I have a passion for non-toxic, so-safe-you-can-eat-it, beauty products. These clay cleansing bars are just one of the many skincare recipes I’ve concocted. I have a plant based powder foundation I love, but I wanted to find a DIY blush recipe that worked well.
Most DIY blush recipes combine beetroot with arrowroot powder. The color didn’t show up for me. The particles were too large and brushed off my skin. What did stick rubbed right off! I’ve found a simple trick though that makes the color more vibrant and stays on the skin!
Adding Essential Oils
This blush recipe uses hibiscus flowers to get that red-cheeked luster. Some recommend freeze dried raspberries but I haven’t tried them myself. I also included essential oils in this homemade blush to help keep skin clear and reduce the appearance of blemishes. Lavender, tea tree (melaleuca), and frankincense essential oil are some of my favorites.
Tips for Best Results
To help the DIY blush stick better to the skin, apply a thin layer of sweet almond oil (or another skin safe oil like olive, jojoba, castor, avocado, etc.) to your cheeks. Allow the oil to soak in a bit and then apply the blush with a brush. Be sure to grind the hibiscus flowers with the arrowroot, not separately! This really combines the two and saturates the arrowroot with color.
I’ve discovered hibiscus powder makes the process so much easier. You don’t need as much hibiscus herb if using the powder and it yields a smoother DIY blush.
DIY Blush with Hibiscus
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp Hibiscus Flowers – get it here OR 2 Tbsp Hibiscus powder – get it here
- 1 Tbsp Arrowroot powder – get it here
- 5-10 drops essential oil (frankincense, tea tree and lavender are my favorites)
- Coffee grinder – the one I use
- Fine mesh sieve – like this one
- Metal or glass storage container – what I use
- Small bowl
- Combine the hibiscus, arrowroot and essential oil into a clean coffee grinder. Process in intervals until the mixture is a fine powder. You can use lavender, tea tree, rose or whatever essential oil you prefer. This gives it a pleasant scent and nourishes skin, and helps the powder stick better.
- Run the powder through the sieve and into a bowl. If you’re container is large enough, just use that instead. This will weed out the largest pieces.
- Store in a lidded container and apply with a brush.
I’ve tried this and it leaves absolutely no colour! It looks and smells lovely but doesn’t make any difference when worn, where am I going wrong?!
Did you put the oil and powders in and blend everything fine in a coffee grinder? You also need to brush it onto moisturized skin. I like using sweet almond oil with essential oils mixed in, let it soak into the skin for a few minutes and then apply the powder. It also has to be applied with a brush. It is a natural plant based product, so it won’t be as vibrant as the ones with heavy metals. Hope this helps!
You might need to try some organic beetroot powder. you can find it in whole foods stores or online (Amazon is the bomb)
Hibiscus Flowers if I do not use , you can use the powder to substitute
I’ve used beet root powder and hibiscus powder along with the arrowroot and added the essential oil. It seems to work better. But I notice you mention almond oil on your list, When do you add that and how much? Or are you suggesting it instead or along with the other oil? Or are you saying we should rub it on the area we are putting the blush on so it sticks better? I do notice that moister cheeks make it stay on better with less flaking.
After your comment I realized that having the almond oil in the ingredients list was confusing. The idea is to use it (or another carrier oil) as a moisturizer before applying the blush. I use a homemade foundation powder and it helps that stick better too. It’s not the same as conventional blush for sure, but it still works pretty well for me that way.