This time of year, fresh is planted in our minds.  We are blissfully entertaining friends and family at outside dinners, planning intimate parties and sharing beautiful food and drinks as a way to connect and celebrate the glowing summer season. When we envision fresh ingredients, we usually conjure up the whimsical idea of visiting our local farmers market to find such delicacies. What many don’t know is that in addition to finding your baby carrots and farm fresh eggs, you are in the midst of the best skin care and beauty ingredients ready to be shared by your favorite farmers and growers.

My beginning roots as the founder and esthetician of a boutique skin care company, lovingly named Farm Couture, was launched at my local market, selling small batches of custom blended skin care products, soaps and perfumes displayed off my signature vintage 1960s tea cart.

I hold a passion and a beauty philosophy based upon what I term as gourmet skin care. This means that I believe that skin care should be fresh, seasonally sourced as locally as possible and as whole as possible.  With the growing rate of local farmer’s markets and often year round accessibility, we can effortlessly incorporate organic and natural ingredients into our skin care as well as our dinner plates.

Welcomed as a boutique vendor and artisan at my local farmers markets, I was delighted to be exposed to the plethora of incredible savory ingredients and began infusing strawberries, oats, apples, squash, pumpkin, basil, lavender, raw honey, dried herbs and flowers into my facial treatments, thus creating our signature Farm Couture Facial to an elite clientele. I became known for this new style of facials and took great pride in combining natural science with modern-day results. Because of the use of these fresh ingredients, my clients were experiencing immediate results and got that outward glow. They also enjoyed the aromatic benefits of using farm fresh products.

I highly recommend getting monthly facials, but if you can’t make it to your favorite esthetician, then I have an easy Strawberry Mint Honey Mask recipe to get you FARM COUTURE Fabulous! Strawberries act as a natural acid and honey is restorative. Mint leaves are stimulating and increase circulation. Any skin type can benefit from this mask.

Strawberry Mint Honey Mask

What you will need:

• Farmers’ Market fresh picked Strawberries 3-4 thinly sliced in bowl
• Farmers’ Market fresh raw honey 3 tablespoons in bowl
• Farmers’ market fresh mint- 4-5 leaves thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, place sliced strawberries, honey and mint together, creating a smooth paste. Secure hair back with a headband or ponytail and on a clean face, apply mask lightly with fingertips or a paintbrush all over face, avoiding eyes. Leave on for a minimum of 15 minutes and gently remove with a warm towel. Once mask is removed, splash cool water onto face to close pores and give a lustrous final glow.

Note: This mask can be used up to 3 times per week. And it tastes and smells as good as it looks!

(Photos property of Farm Couture)