The leaves are finally turning and spooks are in the air! Orange is the new brown (er, was it black?) and there’s just the squash to satisfy the need. Pumpkins have traditionally been used as decoration — their guts discarded and outer shells hacked into faces and creatures. This year, before hallowing out an orange friend, consider some alternatives! Here are just five smashing ways to indulge this pumpkin season without any need for a candle. But hurry because as quickly as the autumn leaves change, so does the flavor of the month. In the blink of an eye, it’s time to say, “Goodbye pumpkins and hello peppermint.”
- Pumpkin Facial: Pumpkin all over your face? Pumpkins have natural enzymes that help exfoliate the skin and boost skin tenacity, says Heather Clerico, an aesthetician at Just For You Salon & Spa in Tempe. “People love this facial because when you’re done with it, your skin just glows,” Clerico says. So if your skin is suffering from a post-midterm, stress-induced pallor, head to Just For You and rekindle your natural glow with this decadent pumpkin facial.
- Pumpkin Coffee: Fall in love with pumpkin-brewed goodness this season. While Starbucks pumpkin lattes have a decent fall flavor, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s hot pumpkin latte smells like a pumpkin patch and sips like a slice of homemade pumpkin pie. “It is a rich, creamy latte beverage made with fresh ground espresso, pumpkin sauce, nonfat milk and vanilla,” says Jon Alicea, the general manager of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Tempe Marketplace. “It’s easily our most popular pumpkin-flavored drink.”
- Pumpkin Bagel with Pumpkin Cream Cheese: Start the morning off right with a pumpkin-flavored bagel and schmear. Sink your fangs into a pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese from Chompie’s. If this kosher delight doesn’t satiate your craving, Chompie’s also offers a variety of other seasonal baked goods such as the pumpkin spice muffin, scone or loaf with orange icing.
- Pumpkin Candles and Bath Products: Carve some time into a busy schedule to relax in a bubble bath infused with pumpkin-scented soap. Line the tub with pumpkin-scented candles and inhale the sweet smell of fall. Try Bath and Body Works‘ Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle, body wash, lotion and soap.
- Pumpkin-flavored FroYo and Ice Cream: One of the upsides to Arizona’s year-round warm weather is that it’s never too cold to enjoy frozen desserts. Frozen yogurt shops like Yogurtini and Yogurtland offer seasonal pumpkin pie-flavored yogurt and don’t forget Dairy Queen’s Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. It is the perfect combination of vanilla ice cream and pumpkin pie chunks and is topped with whip cream and nutmeg like grandma’s homemade pie.
Reach the reporter at lauren.gambino@asu.edu
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The pumpkin FroYo at Yogurtland is my new favorite. And I light candles almost every night in my room. They smell so good and they make me feel like Thanksgiving and Christmas really are on the way.