DIY: Semi-Homemade Cream Blush

A long while ago, I promised to figure out how to make cream blush. I like to keep my promises. It really isn't that much harder than making a generic lip balm, you just need more pigment and oil. (and no flavoring. Unless people lick your face. I don't judge) But I only have one color of pigment at the moment, and not a whole lot of it. Enter in a broken ELF blush that I had been putting off repairing! I think this is a great way to re-purpose and reinvent products that you are ready to toss!

Supplies:

Heat Source (I used a glass ramekin and a candle)

Jojoba Oil (or another skin friendly oil. Even coconut if it doesn't irritate)

Broken blusher/pigment/old eyeshadow

Cleaned, empty palette with a lid

Beeswax

Something to stir with (I used Popsicle sticks)

Something to crush with (I used a marble pestle)

Step One: Crush & Mix

Carefully scrape the remnants of your blush from the compact. Add them too a bowl and crush them to a fine powder.

The blush I had was matte, so I decided to add a little sparkle to it.

Add them together and mix. In retrospect, I would definitely add more of the sparkle. It didn't really show up in the final product.

Step Two: Wax and Oil

I used about a teaspoon of wax, more or less. I didn't really measure it. I have a giant block of wax, so measuring is kind-of a pain. Less wax just means creamier blush. This step takes a little while, and random stirring is recommended.

Once the wax is mostly melted, add about a teaspoon or so of oil. It's really up to you. More oil means creamier blush that is easier to blend out.

Step Three: Mix it all Together

Dump your bowl of pigment into your wax and stir. You want to make sure that it is completely mixed, with no lumps at all.

Step Four: Pour and Chill

Pour your mixture back into your cleaned palette. I used a pipette (only because I have them handy), so my surface isn't pretty and smooth. Don't fill it up to the very top like I did here. I had to scrape some off to close the lid. You will definitely have some left over, so if you have an extra palette or little tub, you can make a travel size.

Carefully transfer your palette to the fridge and leave it for about half an hour. You don't have to chill it, but it speeds up the setting process. I wanted to play with this ASAP, so into the fridge it went!

Step Five: Wear It!

Here it is, blended onto my pale-ass hand. It has a decent life span, but not a lot of punch. I think that is because I used ELF blush for my pigment. The original blush was pretty light, so my finished product is only slightly more pigmented. I'd love to try this with some super pigmented shadows next time. Imagine all the fun colors you can make!

If you use lip-safe pigments, then this can absolutely be a multi-tasking product. I tried this on my lips (do this at your own risk. I'm only assuming that the blush was lip-safe) and it made for a pretty tinted balm. Multi-taskers are among my favorite things, so this is definitely going to happen again. Next time, I might try using lipstick as my coloring...though I imagine I would need to back down on the oil and wax for that.

I also think this could be adapted to make a creamy highlighting product too. If I can find a nice palette (why are these so hard to find!) then I may try to make a solid cream version of my DIY High Beam. I'd love to have a goldy-pearl shade for highlighting.

If you have any suggestions, comments, etc...leave them below!

an updated version of this post is available at BedlamBeauty.com