Beauty Makeover With Natural Ingredients By Riquette Hofstein

You can have a complete beauty makeover at home for just a fraction of a buck - everything you need is right in your kitchen!

Expensive face masks, moisturizers and designer shampoos can be replaced by whipping up beauty recipes using simple, inexpensive ingredients like gelatin, eggs, bread crumbs, vinegar and fresh fruits.

"I call my beauty recipes Cosmedibles,"says Riquette, president of Riquette International of Beverly Hills. "You'll look and feel much better knowing you have the equivalent of a 100 dollar wrinkle cream or skin treatment for under a dollar. You'll be a gourmet chef of beauty!"

Sharing to you readers a few beauty recipes from Riquette's International Beauty Secrets..



Wrinkles. Prick three capsules of vitamin E and drain into a small bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of plain yogurt, one-half teaspoon of both honey and lemon juice and apply to your face with a pastry brush. Leave on for ten minutes, then rinse.

Acne or troubled skin. Believe it or not, kitty litter is pure clay so it makes a wonderful face mask. Just make sure you use the litter before your cat gets to it, she jokes. Put one cup in a blender and grind into a powder. Then mix with water and apply to your face for five minutes, before rinsing off. This is excellent for oily skin, enlarged pores or acne.

Instant eye-lift. Blend one carrot into a pulp and add 1/4 cup castor oil. Refrigerate for an hour and apply. Before application, dot plain castor oil under the eyes. Apply, leave in place for 30 minutes, then rinse.

Instant face-lift. Combine a handful of strawberries, grapes, one-half pear, one-half apple and 1 ounce orange juice in a blender. Then, apply a thin layer of honey to your face and apply the fruit mixture over it with a pastry brush. Leave on 30 minutes, then rinse.

Dark circles. Place potato slices under eyes for a few minutes. Rinse.

Oily hair. Beat one egg white until it's foamy and add to 5 tablespoons plain natural yogurt. Apply to hair with a pastry brush in small sections. Leave in for 15 minutes, then rinse.

Damaged hair. Mash a well-ripened avocado and blend in 1 tablespoon avocado oil and one egg yolk. Apply to hair. Cover with a shower cap and leave on for ten minutes. Rinse well and shampoo first with cool then warm water.

Damaged ends. Beat one egg and 2 tablespoons of whiskey, blending thoroughly. Apply only to the ends. Leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse.

Dull hair. Make it shine with 1 cup apple cider vinegar blended with 1 cup distilled water. Use as rinse.