Guest Author - Jill Florio

The March 2003 issue of Country Living offers some great recipes for kitchen-made beauty products. I thought I'd share a few here. Whip em up and store them in your gorgeous vintage glassware! I can personally vouch for the Strawberry Foot Exfoliant, the Banana Hair Mask and the Lemon Facial Toner. Set up a spa day for yourself...pretend you are sitting beside a tropical waterfall...ahhhh...

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Keep in mind that these wonderful antioxidant concoctions do not have preservatives, so you'll want to store them in the fridge and use them in a few days' time.

Lemon Facial Toner

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon
1 cup distilled water (any water should do)
2/3 cup witch hazel (you can get this at any drugstore)

Shake well before use, apply with cotton balls until face is clean. Keeps one month.

Gardener's Hand Cream

1 cup grated beeswax
1/2 cup jojba oil
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
2 tablespoons vitamin E oil
1/2 cup sweet almond oil
9 drops essential peppermint oil
9 drops essential orange oil

Use a double boiler or a microwave to melt together the first three ingredients. Remove from heat, whisk until cool, adding the E, almond oil and essentail oils as it begins to thicken. Spoon cream into a jar and use within 3 days.

Avocado and Honey Face Pack

1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon jiuce
1 teaspoon clear honey

Mash all ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill for 30 minutes, slather over face, let sit for 10 minutes. Splash off with cool water. This is a nice one.

Strawberry Foot Exfoliant

8 strawberries
3 tablespoons kosher salt (or sea salt)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Do not overblend this mash - leave it chunky and frothy. Massage into feet, rinse and dry off. Put your feet up and relax. Eat any strawberries you didn't use.

Banana Hair Mask

1 banana
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Mash ingredients until creamy. Apply to hair, cover head with plastic wrap, let sit for 15-30 minutes - in the sun if possible. Rinse completely and shampoo as usual.

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Small e-store selling all-natural, handcrafted soaps: Eclectic Lady Handmade Bath & Body Products. There are made by a fellow Bella Online Editor Jeanne Daigle. I recommend the lavendar shea butter body creme and the Honey-Almond Oatmeal soaps!

Here's Jeanne's banner:

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