Cherries as lipstick, beetroot as blush and a banana for eyeliner. Your fruit bowl may become your new makeup bag.
Try as you might to resist TikTok it is fast becoming our go-to source for life-changing information. So far, it’s introduced us to the Green Goddess Salad, taught us what an internal shower is (clue: it involves chia seeds and a glass of water) and served up a complete guide to the best perfumes on the planet.
And now, the latest trend that had us gripped to our phones (more than usual) is using fruit and vegetables as makeup products. Yep, you read that correctly. It all started (we think, it’s pretty hard to find the original source on TikTok) when makeup artist @molchanovamua used cherries to tint her cheeks a natural pinky-red and created the most gorgeous look using just half a cherry.
And, of course - because this is how TikTok works - everyone else followed and low and behold there were videos left, right and centre with people using various fruit and vegetables in lieu of makeup products. We're talking banana skins and peppers being used as eyeliner, blackberries doubling up as lipgloss and beetroots and cherries being used as a cheek, lip and end of nose tint - no, we're not sure why we're blushing the end of our noses either. So of course we had to give it a go to see a) if it was worth the time and effort, b) if it actually worked but most importantly, c) how sticky it felt on the face. Here’s how our freelance Beauty Director, SJ got on…
@getthegloss Swapping my makeup bag for a fruit bowl 🍒🍌 #fruitmakeup #fruitmakeupchallenge #fruitmakeuplook #fruitmakeuplook #fruitchallenge #beetroottint ♬ Rock and Roll Session - Canal Records JP
1. Cherries as a makeup tint
“There’s no denying it felt lovely putting the cherry on my skin, especially as I keep mine in the fridge so it was like an instant hit of hydration and freshness to my skin. To be honest, I was expecting a bit more from the cherry. In all the TikTok videos I’ve seen, the pigment that goes onto the skin looks really impressive - I could hardly see any difference. Do we not have as ‘powerful’ cherries here in the UK? I was surprised that it didn’t feel sticky, I was expecting it to but it was quite annoying when I got residual cherry flesh bits on my skin. Whilst it wasn't as unsuccessful as I thought it was going to be, I think I’ll stick to my favourite cream blushers for a cheek tint and to cherries for a great summertime snack.”
2. Beetroot as a makeup tint
“From the second I cut the beetroot up - and it stained my fingers - I knew this was going to punch more of a pigment punch than the cherries. In fact, I was worried it was going to be too much, especially as I wasn't sure if the deep red-purple tone would suit my pale skin, but I was genuinely surprised at what a great job it did. It created a really nice wash of colour on my cheeks that looked quite dewy and, like the cherries, felt really hydrating and soothing at the same time. It was a little cumbersome to manoeuvre around my face but maybe I’m expecting too much from a beetroot?! The colour lasted all day - so it definitely performs better than some blushes I’ve tried - and a friend even commented on how well I looked. However, can I really be bothered to go to the faff of cutting up a vegetable every time I want to create a gorgeous natural flush? In short: no.”
3. Banana as eyeliner
“I want it to be known that the attempt you see me of using a banana skin as an eyeliner was not my first go. The version you’re seeing is the best one of a very bad bunch (pun intended). No matter how long I singed the end of the banana I couldn’t get it to make any colour impact on my eye. And I have no idea how people on TikTok were getting anything that resembled a straight line, it was so fiddly and also felt quite scratchy on the skin. Fundamentally, you get to the point where you think ‘there’s a reason the eyeliner pencil was invented, let’s just stick with that.’ So that’s what I’m going to do.
Overall verdict of TikTok trend: using fruit as makeup
I was convinced this was going to be a TikTok trend that was a complete dud however I should have known better as everything I've tried from TikTok - thus far - has proved to have some real-life value. The real surprise was how good beetroot is in creating a really natural flush of colour to the skin and how sensorially pleasing it is too. However, as good as it was, I hate food waste and I'm not tempted to rub a beetroot over my cheek and then eat it in a salad so it went straight into my compost bin, which still feels like a waste. Moving forward I shall stick to eating my fruit and using bonafide makeup products on my face and I would urge all of you to do the same."