Kristen Arnett is an internationally renowned, celebrity makeup artist focused on enhancing beauty without the need for harmful chemicals. Kristen is also the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of GreenBeautyTeam.com, a site offering natural and organic beauty advice.
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unning out of shampoo, toothpaste or another beloved beauty product has happened to the best of us. Here are 10 ways to use items from your kitchen when you’re in a pinch so you can get out the door looking and smelling your best.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Shampoo: You won’t get a head full of sudsy lather, but rinsing hair with apple cider vinegar is a fantastic way to remove odor, product build up and dirt.
Avocado
Moisturizing Mask: For dry skin, especially in the wintertime, mashing up some fresh avocado and applying to the face is a time-tested way to nourish and hydrate dry skin. After 10 minutes, simply tissue off the avocado to leave behind the nutritive oils for a radiant looking face.
Baking soda
Toothpaste: It may not taste minty fresh, but baking soda on a toothbrush mixed with water (and a drop of tea tree oil if you have it on hand) will leave your mouth clean, odor free and help whiten teeth.
Deodorant: Mix a dash of baking soda in with a dash of cornstarch and you have yourself an effective, safe deodorant.
Beets and Cherries
Lip and cheek stains: We all know how these vibrant red and fuchsia colored foods can easily stain fabrics. Luckily we can harness their staining abilities to give our face a bit of healthy flush. Beets and cherries give the lips and cheeks a tint similar to that of a popular makeup product, which costs $30 in stores. Save some cash using cooked beets or fresh cherries. Dip a brush (to prevent staining your fingers) in the beet or cherry juice and apply where you would normally put your lip and cheek color. An extra tip for lips: first apply the stain, then follow up with lip balm to give the mouth a more hydrated, polished look.
Coconut Oil and Olive Oil
Makeup Remover: These oils will gently remove even the most stubborn makeup, including waterproof mascara! Put a quarter size drop of oil on your hands, a cloth or cotton pad and rub in gently to take off any makeup and dirt from your face.
Body Moisturizer: Simply pour some oil into your hands and start spreading it around wherever you have dryness. If you have a favorite essential oil handy, add a few drops in to smell extra delicious and for a little aromatherapy.
Hair Conditioner and Curl Tamer: Both oils have wonderfully moisturizing properties for hair, especially for wild and untamable curls. The more dry and curly your hair, the more you can use. Apply oil from the ends of the hair working your way up, and stop a few inches before reaching the scalp.
Coffee Grounds
Body Exfoliator and Cellulite Reducer: For a body scrub that will wake you up and will reduce the appearance of cellulite, mix together 1/2 cup of coffee grounds, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add a dash of cinnamon in a non-breakable bowl. In the shower, after your skin has warmed in the water, use firm, circular movements to apply the scrub all over your body. Stop the water if possible to allow it to soak in for two minutes, then rinse off.
Tea Bags
Puffy Eye Shrinker: There’s no need to throw out used tea bags, instead cool them in the refrigerator and they can be used in the morning as a way to shrink puffy eyes. Chamomile is the most popular for this trick, but black teas can also de-puff and offer anti-oxidant benefits when rubbed over the skin.
You might just come to love these naturally beautifying foods so much that you aren’t only applying them in a pinch but as a regular part of your beauty routine. Got any other suggestions? We’d love to hear them!




October 17th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
It’s amazing to see what we can do with food… I never would have thought about some of these… Baking Soda toothpaste sounds nasty, although it may be effective.
October 18th, 2011 at 7:15 am
Great ideas! I’ll have to try these out.
October 18th, 2011 at 9:17 am
Thanks Kristen, The Coffee Ground body scrub is amazing!
October 18th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Papaya is a nice exfoliant. The same enzymes that make papaya a source of meat tenderizer also can help skin be more radiant. It essentially digests away some of the bad stuff on the outer layers of your face. I purée it and leave the fresh papaya purée on my face about ten minutes, then rinse with cool water. Don’t get it in your eyes, though.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:53 am
I’ve been doing the baking soda deodorant thing for awhile and I feel stupid for ever having bought deodorant from the store before! The baking soda thing is way more affordable and actually works better than a the non-aluminum deodorants I had been using.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Wow, these are some great tips…thanks for sharing!
October 18th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
The coffee ground scrub sounds awesome, but is it a pain to clean up, or does it rinse down the drain pretty well?
October 18th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Good Article. Another way I frequently use during tours, and not brush my Teeth, is rinse my mouth with some coke. Always gives a fresh feeling.
October 19th, 2011 at 11:09 am
oh I will try the cofee grounds scrub. One of the best masks ever is over-ripe avocado. Mush on, let sit for 2-3 minutes and rinse off. The combo of the oils and the fruit acid will make you GLOW!
October 19th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
@Courtney Hmm, good question. The answer would depend on a number of things. If your drains already flow very easily then the coffee grounds should not stunt water flow though the drain. However, if you already have flow problems it might be best not to use this scrub in that shower as the coffee grounds might attach themselves to whatever blockage you currently have in your pipes. For a safe call, I would simply wash up this scrub in the most free flowing drain in your house. Let the invigoration begin!
October 19th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
I also use coconut oil as a facial moisturizer. I have oily/combination skin, but applying a small amount before bed a few nights a week makes my skin feel moisturized without clogging my pores.
October 19th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Try baking soda as a body scrub. I put some in a plastic spices jar with a shaker top and just sprinkle into my palm. I rub it on my upper arms and thighs where I can get tiny bumps. You can even use it on your face. It’s a much finer scrub than the apricot type, so it is nice! But the person who told me about it said to rinse immediately because it will irritate your skin if you use it too long. Try it!
October 21st, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I am so excited about beet blush!! I love beets and just had to go home and make this immediately! Looks just like the blushing gel that I’m addicted to (and is much more expensive). Gave me a beautiful flushed look, didn’t look like “makeup” at all, and lasted all day! Just trying to figure out a more convenient (and less messy) container. Can you buy those rollerball tubes??? That might work
Thanks again for the fantastic advice!!!
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:22 am
this is great news. I want to put it on my blogs or something or maybe try it out first and then talk about it.
I also have that book i bought in Arizona with recipes galore.
I want to try some of this….beets, and coconut oil……
October 27th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Love this! So nice to have some back stop solutions right in my kitchen! Love to olive oil and beets for stain actually do work quite nicely!
October 27th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
How neat! I’m very into natural beauty, so these are great tips! Thanks for publishing!
October 27th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
These are great! I especially appreciated the coffee scrub! I will definitely give it a try!
October 27th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Wow I had no idea that these amazing gifts from nature could be used in this way! Thank You so much for this, what a brilliant article!
I’m mashing an avocado as soon as I send this comment!!!
xo<3
Dave:)
October 27th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I love every-day solutions such as these! Talk about great info to keep in mind, since we all seem to lead such crazy, hectic lives!
One suggestion: bring on more green make-up related info!
Thanks. -Jessica K.
October 27th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Fantastic article! I really enjoyed the idea of re-using coffee grounds (I’m a coffee drinker) as an exfoliant in the shower.
Tori
October 27th, 2011 at 7:20 pm
We love Kristen Arnett! She’s an incredible makeup artist! So glad to see Whole Foods tapping into her as a resource. These are great tips! Can’t wait to try them, especially the beet lip and cheek stain!
October 27th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
Great article! Pure and simple beauty for me almost always starts with a trek through my kitchen. I utilize every one of these tips already and my whole body has never been happier.
Green tea for the skin is incredible and such a great use of those leftover tea bags (and a fantastic reminder to drink up beforehand!) and coconut oil has truly transformed my complexion from the inside out, from the tips of my toes to the ends of my wild lion mane.
More articles like this, please!
October 27th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
great tips! esp. liked the one on the anti-cellulite scrub
October 27th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I just love these healthy fresh yummie tricks, which works also on everybody from a teanage girl till granny.
I would love to read more about this topic.
Thanks
October 27th, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Wow. Its amazing what we learn everyday. What a great article. Cant wait to share with my beauty followers on Facebook and twitter. Keep up the good work whole foods.
Stephanie Flor
October 27th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
I loooooove this tips! Let’s go beautifully greener!!!!
October 27th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Great article! Thanks for the valuable info on green, veraitale products I already at home! Love the images too! Nice work. I’ll put it to use.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Fantastic piece, and a great reminder of the extent to which simple, affordable “gifts” from Nature do the same things (often better) than the (often synthetic) stuff we pay so much money for! I would add egg whites to this list. Lightly beat them and apply to the face, leave on for 5 minutes, then rinse off, to temporarily reduce the size of pores. A handy trick before a big date or a photo shoot!
October 27th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
What great ideas!
October 27th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
A good reminder about coconut oil. I ran out of my store-bought and homemade makeup removers and have awkwardly been using vit. E oil this week. Not great. Coconut is so much better!
October 28th, 2011 at 2:19 am
What an amazing coup for Whole Foods scoring the brilliant, talented, and world famous makeup artist-to-the-stars Kristen Arnett! This is one blog I will be hooked on!
October 28th, 2011 at 7:42 am
thank you Kristen this is fab! love to find out about all these useful secrets xx
October 28th, 2011 at 8:18 am
thanks for this post! natural beauty is just as important as natural food! now that it’s getting colder, i will definitely have a lot of teabags to put to good use
October 28th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Wow! What a plethora of ideas…I usually don’t use too many beauty aids, however, these ideas are simple and easy. Thanks for posting!
October 28th, 2011 at 10:37 am
Kristen, what fun ideas – repurposing my used tea bags (as opposed to wasting new!) is so obvious, but I never thought about it until now. Thanks!
Would green tea work as well as the black or chamomile you mentioned?
October 28th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
What a great and useful article! I’m looking forward to trying these tips.
October 28th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
This is a GREEN-tastic article! I have had a build up on my hair that I was going to go to the salon and pay to have a “professional removal”…instead I went to my kitchen. Kristin, it worked and my hair is ultra soft. Thank you for your tips…I will watch out for more articles with your name on them!!
October 28th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
love hearing about all the ways to use food on our skin !!
October 28th, 2011 at 7:20 pm
I never would have thought of beet or cherry juice as a cheek/lipstain, this is great!
October 30th, 2011 at 5:26 am
Such great wisdom and advice. Wow, I did not know that you could use beet juice as a stain this way. That’s a beautiful thing. Love this article! More please!
October 30th, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Wonderful ideas. I all love them all! Going to try all of them. Thank you
October 30th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
Kristen is a genius on how to make anyone gorgeous on the inside and out. Thank you for sharing your talent!!
October 31st, 2011 at 8:11 am
Thank you Kristen for such great tips! I am excited to try all of them out and looking forward to hearing more from you. All my best!
October 31st, 2011 at 4:47 pm
I am so happy someone is focusing on these organic ways of enhancing beauty. Thank you for your dedication to this, Kristen!
November 1st, 2011 at 12:48 pm
I am all over that Coffee Ground body scrub! Thanks!
November 2nd, 2011 at 9:12 am
LOVE this article- awesome tips and ideas, I must try the coffee ground scrub tonight! Can I use regular coffee like maxwell house and can I use it str8 from the can or do I have to soak it inwater first?
November 2nd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
@Tasha I like your resourcefulness. The reason we suggest black or chamomile is due to their higher caffeine content. Green has a lower caffeine content than black or chamomile but should work the same way, only to a lesser degree. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
November 3rd, 2011 at 8:59 pm
OMGosh – these are genius solutions! I had no idea!
November 10th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
We need more advice like this and more professionals like Ms. Arnett to help us change the way we manage the smallest aspects of our lives in a natural and healthy way. It’s not just what we put IN our bodies but ON our bodies. When doctors and health practitioners advise avoidance of certain products…why aren’t we paying attention and utilizing the same information in our day to day lives….and finding natural SIMPLE affordable almost OBVIOUS solutions. THANK YOU Whole Foods for this article!!!
January 28th, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Use paste of coconut oil and baking soda for deodorant