DIY: How to make your own BB Cream and CC Cream

BB creams and CC creams are easily available in the market. However, if you want to save a few bucks by simply re-purposing some beauty products you already have, then make your own! It will rock. You will probably be able to get a better shade match and a skin-beneficial product in the bargain.

It begs the question: why don't you just apply these things seperately and call it a day? That works too but it's a lot more time consuming. With a (home-made or store-bought) BB/CC cream, you can skip several steps in your routine!

So, I've decided to make a tutorial on how to make your own BB cream and CC cream. BB creams are technically mid-coverage bases with a lot of SPF and skincare properties thrown in. CC creams on the other hand are also beneficial to the skin but have sheerer, more illuminating coverage. To create one, all you need to do is tweak your DIY or store-bought BB cream. ;)

Let's get started!

These are the basic things you need. The beauty is that you don't have to use these exact same brands posted here! Just use skincare that works for you and your favorite liquid foundation. I will also include alternatives.

1. Moisturizer with SPF. It ain't a proper BB/CC cream without SPF. ;) If you use an SPF 50 cream, don't expect that number per application since it will already be diluted. What I used: Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense SPF50 PA+++

2. Heavy-coverage liquid foundation. If you only have powder foundation, you can crush a portion of it instead. Make sure that the particles are fine and have no remaining lumps. You can also use loose mineral powder foundation if you wish. What I used: Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup

3. Serum. BB/CC creams usually promise anti-blemish, anti-aging, whitening, brightening, etc. What other skincare product can give you that? Why, serums. That's wny you need a dose of your favorite serum in your DIY cream. What I used: Estee Lauder CyberWhite HD Spot Correcting Essence

4. Liquid or powdered illuminator. This is optional. If you're oily then you may want to keep your BB/CC cream as matte as possible. However, if you have dry skin or just like the dewy look, you would want some brightening shimmer in there. I added an illuminating silicone primer so my mixture also has a pore-smoothing property. What I used: Smashbox Photo Finish Luminizing Primer

5. Mixing bowl and spatula. Use a glass bowl if you can; it's easier to mix everything together with a slippery surface.

6. Distilled water or Evian. (not in photo) / 7. Clear plastic jar or bottle with pump, for storage (not in photo)

Once you have everything in place, we come to the fun part: mixing! My advice is that you use the same amount of foundation and SPF cream as your base mixture. So in other words, if you use one teaspoon of foundation, you must also use one teaspoon of SPF cream. Then add half a teaspoon of serum and another half-teasepoon of illuminator.

If you're using powder foundation, use only half the recommended amount. 

You can tweak this to your liking, of course. If you want heavier coverage, use more foundation. If you want to go sheerer, use more serum and SPF. If you want a more glowy finish, add more shimmer. If you want to fill in your pores better, add a touch of silicone primer. 

Then, mix everything together until the consistency is smooth and free of lumps or bubbles. :) Easy right? This is what it looks like:

Don't mean to brag but, ehem, it looks amazing. It's so smooth and the shade looks great, although it has lightened a little bit. ^_^ Now let's turn this BB into a CC cream!

All you need to do is add either more SPF cream, moisturizer, or serum. Take your pick. You can use any skincare product as long as it sheers out the coverage. Then add some more liquid or powdered illuminator (this time I used a loose pigment from Lancome - it has pretty, super fine peachy gold shimmer). Last but not least, add a bit of water to create a lighter, thinner texture. Use distilled water or better yet, the Evian facial spray.

Take note, you don't have to add a lot of water. It shouldn't comprise more than 2/10s of the whole mixture.

Here's a comparison of my DIY BB cream and CC cream!

Love it. :) Hope you found this useful! Let me know if you ever try to make your own BB/CC cream, and what the results are. Suggestions are also welcome.

Have a great Monday!