Let’s be honest: cosmetics are expensive. I often share my favourite products with you on the blog, but sometimes, even if it’s the best moisturizer in the whole world, maybe your budget simply doesn’t allow you to run to Sephora to buy it.
If I didn’t receive a bunch of products because of my work, my beauty routine would definitely be much more constant and simpler. First, with my super sensitive skin, I’d tend to stick with the same trust-worthy cosmetics. Second, I would probably not have thousands of dollars to spend on dozens of face creams.
Moreover, I sense that a growing number of women around me are becoming more aware of what they’re actually putting on their face: “Okay, great, this makeup remover does wonders, but will I have cancer 10 years leater?” The skin is the largest organ of the body after all!
All that made me want to open my pantry (have two or three cookies while I’m at it) and see if I could make cosmetics with ingredients I almost always have on hand. Good news: I did it! And let me assure you, you don’t need to be Jamie Oliver to cook any of those recipes.
So shout out to the ones who don’t have an infinite amount of cash to spend on cosmetics (like 98% of us) or to the ones wishing to go natural, here are six beauty DIY’s tried, tested and approved by yours truly, Very Jojo!
Lemon Detoxifying Face Scrub
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp of olive oil (or coconut, avocado, sunflower, etc.)
- 1 tbsp of regular salt (replace it with sea salt for a body scrub)
- The juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
Its Benefits: Lemon juice helps balancing oily skins’ pH, while its zest gets rid of all the bacterias on the surface of your skin (thanks citric acid!). The olive oil moisturizes and softens your skin and battles the damages caused by the sun and pollution.
Personal Notes: If ever you have an open wound on your face (possible causes: you hit a wall while walking and checking your phone or you just popped a pimple — it’s okay, we all do it), don’t do this scrub. With the combination of salt and lemon, it will burn pretty bad. And you might never come back on my blog.
Coffee and Banana Energizing Face Scrub
Ingredients
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 tbsp of ground coffee
- 1/2 tbsp of any oil (olive, coconut, avocado, etc.)
Its Benefits: Coffee beans set us free from our dead skin cells while the coffee itself reduces inflammation, thanks to its antioxydant properties. The banana is full of vitamin C, manganese and potassium (am I the only one having a flashback of the periodic chart?) and is renown to speed up the scarring process and fade away acne scars. It even helps in the production of collagen! #TeamBanana
Personal Notes: As someone who loves coffee, I couldn’t be happier that I can now consume caffeine through my skin. I suggest you go for an espresso grind, which is not too fine nor to coarse. Also, make sure you mash the banana evenly, the mixture will be easier to spread on your face.
Chocolate and Almond Detoxifying Face Mask
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 1/2 tbsp of cocoa
- 1/2 tbsp of plain yogurt
- 1/4 tsp of almond extract
Its Benefits: Cocoa is not only delicious, it’s also yummy for your face! It activates circulation, brightens the skin and protects against harmful pollution irritants. As for the yogurt and honey, they deliver their usual hydrating, soothing, purifying and exfoliating super powers. And the almond extract? It just smells too good!
Personal notes: When my boyfriend saw me prepare this mask, he was sure I was making him brownies. Sorry honey, but my blackheads are at the top of my priority list right now. Apply a thick layer on your face and wait 15 minutes while you eat any leftovers.
Oatmeal and Honey Soothing Face Mask
Ingredients
- 1 cup of oatmeal
- 1/2 cup of hot water (not boiling!)
- 2 tbsp of plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp of honey
- 1 tsp of rose water
Steps
- Soak the oatmeal in the water for three minutes.
- Add the other ingredients and mix them all in a blender.
Its Benefits: The four ingredients have soothing properties! The oat calms irritated and dry skin while the honey is antiseptic, astringent (just like rose water) and moisturizing.
Personal Notes: Apply the mixture onto your face and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Let me be honest: it won’t look super appealing. Between you and me, it kind of looks like vomit. BUT, it works! Keep whatever’s left in the fridge for a week or two maximum and use it as often as needed.
Moisturizing Avocado Hair Mask
Ingredients
- 1/2 avocado
- 2 tbsp of plain yogurt
Its Benefits: Avocados aren’t just for multi-grain toasts anymore, they can now be spread on your mane too! Because of its perfect mix of oils and proteins, it’s amazing at repairing damaged hair and even speeding up hair growth. The yogurt will give you shine, smooth out frizzy hair and, if applied on the scalp, get rid of dandruffs.
Personal notes: I advise strongly to mix the ingredients in a blender, so the mask is as smooth as possible. I mashed my avocado with a fork and let just say that:
- The application was NOT easy
- I found chunks of avocado a bit everywhere in my apartment the day after
Once the avocado and yogurt are blended, apply the mixture evenly on wet hair and leave it on for a good 30 minutes. Unlike commercial hair masks, this one should be done BEFORE your shampoo. Otherwise, your friends might say you smell like guacamole.
Strawberry Energizing Eye Mask
Ingredient
- 1 tbsp of strawberry jam (as natural as possible)
Its Benefits: Rich in vitamin C, strawberries are good to fight free radicals, the culprit behind premature skin aging. They also support collagen production while erasing scars. And if ever you feel like spreading it all over your face, be my guest! Its acidic base gets rid of sebum excess, often responsible for our dear pimples.
Personal Notes: Um, wow! I know, it’s not really a recipe because it only has one ingredient, but I had to share this trick with you. I’ve often applied cucumber slices and frozen tea pouches on my eyes, but the downside is that their refreshing effect tends to fade away after a minute. That’s not the case with strawberries! They revitalize and depuff your eyes — you simply have to apply it on your undereye circles and wait for 15 minutes! Spread what’s left on your toasts.
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Wow! So useful post! Thank you!
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Really glad I could help :)