Natural Beauty: DIY Beet-Infused Lip Balm!

Image courtesy of mybrooklynstory.wordpress.com

I once wore 3-inch heels to a college football game. I journeyed two miles on foot from my parked car to the tailgate, proceeded to throw a few back with the best of them and remained on foot for the duration of the game. I was probably wearing a dress too (let's just say I was, for the purposes of this story).

My friends, that's what I call GLAMOUR.

When I think back on those days, I like to imagine myself in small snapshots of time - my hair blowing in the breeze, my ping pong ball sailing straight into the cup of beer - all the while, my gams looking fabulous.

Fast forward to today... I'm 6 years out of college, living in one of the most fashionable cities in the world and (up to this point) fully OK with the fact that I wear my 'uniform' (as I like to call it) 90% of the time - skinny jeans, a baggy gray top and the most comfortable shoes I can find.

Courtesy of edinburghfestival.list.co.uk

But brutal self awareness has kicked in with a vengeance. Something's gotta give.

You don't even look good in gray! 
You have curves you should be showing off while you've still got them! 
You have more fashion sense than this! 
Get it together, Lauren! 

So one of my resolutions this year is to simply be more glamorous. And what's more glamorous than being a confident, self-sufficient woman of the world? I've always admired the way my grandmother's generation made meals from scratch, sewed their own clothes and planted their own gardens. They did it all!

In my effort to be more glam, I decided to make my own beauty products! To start, I chose something that I assumed would be easy breezy. Lesson learned here? Don't assume... EVER.

I've included the play-by-play of this debacle for your viewing pleasure, if only because it was a fun experiment that DID result in a moisturizing beet-infused lip balm, albeit a clumpy one. If you're inspired to try this on your own, I suggest working faster (so the beeswax doesn't have time to clump) OR finding another fun recipe online that looks a little more beginner-friendly.

You might as well get a good laugh though... so here we go!

You'll need 1 medium-sized beet, 1/4 cup of beeswax (can be found at your local health food store), 1/4 cup of castor oil (also at the health food store) and 2 Tbs. sesame oil.

Cut the stem off the beet and gently wash off any dirt (I used 2 beets because mine were super small).

Fill a saucepan with water, throw your beet(s) in and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce to medium and cook for 40-45 minutes. When a fork pierces the beet easily, you're done. Transfer the beet to a bowl of cold water and peel the skin off (it should slide right off).

If you have a juicer, I recommend using it to extract the juice. If you don't have a juicer, get creative. A little pounding or squeezing will do.

Now in a separate saucepan, melt your beeswax. Keep in mind that once you pour out the beeswax, a thin layer will remain. Try to wash the pan immediately or else the wax will harden and give you quite the arm workout trying to clean it later (ie. my first mistake).

In a measuring cup, add the castor oil and sesame oil. Once the beeswax has melted, add it to the measuring cup and stir vigorously, breaking up any clumps (ie. my second mistake).

Now add the beet juice a little at a time until the color you desire is reached!

 Now to recycle! Grab an old lip balm pot, sterilize it and fill it with your creation!

Check out that homemade lip balm, ladies!

P.S. Have you liked my Facebook page yet? Cause you know, that would really rock my world this fine Wednesday!