DIY Natural Lip And Cheek Stain Using Beets

Beets … love ’em or hate ’em. I, unfortunately, think the latter (and I haven’t met many kids who like them either). I’ve tried to whip them up a variety of ways and it’s just not happening.

Luckily, for a beauty junkie like myself there’s a beet alternative — turn it into lip or cheek stain.

You heard me right. Beets have amazing color — and it happens to be flattering on just about every skin tone. From bright red to dark merlot — and are perfect for a little punch of pink on your pout or use it as blush, too.

You’ll Need:

• 1 beet
• 2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable glycerin (I got mine at Whole Foods)
• Double boiler (or pot with smaller bowl)
• Old lip gloss container or pill box
• Lemon juice (optional)
• (Optional): vitamin E, coconut, or almond oil

Directions:
1.) Peel your beet and cut into cubes. The cubes should be relatively small, but large enough that they won’t fit through your funnel.

2.) Heat using a double boiler or you can use a pyrex dish inside of a pot filled a quarter of the way up with water. Boil the water and then turn the heat to the point where the water will be creating gentle bubbles under the pyrex dish.

3.) Place the glycerin and the chopped beets into the pyrex dish and heat on the stove for 20 – 30 minutes. By then the beets should have softened a little and the glycerin should be a beautiful vibrant red shade.

After about 20 minutes, remove your pot from heat and funnel the liquid into a glass container. This amount of time creates a subtle-colored makeup. For a bolder color, leave your mixture on the stove for longer. Allow the mixture to cool completely before applying to your skin.

4.) (this is optional) Using the eyedropper, add two drops of lemon juice to your mixture, and the oil if you want to use it. The oil will keep your lips moist, and the lemon juice will help preserve the color.

5.) Place the liquid and the beets through a sieve and pour the liquid into your chosen recycled pots.

6.) To apply, dip a q-tip or lip brush ( or cosmetic sponge for cheeks) into the liquid and dab onto your lips or cheeks!

Can I use coconut or olive oil instead of Glycerin?

Absolutely, however, I have tried all of them and found that the glycerin gives a longer lasting effect as the oil tends to disappear after 10 minutes or so.

I also found that the glycerin version gave a far nicer look and feel on the cheeks than the oils.

The glycerin delivers a flawless application while the coconut or olive oil stains can slip around and become greasy and patchy as the day goes on.

How should I store it and how long will it last?

I recommend storing your beet stain in the fridge when it’s not in use. I generally forget to put mine in the fridge and it happily sits with my other beauty items in the bathroom until I use it up (normally takes me around 3 weeks to complete one small pot).

Even though the glycerin acts as a natural preservative, I still recommend that it is kept in the fridge. As always use your common sense, if it’s looking a bit dodgy, it probably is, so throw it out and make a new batch. It should last you approximately 4 weeks.