It’s almost thanksgiving, and I for one am ready to get down on some delicious delicious food. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it home to see my family this year, so I’m going to have to cook the food myself, which most likely won’t be as good as my dad’s but I’m gonna try. Oh, and get this . . .the one person coming to visit me doesn’t like mashed potatoes. You read that right. DOESN’T. LIKE .MASHED. POTATOES! If he wasn’t one of my favorite people on Earth I would be appalled and send him packing. However I accept some faults in the people I love so I guess I’ll just make him something else.

And while I’m at it, I’m going to take the opportunity of this rare quiet holiday to pamper myself a bit. Might as well, right? And let’s get festive while we’re at it!

This cranberry face mask is basically cranberry sauce for your face. I mean if you can pamper yourself and kind of become one with your dinner at the same time, all the better right? Well if that didn’t sell you, then consider this:

• Raw cranberries have a fair amount of Vitamin C (AKA L Ascorbic Acid) and a high amount of various other antioxidants, which lend an instant brightened appearance to the skin and may be beneficial to fend off aging in the long run.
• Cinnamon is a mild irritant, but when used in low amounts topically it can increase blood flow to the surface of the skin, giving it a plumper and more youthful appearance. Sort of like a plumping lip gloss.
• Honey is a natural humectant and has natural antimicrobial properties so it’s like a double whammy. It can help bring moisture to the skin, while also keeping nasty acne-causing bacteria at bay.

Not too bad for something that makes your face smell like magical christmas treats, huh? (oh yeah, this would totally be nice to do on christmas morning too, just FYI)

I think the most powerful benefits of this type of mask are more immediate than long term. So it would be nice to use an hour or so before you start getting ready, just to plump up the skin and give it that extra healthy glow, ju know?

You’ll need:

• 1 cup of fresh cranberries
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of honey

 

Combine all of those ingredients and blend them together. Normally I use a small food processor for face masks, but I found that I got better results with a heavy duty blender on this one. It just came out less chunky, so it was easier to apply.

Depending on how ripe your cranberries are, you may need to add a splash of water to make them blend more easily.

If you have very sensitive skin, you can reduce the amount of cinnamon in the recipe. What I don’t suggest is getting overzealous and adding more than 1/2 tsp though. I tried that in the development process for this recipe and nothing bad happened, but the tingle was INTENSE.

Once your mixture is smooth you can go ahead and apply it to your face. I found that the easiest way to do it was with a clean duofiber foundation brush, because it is a bit on the runny side for a mask.

Leave it on for around five minutes. It may tingle, because of the cinnamon, so if you find that it feels too intense for you, you can take it off sooner. To remove it, I just rinsed in the sink and then dabbed it clean with a damp washcloth.

I also found that my skin looked a bit pink when I first removed the mask, but after a few minutes the pinkness went away and my skin looked really fresh and plump!

The recipe is enough for around two applications, so you can do this with a buddy or store the leftovers in the fridge. It should keep for a few days.

So if you have a nice quiet morning to yourself during these upcoming holidays, give this cranberry face mask a try. Let me know if you like it, and if you have any special ways you like to pamper yourself during the hectic holiday season!

Tags:  diy holiday mask skincare