuma Shower Gel with you guys—mostly for two reasons. Reason #1: I was utterly obsessed with The Body Shop's "satsuma" line as a kid, and I've had this gorgeous satsuma dupe fragrance oil for years, meaning to make satsuma-y things...
Lavender Aloe Cream Facial Cleanser
Today we're blending up a gentle Lavender Aloe Cream Facial Cleanser, featuring fragrant lavender hydrosol, soothing aloe vera, and gentle Cocamidopropyl Betaine. This lotion-like cleanser is brilliant for dry skin, offering great cleansing without being harsh. You...
Silk & Shine Shampoo
I'm pretty darn excited to finally share a formulation for a liquid shampoo! I've had a lot of requests for a non-soap liquid shampoo over the last few years, and here we are. This one stars a surfactant blend that kicks off oodles of dense, thick lather, leaving your...
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,...
Chocolate Ganache Fizzing Bath Biscuits
We're doing a bit of calorie-free "baking" today with some downright delicious Chocolate Ganache Fizzing Bath Biscuits! These fun, fizzy bath treats were inspired by a request from Bethany + some LUSH products I've been ogling for a while. When I first started work on...
Intense Hand Rescue Cream
This decadent Intense Hand Rescue Cream became an instant favourite of mine while it was still warm in the beaker. It's thick and rich, with a very luxurious skin feel and stunning slip. It's also loaded with all kinds of great-for-skin goodies like colloidal oatmeal,...
Foaming Aromatherapy Bath Concentrate
Today's DIY is ultra-simple; I designed it to be a safe and easy way to add essential oils to baths with some added bubbles. Putting essential oils in baths is really common, but can be problematic if not done properly. Essential oils are oil-soluble, so without some...
Cinnamon Cocoa Massage Bars
I had a lot of fun creating these deceptively simple Cinnamon Cocoa Massage Bars. They're silky smooth, cocoa and cinnamon-scented body butter bars that liquify readily on the skin, transforming into massage oil. Inspired by a LUSH product, I had a lot of fun...
Argan Rose Conditioning Hair Balm
The Argan Rose goodness continues today with this silky & nourishing Argan Rose Conditioning Hair Balm. It's like the lovechild of an oil-based hair serum and a solid conditioner bar. This balm has the richness of the oil-based serum, the conditioning...
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My Most Popular Posts
Lots & Lots of Clay Soap
I adore clay in my soap, so I thought I'd try a bar with lots of the stuff. The general rule of thumb I've been following is one tablespoon per 500g/pound of oils so I decided to take that up by about 10x and I'm loving the results. All that clay makes for an extra...
Scottish Rose Salve
In honour of Robbie Burn's day, I'm sharing this recipe for a Scottish Rose Salve today ("O my Luve is like a red, red rose"). It was inspired by a recipe request from Jade, who wrote "I love this [rosebud] lip salve. I've been using it for 9 years and it's a staple....
Cold Snap Cleansing Balm
I am utterly smitten with this Cold Snap Cleansing Balm. I've already emptied two tins of it. It's perfectly soft and smooth, and leaves my skin delightfully clean without drying it out. A wee bit of menthol gives it a perfect wee tingle that's perfect for first thing...
Fir, Cypress, and Silk Body Lotion
There's been a line that reads "fir and cypress body lotion with sweet undertones (vanilla, floral?)" in my long list of project ideas for quite some time. It's been there for long enough that I'm not entirely certain where the idea came from. Perhaps I tried a hand...
London Fog Lip Balm
I am quite smitten with this glossy, fragrant London Fog Lip Balm. Inspired by the lovely latte made with Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, and vanilla syrup, it conjures up memories of misty days wandering cobblestone lined streets with a woolen jacket and a chunky scarf....
Pink Rose Clay Bar
After falling madly in love with my Everyday French Green Clay Bar I decided I needed more of them. Clay bars are downright fantastic for daily light clay use and they're far more travel friendly than a baggie of mysterious looking powder (especially if you're...
Rocky Mountain Foot Butter
Kristin wrote me with the most lovely sounding recipe request—she was looking for a “rich, tingly foot butter that smells like a pine tree”. Mmmm. As a lover of all things forest scented, I absolutely had to make this awesome (and as of yet hypothetical) rocky...
Rose Spearmint Lip Balm
Several months ago I ordered some rose wax from Saffire Blue, and apart from enthusiastically sniffing the wee baggie it came in, I haven't done anything with it until now. This lovely rose and spearmint lip balm was well worth the wait, though. Want to buy this lip...
Chili Oil Tiger Balm
Before I left for Costa Rica with dreams of surfing real waves dancing in my imagination, I made a big jar of chili oil tiger balm. I was pretty sure I'd need it, and I was right. Surfing is hard work, especially when you yank your body out of winter semi-hibernation...