Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...

October. The temperature is dropping, along with the leaves, the hemlines of pants, and the humidity. Thank god, the humidity. I am, after all, a fragile flower and I melt in heat and humidity.

But the falling humidity means my skin starts to look like the Wicked Witch of the Northwest (Ohio). Which means it's time to dip into my arsenal of cold weather skin care products - oils, body butters, the white cotton gloves. Yes friends, I am turning into my grandmother. Hand cream and gloves - an over-40s gal's best friends. But did you ever read the label on one of those tubs? Can you pronounce half the names? Not me.

So here lately I've gone in search of my inner Kitchen Witch, looking for ways to incorporate more organic foods and other products into my life. And that includes skin care I can whip up in my home cauldron. Er, mixing bowl.

Here's a recipe for an organic pumpkin mask I've found that purportedly eases dry skin, shrinks your pores, and leaves skin soft. And at my age I'm not above throwing in a spell or two to make me look a few years younger!

Organic Pumpkin Mask
About 1 cup diced organic pumpkin, peeled (use the leftover pieces from carving your jack-o-lantern)
1/2 medium organic apple, peeled and cored
1 Tb. honey
1 or 2 Tb. organic goat's milk
2 drops lemon essential oil

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until thick and smooth, adding more pumpkin if the consistency is too thin. Spread a generous layer on freshly cleansed face, avoiding eye area. Fend off the cat, dog and/or your significant other from licking your face for 15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and apply your favorite moisturizer. Repeat once or twice a week. Store leftover mask in refrigerator for up to one week.

Source: Caroline Bourke, beautysecretsworld.com

Wildish Things, available Nov. 1 from samhainpublishing.com.