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 soft, moisturized skin that positively glows!

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The bulk of this shimmery facial oil is luxurious passionfruit (or Maracuja) oil. I’ve wanted to work with this exotic carrier oil ever since I first saw it sold at Sephora in a pretty purple bottle for $63/50mL (1.69fl oz) in 2011 or so. Passionfruit oil is the liquid oil pressed from the seeds of the passionfruit; it’s pale yellow and wonderfully smooth and lightweight. I find my bottle has a slightly fruity scent and feels divine on the skin. All in all, it’s a fabulous star for this serum.

I’ve complimented the passionfruit oil with some olive squalane, another gorgeous carrier oil that sells for big bucks at Sephora, but is quite affordable from DIY suppliers. If you want to read a humorous and highly educational article/love letter to squalane, I highly recommend this thorough post from F.C. at Simple Skincare Science. The Coles’ notes? It’s a gorgeous, non-irritating emollient that’s lightweight and delightful.

The main glow-y bit of this serum comes from the inclusion of 5% coloured mica. You can have a lot of fun customizing the micas to something that suits your skin tone. I tried both a pale browny-nude (here in the blog post) and a blend of a silver-white and fold (for the video)—I think I liked the silver-white/gold blend best for my skin tone, but oh, the fun you could have! Copper, gold, silver, a soft blush pink—all sound lovely. You could also go a bit more editorial and choose something green or blue, or possibly even colour-shifting. Have fun with this part!

Some “thickening clay” (Quaternium-90 Sepiolite ([and] Quaternium-90 Montmorillonite) helps keep the mica suspended, and also contributes a drier finish to the oil. The suggested usage rate for this ingredient is 1–3%; I’ve used just 1% to help slow out settling and add some viscosity without being too drying on the skin. Even at 3% this ingredient doesn’t completely prevent settling out, but it definitely does help! If you love suspending micas and pigments and other insoluble things in oils, you should definitely pick up some thickening clay if you can. If not, please look it up in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia to learn more & get substitution suggestions.

For some additional glow-y goodness I’ve also included some Coenzyme Q10, also known as Ubiquinone. It’s a potent antioxidant that helps repair UV damage and is great for anti-ageing, helping prevent collagen breakdown. I thought the UV damage repair was especially helpful for such a summery-feeling serum, but its benefits are definitely great all year round!

To use the finished oil, shake the bottle and spread a few drops across your face towards the end of your skincare routine, and let it sink in for a few minutes before applying any makeup. Enjoy!

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Passionfruit Facial Glow Oil

0.07g | 1% TKB’s thickening clay
0.35g | 5% coloured mica of choice (I used Nearly Nude)

4.235g | 60.5% passionfruit oil
2.1g | 30% olive squalane
0.21g | 3%  Coenzyme Q10 Q-MAX
0.035g | 0.5% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)

Weigh the thickening clay and mica (or mica blend) into a small container, followed by the rest of the ingredients. You’ll need an accurate scale (preferably one accurate to 0.01g). I weighed everything into a disposable plastic mixing cup for ease of cleanup, and because the cups are so light you don’t risk overshooting the maximum weight on your scale.

Use a little electric mixer (I used the MICROMini™ Mixer from Lotion Crafter) to blend everything together. If you don’t have a wee electric mixer that will work, I recommend using a small wire whisk instead.

Once the mixture is uniform, that’s it! Transfer to your container; I used a 1/4oz (~7ish mL) bottle (or double the as-written formulation and use a 15mL bottle).

To use, smooth a few drops over your skin after your watery serums and actives.

Shelf Life & Storage

Because this serum is 100% oil based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.

Substitutions

As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.

• As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 7g (approximately 1/4 fl oz).
• To learn more about the ingredients used in this recipe, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list (thickening clay, Coenzyme Q10 Q-MAX) please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
• As with any formulation that has very few ingredients, anything you change is going to make a pretty big difference in the end product.
• You could use a different luxurious oil your skin loves instead of passionfruit oil. Argan oil, prickly pear seed oil, moringa oil, and meadowfoam seed oil come to mind.
• Feel free to use different micas (or a blend of micas!) that suit your complexion.
• You could use a different ultra-light liquid carrier oil instead of olive squalane. Camellia seed oil would be a nice choice!