Berry Beautiful
A holiday skincare routine that’ll leave you with the scent of the season
By Audrey Ashe
Move over pumpkin, there’s a new fruit in town! (Did you know that pumpkins are a fruit? It’s true. But this article is not about pumpkins.)
Coming down from the giddiness of pumpkin spice and apple cider doesn’t mean the seasonal food bender has to end. We know fresh fruits and vegetables have great health and beauty benefits, but it doesn’t have to stop in the kitchen. One particular fruit, the lowly cranberry, is a gem hidden in plain sight. Cranberries have long been touted for their health benefits both inside and out. The fruit of evergreen dwarf shrubs which are native to North America, cranberries bear antioxidants and other properties that help keep your skin looking and feeling radiant, smooth, and youthful.
Cranberries offer the perfect trifecta of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, along with enzymes that act as an exfoliant, which can tackle the dry outermost layer of skin and leave it silky smooth. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that they have many anti-aging properties as well. Rich in antioxidants essential for protecting skin against damaging environmental stressors and free radicals, the cranberry also has a high amount of vitamins A and C, which help stimulate collagen production.
Cranberry Infused Products We Love
Everyone deserves to relax during the holiday season, so help your skin kick off those metaphorical heels with this beautifying seasonal ingredient.
ARCONA’s Cranberry Toner is everything a toner should be—it tones and tightens the pores while locking in moisture, the cranberry extract giving an extra boost of moisture as well as antimicrobial properties.
Derma E’s Rosehip & Cranberry face oil is a godsend for those dry, cold nights. With the combined powers of rosehip, pumpkin, and cranberry seed oil, your skin will get a healthy dose of fatty acids and vitamins A and E.
Keihl’s Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Mask is perfect for a quick pick-me-up. Once applied, the antioxidants of cranberry and turmeric energize the skin to help give it gorgeous holiday glow.
Delicious DIY Cranberry Body Scrub
Your face isn’t the only part of your body that can reap the benefits of some cranberry therapy. For a revitalizing scrub sweet enough to eat, all you’ll need are a few simple ingredients from your kitchen.
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/8 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 cup raw sugar
Simply puree the cranberries to a paste in a blender, add the oil and sugar, and mix well. Voila! You now have a fresh, farm-to-bathtub scrub that indulges your skin. Make sure to store it in the refrigerator when not in use to maintain maximum freshness.
