DIY Time: How to make your own cream concealer and highlighter

Do you have a bunch of makeup that you just love but are too inconvenient to bring around? Or do you have a foundation that turned out to be lighter than what you actually needed? It happens! I’ve had my fair share of buying makeup that didn’t quite fit my needs, so instead of letting it go waste or sitting unused in my stash, there’s a way to repurpose it into something I can actually use: my very own DIY cream makeup!

For this DIY, I made two variants of cream makeup. The first is a creamy concealer because I had a Koh Gen Doh foundation that’s a couple of shades lighter than my actual shade. I love how it looks on my skin but sadly, it’s a pain to correct foundation especially when you’re in a hurry.

The second is a blush-highlighter hybrid featuring Avon Face Pearls. This is my affordable alternative to the extremely pricey Guerlain Meteorites but I disliked how I had to keep the little pearl balls from rolling all over my vanity and onto the floor.

You can adjust this recipe according to the products you want to create but these are the basic ingredients you’ll need per DIY cream makeup variant:

• 2 tablespoons of beeswax – I used a combination of Burt’s Bees and EOS lip balm as substitute
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil – I used VCO for the blush-highlighter and C Beauty Oil for the concealer
• Empty pot containers - I used EOS lip balm containers but you can use old (and clean) contact lens cases or travel cases as well
• Double boiler or microwave

Step 1: Use either unprocessed beeswax or a lip balm as the base wax. Combine this with the coconut oil in a mixing bowl. Mash and blend together.

Step 2: Add your choice of makeup to the mix. The proportion you need will vary according to the product, so start with a small amount first, adding gradually as needed.

I used a few pumps of the KGD foundation plus a heavy dusting of the Nichido Powder to thicken up the concealer consistency. For the blush-highlighter, I added Avon Face Pearls and an extra tube of Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer Radiance to the bowl.

Step 3: Stir thoroughly over a double boiler until the mixture turns into a smooth liquid, or pop into the microwave for a few seconds, stirring at every interval. If you don’t have a double-boiler, fill a pot about halfway through with water then set another bigger bowl on top of it. The bottom of the bigger bowl shouldn’t touch the bottom of the pan, so the heat it receives is just from the boiling water (as if you're melting chocolate).

Step 4: Prepare your chosen containers, ensuring that they’re completely clean and dry. I dismantled the EOS lip balm container into three pieces, then put the middle part and cover together, placed upside down on the lower half for stability. Pour the liquefied mix into the container and freeze for up to an hour.

And here are the finished products! Both the DIY concealer and the DIY blush-highlighter have creamy textures due to the oil. They have a slight slip when applied, but it’s quite tolerable. I found that they blended easily enough onto my skin, though I think I’ll have to modify the proportions a bit to create the color, texture, and function that I actually want. I recommend starting out with small batches first to figure out your preferred proportion.

The concealer acts more like a skin brightener instead of a full-coverage concealer. I like it though because it works well for my under eye area! It can get a bit shiny though, so a light dusting of powder may be needed to set it matte.

For the blush-highlighter, the Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer definitely gave the product additional gleam! It is a bit creamier than I would have preferred but nothing I can’t solve with some loose powder. I really like how the mix subtly colors my normally pale face!

This DIY was really fun and actually quite easy to do. I now have a portable concealer/brightener and a shimmery cream blush-highlighter hybrid, without having to buy any new products. Plus, I got to use up items in my stash instead of letting them go to waste!

Will you be trying out this DIY? What kind of cream makeup would you want to make?