When it comes to gift giving and watching your wallet, what’s nicer than making your own beauty products to honor the ones you love during the holiday season? For simple, do-it-yourself ideas, we turned to Vesna Stojanovic of Mt. Washington Spa. “Everything you need for beauty can be found in your own kitchen,” says Stojanovic, who touts olive oil and avocado for their natural anti-aging agents and skin-nourishing minerals as well as brown sugar, which serves as a natural exfoliant. “When I make a mask for myself, I put it on my face, and sit and eat what’s left over,” she says. “It’s good for you whether you put it on your body or in your body.”
Brown Sugar Body Peel
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar and olive oil, and mix until paste-like; add vanilla.
Almond Body Peel
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 cup puffed rice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil or almond oil
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
In a mixing bowl, combine almonds and rice; add oil and lemon juice and mix. Apply to body or face and rinse with warm water.
Honey Mask
- 2 tablespoon acacia honey
- 10 drops lemon juice
- 10 drops olive oil
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth. Apply to face for 15 minutes and rinse with warm water.
Hair Mask
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 1 spoon avocado oil
- 10 drops of essential lavender oil
Mix all ingredients until well blended. Apply to ends first and then to scalp, coating evenly. Wrap head with aluminum foil to seal in mask. Leave in hair for 10 to 15 minutes, and then rinse hair.
