It doesn’t get any realer than this, my friends.
This weekend’s Hack is one that I’ve honestly never heard of before — in fact I just stumbled upon doing it myself by accident!
One morning, while preparing a delicious bowl of homemade yogurt, I reached into my freezer for some frozen organic raspberries to put on top. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I think it’s practically a crime to have to buy bags of frozen berries from Lord-knows-where picked who-knows-when in a place far, far away. Nevertheless, when you live on a tropical island, it’s either a bag of the frozen ones, or nothing. And I have a never-ending love affair with my berries, no matter where I reside on this earth. So they are always at least in the freezer.
Now, I like to crumble up my frozen raspberries as I toss them in there, to more evenly distribute their tangy goodness throughout my yogurt bowl — those frozen bags are danged expensive, and I try to conserve.
So on this one morning, after eating up my berryfied yogurt, I noticed a spot on my face in which I had itched an itch (with my raspberry-stained hands).
It was… pink!
Sheer, rosy pink.
It looked… hmm… remarkably similar in hue to my $29-dollar-a-teeny-bottle of department store lip and cheek stain!
Heyyy….waiiit a second…
Juicy treat…
Chemically-laden, super-expensive, petroleum-based artificiality…
…
Dingdingding!!
What a discovery!
“A cheek stain blush, made out of food! I shall do this, on purpose!” I thought.
And so, I did.
Here’s how I use frozen raspberries, as makeup.
Raspberry Blush
- Take a raspberry, frozen or fresh, and squish with fingers.
- Rub the ruby juice into the apples of your cheeks, and lips if desired. Eat the rest of the berry.
- Let it dry, then you may need to wipe off any little fiber-y pieces that may be stuck onto your cheek. Or not. You’ll probably look even more delicious.
And that’s it!
Before…
…after!
If you have a juicer, or even just want to strain some smooshed berries through a cheesecloth or something, you could probably streamline this process by preparing some non-pulpy/fibery raspberry juice and keeping it in a small container in the fridge to use.
How bout that, Hippies? Food to beautify your face.
Who woulda’ thunk?
P.S. — does anyone know how to get raspberry stains out of clothes?? 😉
{This post is linked to Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, and Fight Back Friday!}
This is hiliarious. I wish I had some raspberries around so I could try it.
Hey! I used to do something similar with beets! Just slice off a strip of the beetroot and wipe it like a cosmetic applicator wherever you want a nice rosy glow…
By the way, have recently signed on to your blog and enjoy it immensely!
Ooh, beets! Of course! I’ll have to try that one too! And thank you so much for the kind words, makes me so happy to have subscribers like you!! 🙂
Ok–you are waaaay cute in those pictures! Love it!
And what an awesome idea! I’ve tried all kinds of more natural mineral makeups, but I was never really happy with most of them. But I’m like you–I always have frozen berries in my freezer!
Aw thanks Lori! Haha! Yeah I haven’t quite found mineral makeup that I really love yet either. At least I’ve got the blush covered though!
Awesome idea! And I do love raspberries.
How long did the color last?
Good question! You know, it’s hard for me to say since to be perfectly honest, I rarely look at a mirror throughout the day… we don’t even have one in our bathroom, lol! Which I highly recommend, it’s quite the confidence booster — ignorance is bliss right? 😉
But, judging by the fact that my fingertips stay somewhat pink (from applying berry juice to my cheeks) even through multiple hand washings, I’d say this has pretty good staying power! It really does temporarily stain your skin. Pretty cool!
Well, I tried this last night and not only did it work – it was also the perfect color for my skin tone! I may just have to start doing this on purpose also! I’ve been washing my face with honey lately, so why not use raspberries for blush, right? Food on your face is cool! 😉
Yeah Mindy!! I love that I have influenced someone to rub food on her face! LOL! That’s awesome that it was a good color for you! I think that’s the nice thing with the berries is that they come in a range of colors, from more purpley to bright pink, so you can try different shades!
Such a great idea about the honey face wash too… antimicrobial, naturally humectant honey is so good for the skin and hair! I should probably put that in my skin care rotation again!
Lush makes a facial cleanser ($30 for 3.5 oz.!) that is mostly honey and almond oil http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/face/cleansers/ultra-bland I’ll bet you could combine honey with olive oil or coconut oil too.
Love this post–fun, creative, and practical! Keep up the good work!
Great idea, Jill! You can totally wash your face with just plain ol’ honey, and there’s also this trend in hippie-beauty land called the “oil cleansing method.” I haven’t tried it, but I hear it’s pretty good for your skin. Perhaps I should test it and offer it up as a future Hack!
Thanks so much for the sweet encouragement, by the way! I’m so glad you stopped by!
I have to laugh about this one! I was not allowed to wear make-up as a teen (my family is Mexican and my grandmother thought it was tarty). I kept a beet in the fridge wrapped in plastic bag. I woud slice of a chunk and run it over my cheeks and lips and wait for it to dry. I still do it. My husband recently commented on my “naturally rosey cheeks” and I almost laughed. It is natural but not in the way he apparently thinks. Funny!
Hahaha I love that! Literally a beauty “secret.” 😀 I really gotta try this beet thing… I’m thinking it might not be as messy! Although, definitely won’t be as tasty. Heh.
Absolutely brilliant post! I loved this, and I love your blog! Unfortunately, I only have blueberries in the deep freeze, but I’m convinced.. It’s off to the store in the morning to get some raspberries!
Thanks!!
YES! Another convert! Hehe that is so awesome that you are going to give this a try. I think you’ll really like it! Thanks so much for the sweet comment, Caitlyn!!
My favorite blush is Clinique’s Pinch your cheeks stain, so I can’t wait to give this a try! Probably wouldn’t work so great for an over night bag, but perfect for at home. I wonder if blueberries would work for eye shadow? I think you’ve started something here…
Oh, and I love OCM (oil cleaning method). If you try it and find you don’t like it, don’t give up. Try different oil combinations to see what works for you. For instance, I can’t use straight coconut oil, because it dries out my skin. But, I can use a mixture of olive oil and coconut oil and get great results. 🙂
I love this! It looks so natural! I was afraid it would look overly red but it doesn’t at all!