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Feed yourself
It’s not just your stomach crying out for something tasty; your skin just might want some sustenance, too

BY NINA WILLDORF

What do you get when you combine a dash of salt, a dribble of olive oil, a spot of caffeine, a few grinds of ginger, a slice of avocado, and some pomegranate seeds? Bleh!

It may not sound tasty. But this concoction isn’t meant to be eaten — it’s for your skin. At one time, mixing soy into skin creams was as daring as cosmetics companies got, but these days, the more berries, seeds, and flavors in your skin-care regimen, the better. Companies from Origins to Fresh to Philosophy are now juicing up their products with fruits, veggies, spices, and oils. And people are buying, whether or not the revamped creams, gels, and scrubs actually work.

"You have to do things that make you feel good — and for some people, putting on a fruit cream may make them feel good," notes Alice Domar, the author of Self-Nurture (Viking, 1999) and director of the Mind/Body Center for Women’s Health at Harvard. So if your skin’s growling along with your stomach, here’s a sample daily menu. Eat at your own risk.

Breakfast: coffee and pomegranate sprinkled with sugar

N>DN Skincare for men is a veritable revelation for the male product whores in our lives. The luscious line, available at Louis Boston, spices up its skin products with fruits and veggies — and caffeine. It’s no surprise, since founder Rob Eric polished his chops at Bon Appétit before launching this fast-selling line. The Seismic Shock Face Rejuvenation Gel ($23), laced with caffeine, is its biggest seller yet. "Caffeine brings blood to the capillaries and brings color to the face," explains Eric.

Boston hometown favorite Fresh has added Sugar to its original Milk line. A notable item is the Brown Sugar Body Polish ($58), a grainy, oily brown mixture that, when massaged into thirsty skin, leaves it remarkably smooth and sweet-smelling.

The latest offering from Origins is Pomegranate Polish ($30), an urn of red, seedy, gooey mush, to be rubbed onto wet skin, then rinsed away. "There are seeds that actually buff the body while it seduces the senses," says Caitlin Rea, an Origins public-relations associate.

Lunch: avocado-and-ginger salad

E6 Apothecary can’t keep its irresistible L’Annine avocado hand cream ($10) on the shelves. "Avocado just basically helps to hydrate — it’s the most hydrating oil," says store manager Caroline Quan. But, she adds, "it doesn’t feel greasy. And all you need is the size of a pearl."

Spice things up with mashed chunks of ginger, which can be found in an urn of Origins’ Ginger Body Scrub ($30). The stuff’s supposed to have warming, soothing effects on tired muscles, which you’re bound to have after plugging away all day on that damned computer.

Dinner: cucumber salad, dotted with olive oil

Get your dose of veggies with N>DN’s Cucumber Cool Body Wash ($16), a soapy concoction for use in the shower; it also contains aloe and cider vinegar.

And doctor up your salad with a little olive oil. O&Co, the Newbury Street store filled with all things olive oil, has a set of soaps ($5) that are 50 percent olive oil, mixed with green clay and lemon balm. The lather is strong, the smell is stronger, and your skin will thank you.

Dessert: pie, sorbet, or cookies

You’ve been good all day, getting your recommended daily allowance of five servings of fruits and vegetables. Now it’s time to indulge. Get your sugar high with Philosophy’s Cookbooks, a set of four small plastic bottles ($30) of soap for the hair or body, named after and smelling like various sweets. The Baked Goods cookbook set includes chocolate-chip cookies, banana-nut bread, pumpkin pie, and cinnamon buns. Frozen Desserts includes orange sherbet, strawberry milkshake, raspberry sorbet, and grape Popsicle. And Homemade Pies includes coconut-cream pie, lemon-meringue pie, Key lime pie, and blueberry pie.

Where to get it:

• E6 Apothecary, 167 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 236-8138.

• Fresh, 121 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 421-1212.

• Louis Boston, 234 Berkeley Street, Boston, (617) 266-4680.

• O&Co, 161 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 859-8841.

• Origins, 8 Brattle Street, Cambridge, (617) 868-8090.

Issue Date: January 17 - 24, 2002

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