For skin like a peach

If you're keen to look after your face but blanch at the cost of skincare product, you can make cleanser, toners and nourishers form fuit, vegetables and other foodstuffs, say herbalist Pierre Jean Cousin, author of Natural Recipes for Perfect Skin. Many fruits have nourishing, revitalising and astringent action. Some vegetables fight inflammation and contain vitamin A. Here are some recipes to try:

Cucumber cleanser
Peel, seed, puree and sieve one-quarter of a small cucumber. Stir two tablespoons of honey into two table-spoons of the juice and add a tablespoon of full-fat milk. Apply to face and neck for 20 minutes, then wash off with bottled water.

Banana anti-ageing face mask
Mash a small banana and stir in teo table spoons of fresh double cream, one tablespoon of honey and one table-spoon of patato flour. Apply for 30 minutes and then rinse off.

Lemon toning mask
Beat one egg white until stiff, then fold in the juice of half a lemon. Apply to the face for 20 minutes, then wash off.