Bella Goes Natural

Summer's almost here, so instead of ordering you to pick up some bronzer and get out the bleach, I thought I'd offer some natural alternatives that work just as well for a fraction of the cost. Ever since I tried raw ingredients for a month, I've had a keen interest in easy beauty treatments made with edible ingredients. First up: sun-kissed, natural-looking highlights that won't leave your hair brittle. To find out how to do it with stuff that's lying around in your kitchen, just keep reading.

It's time for another Bella experiment in the spirit of my The Natural series. This time, though, instead of making my entire beauty routine organic and edible, I'm taking things a little slower and testing out the popular Oil Cleansing Method.

The OCM uses a combination of household oils (most commonly olive and castor) to remove makeup, grime, and surface sebum without dehydrating your skin. I've heard raves about the technique but also a couple of horror stories, so I'm hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

Right now, my plan is to use two parts extra virgin olive oil to one part castor oil with a drop of tea tree oil mixed in for acne help. Have any of you already tried the OCM? If you have, I'd love any advice or words of warning you have. And if you want to know how it's going, just check back here later this week, when I'll be a couple days in and can talk about my initial results.

Hi! It's been a few weeks since I last talked to you, and though I've been testing out tons of beauty products and working on Fashion Week, you'll be happy to hear that I've pretty much stuck with my natural hair and skin regimens. Shortly before The Natural ended, though, I dropped antiperspirant in favor of natural deodorant, and changing over has been an experience. Now that I'm a couple months in, I've got some tips and a couple funny stories to share. So just keep reading!

It's been a month, and boy have things changed. I've totally overhauled my hair and skincare regimens, learned how to make my own makeup, and even gotten rid of antiperspirant. Today, I put on concealer for the first time in five weeks and it felt utterly strange (but awesome). Looking back over all my posts, there are a few things I'd change, and though I'm definitely wearing makeup again, there are a lot of products I definitely won't be going back to. I've got a few things to wind up with you, so just keep reading

As promised, the other night I made my own eyeliner from a recipe given to me by reader Little Pepper. It sounded pretty simple; just burn an almond and use the soot to make eyeliner. Turns out, things require a bit more prep than that, but the results were lovely: a highly pigmented carbon black that was very smooth and not at all irritating. I modified the recipe a little bit and created this light winged look with it, which I found basically indistinguishable from something created with a regular black liner. For a cosmetic that costs basically nothing and took me 10 minutes to make, I'm pretty impressed. To see how to do it at home, just click through the tutorial gallery below.

Hi! I'm just one week away from having been natural for a full month, and a ton has changed since I started. If you want to see what beauty recipes I'm using now and see how a cheek and lip stain made of cherries looks, just check out my mid-week post from a few days ago.

Since then, everybody's been on deck at Sugar HQ for all the award shows we've been covering. This week, I kept my goals simple: go antiperspirant-free for the first time ever. It's been an enlightening and sweaty experience, and if you're considering switching I've got  a few tips. I'm also getting ready to make a couple of new makeup recipes, and I'm really excited for them. To find out what I've done and what I'll be doing, just keep reading.

I promised to post the results of my experiments with using cherries as cheek and lip stain this week, so here they are. I literally just walked around rubbing some bing cherry halves on my face, much to Mr. Bella's bemusement. The results were pretty great, and the rest of the bag of cherries was delicious (om nom nom nom). The color was really natural and lasted several hours, and although it was a little sticky at first, it dried completely in about 10 minutes. Just remember to blend or else you'll end up with doll cheeks.

I tried this with pomegranate seeds too, but it didn't work and the juice was way runny. I've also seen a lot of comments asking me to detail exactly what I'm doing now, since I've adapted my recipes so much over the past few weeks. To see that list and hear about my less successful makeup-making attempts, just keep reading.

Welcome back, dear readers, to another week in Natural Land. I've switched up my routine a bunch, and things have changed, as you can see — though in a few bizarro ways, too. I've got a lot to tell you, so to hear about what I've been doing, just keep reading.

Since I've gone natural, lots of people have written in with great tips and ideas about fixes for my skin and hair. Recently, reader Tlsgirl tipped me off to this great recipe of hers from the Do-It-Yourself Beauty group. I tried it last night and it's l-o-v-e. She's totally right about the dripping, though. Here's what she has to say:

I just started using this mask a few weeks ago and I'm a believer already. I have crazy sensitive skin, acne, and some vicious scarring, and already the scars are fading and my breakouts are diminishing. It's like a minor miracle, or a major one if you're obsessed with your skin like me. I was the biggest skeptic ever, but it hasn't irritated my cranky skin a bit.

Recipe:

1 tbsp honey—I used regular honey, nothing fancy

1 tsp ground nutmeg—I used whole nutmeg and then grated it myself

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix the above together until they form a chocolatey-colored paste, adjusting as you go until you get the consistency you like. Let sit for about 30 minutes, then rinse off, using the nutmeg crumblies as a natural exfoliant. Just don't wear a cute shirt while you're doing this, since it'll drip.

Got a recipe or look you're loving that we can try? Post it in one of our Bella Community groups and it could wind up here!

Hi! It's a new year and the end of my second week using only natural, edible skin- and haircare recipes (that means no makeup, too). To wit, there are a few things my hair is now: great smelling, soft, shiny, and manageable. And a few things it isn't: fluffy, voluminous, thick, or any word even tenuously related to one of those terms. My skin's looking better, too, although you might notice that I have a small shiner. I've made a bunch of changes to my regimen that have helped immensely, though, so to find out how I got here from last week's smelly Bella (you can check that disastrous post out here), just read more