Thursday, August 11, 2011

DIY Beet Blush: FOYF (Food On Your Face)

Makeup has definitely been a difficult eco-change in my life. I just like me my MAC products ya know? They're just so darn amazing- the down side are the chemicals... I know many of you are makeup-free gals (or makeup minimum) which I say 'Good for you!' but I like to paint my face. It's fun, evens out my skin tone and makes my sleepy eyes more awake.

So when I saw this fantastically easy tutorial by a former makeup artist on EcoEtsy I thought: I can DO that! Seriously. I can. Three ingredients? I am a GO.

We just had to buy some beets. Which typically come in bunches. Since neither Andrew nor I eat beets, the rest will get donated to Home Heather, who LOOOVES them :)

There were definitely a few little bumps in this process of making the beet blush, but in the end it ACTUALLY WORKED. Even Andrew was shocked and surprised. So here's the process with a few little editorial comments on the process from yours truly:

Ingredients:
1 beet
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Equipment:
Blender or food processor
wire mesh strainer
glass container for storage
dealy to squish beet mush through the wire strainer

Step 1: 'Cut your beet in half and trim off the skin. Cut in tiny pieces'



 (the colours are so pretty!)
Ok- at first I honestly thought that despite the ingredient list calling for 1 beet, that cutting it in half meant we used half the beet. Not so- after trying to blend half the beet I quickly realized that it really didn't look like enough. **Note: you need the WHOLE beet.
ALSO- since when is peeling a vegetable easier after you cut it in half?? Too late I realized it would have been so much easier to peel the beet first then cut in tiny pieces.

Modified Step 1: Peel your beet and cut in tiny 0.5 cm pieces

Step 2: 'Add all your ingredients in the food processor and blend until liquified, strain and separate liquids from solids'
 (ew- horror movie worthy)
I saw in the pictures that she had used a magic bullet. Whoa, we TOTALLY have one of those! Score. So I gave it a whirl. It was noisy and a long and painful process. If you have a food processor please use it. Or a stick blender even.

The straining of the beet barf (seriously, it had chunks, it was weird) was not fun. I realized that Andrew and I don't actually own a metal mesh strainer or even cheese cloth. I do have a straining mechanism in my reusable tea mug... So that's what I used. 
(my ghetto straining process)
It was pretty darn awkward. I had to use a plastic spoon that I had kept from a previous outing (I know, but at least it got used!). 

After the separation I noticed that MY blush was especially liquid-y while hers looked more like a smoothie. WTF? How the crap did she 'strain' hers?? Anyhoo- I kept the weird chunky stuff in case I would need it.

Modified Step 2A: In preferably a food processor or stick blender, add olive oil, honey and cut up beet and blend until liquified or smoothie texture. 

Modified Step 2B: Using a large metal mesh strainer, strain the larger chunks out.

'Step 3: Pour liquid stain in a glass jar or other air tight container.'
This was a moot point- I had to press the chunks into the glass container. DONE! yes :)

'Step 4: Using a lip brush or cotton swab, slide the stain over clean dry lips.'
Oops, forgot to try this. Will after blog is finished!

 (before picture, I actually have face powder on to make sure it worked with my regular makeup routine)
'Step 5: Using the same tool, dab three dots of stain onto the apple of your cheeks. Smile to help placement.'
(after, I don't like a lot of blush, so it's pretty subtle, which makes me happy)
'Step 6: Blend onto cheek in a circular motion until skin absorbs the stain. Repeat on the other cheek.' 
I so didn't use any tool... I just used my pinky finger. It was clean and worked just fine. And I'm lazy and only like my kabuki brush and angled eyeshadow brush. That is all. 

'Step 7: When done, store in refrigerator for up to 4 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.'

I was a little nervous that this stuff wouldn't wash off my face- I mean my fingers appear permanently stained right now. However, I tried it before taking pictures first. I was totally able to wash it all off to redo for the Before-After pictures no problem at all! 

Amazing stuff. It's also not as purple or pink as it appears when you first blend it up. 

I am suitably impressed. Who knew that beets could be used as blush? Now I know they're good for something :)

article and photographs copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com


10 comments:

  1. hey there - i get the MAC love but i weaned myself off of them (i don't wear makeup except for the random red lipstick here and there) because they use parabens in their cosmetics. have you tried aubrey? they are way better for the skin and ironically, their blush has beet powder :) http://www.aubrey-organics.com/Category/32_1/Powder_Blushes.aspx

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  2. EcoGrrl: how funny! beets are great for makeup i guess :) Thanks for the suggestion!

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  3. I actually saw this done a few years ago on the news during a profile on those living with severe environmental allegeries. It's a neat idea, but doesn't quite feel as glamorous--that and it will go moldy if you don't use it quick enough! Plus, I LOVE beets too much to "waste" them on my face--drooling over roasted beet salad with goat cheese.

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  4. Nice a definite must try for those occasions when I do wear makeup! :)

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  5. I've heard of this! I've never found a recipe, though.

    I've got to try it. I wonder - could I use canned beet instead of fresh? I know that stains well, and it might be easier to blend. Then I can store it in one of those little travel shampoo bottles to ease application.

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  6. Hello, this recipe looks amazing but I have a question. A girl from Crunchy Betty tried a similar recipe, the difference was that instead of beet she used cranberries, and added a capsule of vitamin e, the other ingredientes were the same, and instead of a blender she boiled the ingredients. This girl said that she didn’t like the recipe because the water from the cranberries separates in the oil. I was wondering if you had a similar problem with this recipe. Thank you.

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  7. Hi Maria: Oh interesting! Actually, after two weeks of use (I need to make more and freeze them in ice cube sizes to use every two weeks), I had zero problems with water separation. I guess beets don't have a lot of water?

    What I did decide, was that I would use a different carrier oil since it smells like olive oil... lol. So Almond oil will be my next try. :)

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  8. Love this! I am posting this to my Holistic Skincare 101 page! You have a new follower.
    ~Ali

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  9. https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Holistic-Skincare-101/423714280999918

    Here is the link to my fb page if you would like to view my post about your post.Im new, so please feel free to follow me. I am sure I would be interested in including more of your tips in the future for my followers to enjoy.
    ~Ali

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  10. Have you tried it with coconut oil since that solidifies?

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