Beetroot as a lip tint, and the 2 other foods I tried as beauty products.

“If you roast them you’ll get a better lipstick,” actress Shailene Woodley explains. “They’re not as potent and they don’t stain the same way if they’re raw. So I roast them first and then just dab a little of the juice on my lips with my finger.”

Celebrities love banging on about using food as makeup. While I prefer to, you know, eat food, I decided to head to the grocery store in search of beauty products in the form of produce. Does it actually work? Take a look.

Beetroot as lip stain

This is surprisingly effective. As we all know from BBQ salad duty, beetroot contains some pretty strong pigments which stick to the skin. The colour also happens to be perfect for adding a natural, berry tone to the lips and cheeks. It’s like a won’t-budge lip stain, just in a can.

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I chose to apply my beetroot using a whole piece and realised this was probably not the best method given that it snapped off half way and landed pretty devastatingly on my cream scarf. Just between us, I picked it up and ate it. Daily salad quota = met.

If you're serious about using beetroot on an every day basis, I'd recommend either just using the juice or cutting you 'troot into small, usable pieces. The downside to this is that you'll also have stained fingers. But you know, it's natural.

Activated charcoal as eyeliner

I think I missed the memo that said from now on, everything we eat needs to be activated. Even your washing powder has 'activated oxygen' in it (what on earth is that anyway?).

Charcoal is nothing new in terms of health and wellness and people have been using it for donkeys years as a way to treat poisonings, reduce gas, lower cholesterol and even prevent hangovers (note: must stock up on charcoal). The activated version is made from peat, coal, wood or coconut.

It produces, funnily enough, black charcoal.

In it's current form, the charcoal looks powdery and falls all over your face, but when mixed with water it becomes more usable. I mixed my charcoal with a few drops of water and applied it with a thin liner brush.

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While the result wasn't awful, it didn't have as much pigment as say, my MAC Fluidline gel liner and as someone who likes a strong, bold wing, I didn't feel the activated charcoal was up to the challenge. I suppose it could be committed to memory as an emergency liner option but there is no way I would ever have activated charcoal over eyeliner on my person.

I did read that some people also use the charcoal as a mascara but the thought of trying to coat each lash with it was enough to make me throw in the organic cotton towel. (Post continues after gallery.)

Charcoal and Arrowroot as foundation

I went to my local health food store in search of some arrowroot, which I'd heard can be crushed and used to make foundation.

Don't fret if you've got darker skin, you can apparently mix some of your activated charcoal in for a customisable shade.

The arrowroot mission was a fail and I made peace with the fact that Arnott's Arrowroot biscuits would do just as good a job.

Once home, I made a potion of charcoal, arrowroot biscuits (minus a few which went to quality control) and water. Once I got something that looked vaguely like skin colour (not mine, but someone's) I used a foundation brush to smear it on my face.

Massive fail. I looked like a melted neenish tart. It may have looked vaguely skin colour-ish in the bowl, but I think you'll agree it was anything but when applied to my cheeks.

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I then decided to try the mixture dry, in the hopes that it would act in a similar manner to mineral foundation. While the outcome was slightly better than the paint job, overall I did seem to look like I'd shoved my head into a campfire. If dusty, powdery donut is your thing though, I'd say give it a go. Otherwise, stick to your normal foundation routine.

Overall, my exploration into homemade cosmetics was not, what you would call, a great success. But I did make a new friend in Magda and it opened my eyes to a new way of living. Not one that I will be adopting any time soon, but to each their own.

Have you ever tried making your own cosmetics?

Disclaimer: Homemade makeup won't suit everyone, please consult your health professional before trying yourself.