BB Creams are the latest to hit the shelves on the long list of beauty products that are being used. If you are a fan of BB Creams and want to know more about it and prepare one for yourself, read on.

BB cream is the short form for Beauty Balm, Blemish Balm, Beblesh Balm or Blemish Base depending on where you are from. Basically, it is a sort of hybrid cream that serves more than one purpose, so you can cut back on the number of products you pile on.

BB Creams are a combination of a moisturizer, sun protection and foundation, all rolled in one. I really liked the concept of cutting back on the number of things I have to apply and so I wanted to get one for myself.

After a few trials and errors, I wanted to prepare one myself. Every BB Cream I tried had loads of ingredients I wasn’t comfortable. And of course, a lot of readers have been asking for us to post BB Cream. So here we go ☺

Ingredients

Sweet Almond Oil – 1 Tbsp.
Shea Butter – 1 Tbsp.
Raspberry Seed Oil – a few drops
Frankincense Essential Oil – 2 – 5 drops
Foundation Powder – 2 – 4 Tbsp.
Beeswax – a few pellets

Instructions

Melt Shea Butter and Beeswax in your double boiler.

When melted remove from heat and add the Sweet Almond Oil to it.

Mix to combine.

Now, add Frankincense Essential Oil & Raspberry Seed Oil (mix before adding the powder) followed by Foundation Powder.

Stir to combine the ingredients without any lumps.

Transfer to a sterilized dispenser and use as needed.

Tips to Tweak the Recipe

Basically, I prefer a stick to a liquid consistency and opted to use Shea Butter and a little bit of Beeswax to get that consistency. However, if you prefer a liquid consistency, skip the butter, wax and use just the carrier oil.

Choose from one of the foundation powders have listed on the site, or use one of the makeup bases and add color pigments (Iron Oxide) to get the tint right. If you have issues doing this, feel free to write back us. However, we will be posting a version that will include steps to do just that, so if you can make-do in the interim, you can do that too ☺

Choose the Carrier Oil according to your skin – Sweet Almond, Argan, Jojoba Oils work well for sensitive, ageing, combination or oily skins. Macadamia, Sweet Almond, Argan and Avocado Oils work well for ageing or dry skin. Coconut Oil or Olive Oil work well for normal skin, and for that matter, just any oil will work for normal skin. Apricot Oil, Argan Oil, Sweet Almond Oil work well for sensitive skin. Jojoba Oil or Argan Oil works well for any skin type.

Likewise, choose the EO according to your requirements – Lavender – ideal for soothing (inflammation, irritated skin, etc.), Frankincense – Ageing skin as it can nourish and tighten skin, Roman Chamomile, Clary Sage, Lavender – Calms and soothes your skin, Tea Tree Oil – Oily Skin for regulating sebum production, etc.

The consistency is sort of thicker even with just the oil and powder, but that also depends on how much powder you add. If you like a lotion consistency, use your moisturizing lotion instead.

For light Coverage, you can add a spoon of Foundation Powder for 2 spoons of oil, for medium 1.5 spoons of powder for 2 spoons of oil and for full coverage you 2 spoons of Foundation Powder for 2 spoons of oil. But this ratio can slightly vary based on the oils, butters or waxes in question too. So go with the flow.

If you are worried about this being rich – then you can use powder form, or use oil-free lotion, or oil-free sunscreen options including the ones listed on the site as your base for mixing the powder.

I have used Shea Butter as it doesn’t clog pores and suitable even for oily or combination skin. However, you can skip that and stick with oils if you prefer or even use oil-free lotion as your base.

For those worried about Beeswax Comedogenic rating, Carnauba and Candelilla Waxes are other options and so is Lanolin Wax (though it is a tad softer). All these have a comedogenic rating of 1, whereas Beeswax is anywhere from 0 – 2.

Don’t have time for DIY Recipes? Try Gaya Cosmetics for your mineral makeup requirements. Have any questions or queries or feedback? Feel free to write back to us.