Articol publicat in "UNICA" - Nov. 1999 - The seven miracles by Bianca Brad Miracle products Are in the vegetable basket. Scraped, squeezed or cut thin They make us prettier. For the skin are very good As “Unica” is going to tell us, soon. You have certainly noticed my tendency to the naturalistic cosmetics. I have written about plants, fruit and vegetables and now I’m going to tell you about them and in the next article, I will reveal you all sorts of secrets, very simple, but effective (and even cheap!). I insist on these methods because I have tried them many times and I know they are helpful. Don’t believe now that in my bath room there are only bowls with cucumber or potato slices and little bottles of tea or milk. Of course, I use different creams, but I believe a lot in the healing and embellishing power of natural products. In order to obtain a quick and better result, I combine the natural with the artificial. Maybe, it is not necessary to try to convince you how efficient they are, but to make you use them, which is more difficult! The usual excuse – I don’t have time – I think it is out of question, is only a pretext to disguise laziness. If you agree with me, there is a step forward, so make another step up to the larder, take a potato, a cucumber, a carrot and let’s see what we can do with them, besides stew. Potato – when you slice potatoes to put them in the oven, sacrifice a few slices and wipe your face, which has been previously cleaned of make-up. The starch of the potato sedate and refresh your skin. In order to sooth your irritated skin, squeeze out the juice of a potato and wipe your face with the juice. To refresh your complexion, apply the following mask obtained from the mixture of a boiled potato with the yolk of an egg and a little milk (leave the mask on the face for 20 minutes). For tired and irritated complexion: boil a potato, peal it and “mash” it and add a little milk and a spoonful of oil. It is ideal for relaxation, while staying in the tub. Cucumber – is among vegetables as the melon is among the fruit. Due to its high water content, it hydrates well the skin. For dry complexion, mix 10 ml oil, 20 g “mashed cucumbers” and a tea spoonful of flour. For tired complexion, mix 30 g cucumber juice, 30 g carrot juice and 80 g lemon juice. For all types of complexion, mix a spoonful of cucumber juice, a tea spoonful of kaolin and ½ tea spoonful of honey. Carrot – makes the complexion velvet-like, bringing vitamins and refreshing it. It is indicated for dry pale complexion. For sensitive skin, mix carrot juice with a tea spoonful of cream. To obtain a tanned complexion, make a homogenous mixture of carrot juice (3 squeezed carrots), 2 spoonful of flour and 2 spoonful of cream. Apply it on face and neck abundantly, avoiding the area of the eyes. Relax for 15 minutes and then wipe it off. You could also eat one carrot or drink carrot juice combined with other vegetables and fruit! For dehydrated complexion, mix scraped carrots with a tea spoonful of honey and a tea spoonful of cream. Tomato – from the botanical point of view, tomato is a fruit, but it is usually considered a vegetable. For fat complexion, mash a tomato and apply it on the face for 15-20 minutes. Rinse with warm water (never hot). Black radish – is recommended for the complexion with impurities. The saying: “The old woman suffers if she wants to be beautiful” is adequate for this mask, which is painful, but very efficient. Have a steam bath, apply the finely scraped radish on the face. Avoid the area of the eyes, because it stings. The face becomes red. After 15 minutes (if you can stand it), rinse and apply an emollient cream. You will have a clean, bright, velvet-like complexion. Garlic – its therapeutically powers are very well known. In cosmetics, the garlic juice is applied only on the place where the pimple is going to appear. Onion – has also therapeutically qualities against inflammations. Put an onion in a glass, covert it with honey and let it stay until it starts “crying”. The juice obtained is applied on the swollen places. The concentrated tea made of onion with brown leaves offers golden hair reflections. Here are some of the possibilities you have at hand to treat and embellish your complexion and hair. You must only establish your priorities and organize yourselves a little! Good luck!