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.

Take 1/4 cup palm yogurt and 1/4 cup walnuts (very finely grounded). Mix ingredients together. Wet your face then gently work the scrub into your skin. Rinse off with warm water. Try this once a week and watch your face glow.

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.

Mix six strawberries with a spoon of brandy, two spoons of breadcrumbs, two spoons of fuller’s earth and a few drops of rose water. Mix well and apply a thick layer on face and neck and leave on for 20 minutes.

Note this elegant formula: Take 1/2 cup aloe vera gel, 1/8 cup glycerin and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon royal jelly. Take 1 tsp plumeria flower essence. Place ingredients in a bowl and stir briskly to combine thoroughly. Apply a dab with your fingertips, massaging gently into face. Store in a glass jar with a screw top.

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.

Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons honey, the juice from 1/2 of a lemon and 1 small carton plain yoghurt. Stir in 1 whipped egg white. Apply to face and let set about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp washcloth.