The following skin care recipes are from Sophie Uliano’s new book “Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive and More Beautiful Products” available online and in bookstores nationwide.

Looking for ingredients and supplies? Sophie has compiled some of her favorite resources here.

Gentle Facial Exfoliating Scrub

This is a very inexpensive scrub made from basic kitchen ingredients.

Application: Use three times a week
Shelf life: 6 months

Ingredients:
¼ cup ground oatmeal
1 tbsp. dry lavender flowers, stripped off stalks (optional)
1 tbsp. powdered milk (whole or nonfat is fine)
½ tsp. cornmeal
filtered water

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Transfer to a container with a lid.

How to Use: Combine 1 tbsp. of your scrub with enough filtered water to form a thick paste. Gently massage in circular motions over your face and neck. Rinse with warm water and pat your skin dry.

*Find this Recipe on Page 31 of Do It Gorgeously

Vitamin C Serum

This is more effective/active than any vitamin C product you can buy in a store. When you’re next in a fancy department store, just take a look at some of the serums that boast a high vitamin C content and check out how expensive they are! L-ascorbic acid is vitamin C and is available as a powder at most drugstores and health food stores.

Application: Use every morning and evening under your moisturizer
Shelf life: 1 month in the fridge*
*If your serum becomes discolored (yellowish), discard it; this means that it has oxidized.

Ingredients:
¼ tsp. L-ascorbic acid
1 tsp. vegetable glycerin
1 tsp. distilled water

1. Dissolve the L-ascorbic acid in the water in a small measuring cup. When it has fully dissolved, mix in the glycerin.
2. Pour into the glass bottle

*Find this Recipe on Page 40 of Do It Gorgeously

Pomegranate Eye Serum

This deeply nourishing eye serum would cost you more than a pair of designer jeans at a department store. It’s packed with antioxidants. I always pop a bottle in my purse when traveling, as it helps combat unavoidably dehydrated skin.

Application: Use a few drops under your eyes, in the morning and evening after moisturizing.
Shelf life: 1 year in a cool, dark cupboard

Ingredients:
½ tbsp. grapeseed oil
½ tsp. pomegranate seed oil
½ tsp. carrot seed oil
½ tsp. wheat germ oil

Simply pour the oils into your bottle, shake gently, and you’re ready to go.

*Find this Recipe on Page 35 of Do It Gorgeously