Aker Fassi Powder

Description

Aker fassi is a stain, not a lipstick

Eighty-five parts dried poppy petal — Papaver rhoeas, the red
poppy of the fields — to fifteen parts pomegranate peel, Punica
granatum. That is the whole ingredient list, and it is why the powder looks
matte and dusty rather than bright: what is in the jar is crushed flower.

Fassi means of Fez. This is the red Moroccan women have worn
for weddings and for ordinary Thursdays for as long as anyone has kept count,
sold by weight in the spice souk rather than as a cosmetic with a brand on it.

Everything is in the number of drops

Take a quarter of a tablespoon of powder into the jar cap. Two or three drops
of water give a thick paste, which is the lip version. Four or five drops give a
fluid one, which is the cheek version. Same powder, same quantity, two different
products — fewer drops means more pigment in the same paste, so it dries
faster and stays where you put it.

For the lips

• A quarter tablespoon of powder in the jar cap
• Two or three drops of water, or of rose water
• Stir to a thick, even paste with the end of a brush
• Paint it on with a brush or a cotton swab, from the centre outwards
• Give it a minute, then press the lips together

For the cheeks

• The same quarter tablespoon, but four or five drops
• Pat it on with a fingertip, from the apple of the cheek outwards
• Keep going until you cannot see where it starts

As a face mask

• One tablespoon of aker fassi, two of rose water,
  one of ghassoul clay
• Smooth paste, clean skin, fifteen minutes, rinse lukewarm
• The clay is what draws and cleans here; the aker fassi brings the colour

In a henna, for the hair

• Ten tablespoons of henna, a quarter tablespoon of aker fassi
• Lemon juice, boiling water, one egg white; rest thirty minutes
• Two hours on the hair, then rinse out with conditioner
• A quarter into ten is a nuance: it pulls henna’s copper towards red

Four things to get right

• It stains what it touches. Towels, worktops, grout, light
  clothes. Mix in the cap and wipe up as you go rather than after.
• Oil takes it off. It holds through water and through a meal,
  which is also why water alone will not remove it. An
  oil-based cleanser does, in one pass.
• Try a little first. Inside the forearm, the day before.
• Water in the jar is the only enemy. Take the powder out with
  a dry spoon and keep it out of the shower spray. Dry, it lasts five years.

Plain about what it does

Aker fassi is a colouring powder. It lays down red on the surface of the skin
and the lips, and that is all it does: it does not hydrate, it does not treat
anything, and being a dry powder it could not. If you want your lips soft under
it, put a little oil or balm on first. It can go on the eyelids, but never in the
eye.

Where it fits

Aker fassi is one of the four blends of our
tabrima exfoliating powder. Pair it with
blue nila for contrast, stir a pinch into
ghassoul clay, or mix it with
rose water for the lip and cheek stain.
The full story, with the four recipes and their exact proportions, is on our
aker fassi page.