Tomato, used externally, is good for getting a good complexion. You can make tomato lotion. Take one tsp of tomato juice add a couple of drops of lime juice. Apply on face and remove after 15 minutes. It is very effective for shrinking enlarged pores.

This easy-to-make formula will help to dissolve the ‘glue’ that binds dead skin cells, allowing them to fall away like autumn leaves, revealing the smooth, soft skin underneath. The secret is fresh alphahydroxy fruit acid – in this case, from tomatoes and sugar. You need ¼ cup granulated sugar, chopped fresh tomato and 2 tbsp yogurt or sour cream. Place the sugar in a small bowl. Add enough fresh chopped tomato to moisten, then add yogurt. Combine and apply to a clean, damp face, using fingertips to gently massage the formula into skin. Allow formula to remain on skin for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Here is a wonderful fruit-and-vegetable based formula for a skin toner, one that was decoded from an old Mayan text of beauty formulas by a Mexican archaeologist. A good time to make this toner is when the harvest is bountiful. What you need is: 1/4 cup cucumber juice, 1/8 cup carrot juice (rich in Vitamin A), 1/2 cup spearmint infusion, 1/4 cup chamomile infusion and 1/2 cup lemon juice (an alpha hydroxy acid). Make the cucumber juice and carrot juice. Make strong spearmint and chamomile teas, and let cool. Combine all the ingredients in a glass jar and blend. If you freeze the mixture in ice cube trays, just pop out a cube and rub it over your face, then put the cube in the refrigerator and use the toner over the next few days.

Epsom salt has many uses: You can go for a relaxing and sedative bath by soaking in warm water and 2 cups of Epsom salt.

Use it for face cleansing: To clean your face at night, mix a half-teaspoon of Epsom Salt with your regular cleansing cream. Just massage into skin and rinse with cold water.

Make a skin mask: For normal to oily skin, mix 1 tbsp of cognac, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of non-fat dry milk, the juice of 1 lemon, and a half-teaspoon of Epsom salt. For normal to dry skin mix 1/4 cup of grated carrot, 1 1/2 tbsp of mayonnaise and a half-tbsp of mayonnaise and a half-tbsp of Epsom salt. Apply the mask to damp skin for 15 minutes and then wash.

Take a ripe banana, sandalwood powder and honey. Mix sandalwood powder with mashed banana and honey into a thick paste. It works as a deep cleanser and gives natural glow to dull dry skin.

A lovely, inexpensive-to-make, and totally luscious summer idea. You need 1/4 fresh, ripe melon, 1/2 lemon and 1 tsp olive oil. Peel and seed the melon (of any variety). Press the half lemon to extract 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Using a food processor or blender, puree the fresh melon. Filter its juice through a piece of muslin and reserve. Add to the melon juice the olive oil and lemon juice, and store in a covered bottle or container. Apply twice a day to the face and neck, using cotton pads, and allow to dry naturally. Especially good for quickly calming the pain of a mild burn or sunburn.

Try this to take care of your winter skin. You need 1 cup corn meal, 1/4 cup body lotion, 5 Vitamin E capsules (pierced with a pin and the fluid squeezed out) and 1 egg. Mix all ingredients together with a wire. Wisk. Shower as usual, once you have washed your skin with a mild shower gel, take handfuls of the mixture and rub briskly on your entire body. Let it set for 5 minutes and rinse.