It's hard for some of us to believe that beauty awaits in our kitchen. But it does. There are tons of home made beauty product ingredients just sitting around in your pantry.
Now, self-professed "beauty addicts" Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman, best-selling authors of "The Hollywood Beauty Secrets" series, offer home beauty tips and homemade beauty recipes right out of their latest book, "The Beauty Cookbook" ($14.99, Dunham).
In the book, they share 200-plus recipes for beauty treatments you can make at home. They offer facial recipes like the Cheerios Facial Scrub, Potato Salad Facial, Oatmeal Cucumber Mint Facial Cleanser and the Ice, Ice Baby Face Reviver.
The fun names continue among hair recipes, such as the My Hair Needs a Bagel with That Conditioner, Getting a Last High (Lights), Gone Bananas and Mane Event. They also have do-it-yourself treatments for manicures, pedicures, spa recipes, and "sexy body recipes" like the Hot Chocolate Bath, Whipped Cream Body Extravaganza and Hand It to Me.
Their "seventh course" from their pampering menu includes recipes for a grapefruit room spray, a fast fix for faded clothes and an allergy remedy using aloe.
They also offer a cheat sheet of common ingredients and what they do for your skin, like sugar (a gentle exfoliator) and mint (an anti- inflammatory).
They provide it all in a breezy, funny conversation style, with easy to make and, best of all, use instructions.
So kick back, relax and take your pick from these beauty gurus' at-home arsenal of cosmetic fixer-uppers.
Find your copy of "The Beauty Cookbook" in bookstores nationwide. Recipes
Here are two of our favorite recipes from Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman's "The Beauty Cookbook" ($14.99, Dunham).
"Sweet potatoes are a significant source of vitamin A and beta- carotene, both rich in antioxidants and very nourishing for the skin," Douglas and Pearlman write. Here, their friends at "Beautiful Living: Balance & Joy" magazine created a recipe for a sweet potato facial.
Southern Sweet Potato Facial 1-2 ounces cooked mashed sweet potatoes 1 tablespoon oatmeal 1 tablespoon honey Pinch of nutmeg 1. Mix all ingredients together to form a thick paste. Adjust the ingredients if needed to make thinner -- add water to make thinner, add more oats for a thicker consistency. 2. Apply to face and neck, leaving on for five minutes 3. Tissue off the bulk, rinse with warm water, and gently pat dry skin. Those with shiny skin will want to try this recipe using cornstarch and salt, which remove oil, and citric acid in orange juice to cleanse. No-Shine Complexion Treatment 1/2 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon cornstarch Sprinkle of salt 1. Combine OJ, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. 2. Put mixture on your face, and leave it there 10 minutes. 3. Rinse with warm water.
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