Stealing a Page From ‘Gorgeously Green’ (Literally)

If you're curious about ways to lessen your carbon footprint (but you’re not the type to sport Birkenstocks or enforce a
one-flush-per-day rule), then Sophie Uliano’s books – Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life; The Gorgeously Green Diet; and Do it Gorgeously – are the perfect reads for you.  From detoxifying your beauty routine to cooking environmentally friendly desserts, her easy-to-follow advice can help you cut back on waste while actually saving money.

Below is one of our favorite tips: a simple recipe for an alpha hydroxy acid mask you can easily make at home. This mask will cost a mere fraction of the chemical-laden, highly toxic equivalents offered at stores and is also, of course, completely
all-natural.  Take a quick look at some of the scary, un-pronounceable ingredients in the drugstore stuff, and you will immediately want to reach for your fridge…

Gorgeously Green Alpha-Hydroxy Acid Mask*
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ apple juice
¼ cup grape juice
¼ cup sugar

Blend all the ingredients in a glass jar.  Apply to your face with an organic cotton ball.  Leave on for 10 minutes and rinse off. The mixture will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

*Uliano, Sophie. Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life.  New York: Harper Collins, 2008, p. 60.