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. Let’s dive in!

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The theme of this serum is “summer stone fruits”, so all of the oils we’re using are pressed from the stones (or kernels) of different stone fruits. I chose vitamin-rich apricot kernel oil, silky smooth cherry kernel oil, and luxurious plum kernel oil. Between the three fruits, we cover early, mid, and late summer. Apricots are a fairly early summer fruit, followed by cherries in June and July and plums in August and September. Yum! I have many fond memories of eating cherries on road trips and being introduced to prune plums by the wonderful Italian family who ran the farm I bought my produce from every autumn while I was in university in Toronto.

When it comes to fatty acid profiles, these three carrier oils have quite a lot of overlap. Oleic and linoleic acid feature heavily in all three. I’d say cherry kernel oil is the most interesting, featuring a rare omega-5 fatty acid (α-eleostearic acid), which has been shown to have antioxidative properties in in vivo studies.

This silky serum smells (somewhat unexpectedly) of marzipan; that is thanks to the beautiful plum kernel oil. I remember being surprised and delighted upon cracking my first bottle of plum oil and taking a whiff; so many of the oils we use smell of nothing (or of nothing nice—I’m looking at you, fishy evening primrose oil), so it was lovely to find notes of exquisite desserts.

I’ve included two great antioxidants, both for skin benefits and to improve the stability of the serum. Vitamin E (tocopherol) helps protect the skin from environmental damage, while Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) helps prevent collagen breakdown and repair UV damage. If you don’t have Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) you could use more vitamin E instead.

As this serum is made entirely from liquid ingredients, making it is very easy. Simply weigh, mix, and you’re done! I’ve been using a few drops at the end of my skincare routine; I’ll gently massage the oil serum into my face after applying lighter layers like serums and hydrating toners. Enjoy!

Relevant links & further reading

• Plum oil in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Apricot Kernel Oil in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Cherry Kernel Oil in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
• A Guide to Carrier Oil Substitutions
• How long will ______ last? What is its shelf life?

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Summer Stone Fruit Facial Oil Serum

0.6g | 3% Coenzyme Q10 Q-MAX
6g | 30% apricot kernel oil (USA / Canada)
5.2g | 26% cherry kernel oil
8g | 40% plum kernel oil (USA / Canada)
0.2g | 1% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)

Weigh all the ingredients into a small beaker, or directly into the bottle you’ll be storing the serum in.

If it’s a beaker, stir to combine, and then pour into the bottle. If you went straight for the bottle, cap and shake.

That’s it!

To use, spread a few drops over the skin towards the end of your skincare routine, after cleansing and using any lighter serums.

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 20g.
• To learn more about the ingredients used in this formulation, 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 please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
• You could replace the Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) with more Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
• You could use more of any of the three oils in this formulation to replace what you don’t have.
• Sweet almond oil or peach kernel oil will also work well as a replacement for any of the oils in this formulation that you don’t have.
• You could use other oils your face loves, too, but that does start to defeat the purpose of a “stone fruit” themed serum if you’re replacing the stone fruit oils with other oils!
• If you’d like to incorporate an essential oil, please read this.