Friends of the earth

The face-savers beneath our feet - we take a look at the beautifying benefits of mushrooms, cucumber, ginger and other food friendlies...

GINGER
Benefits: Apparently ginger is an aphrodisiac. Yup, waft a bit of ginger around and you'll have him swooning. Well maybe not quite, but it's been used for its aphrodisiac powers for thousands of years probably due to the fact that it's a stimulating, warming spice. Ginger is also a great ache and pain reliever, so good for massage. 'It helps boost circulation which is why it has a deeply warming effect on muscles and joints,' says Geraldine Howard of Aromatherapy Associates.

If you're prone to indigestion, it not only soothes the stomach, it also gets the digestive juices going if taken as a tea infusion before food. Stomach aside, if you're after a really warming beauty treat - especially when it's chilly outside - look for body oils, scrubs and creams that contain ginger. There is also evidence to show that ginger has a slight relaxing effect on wrinkles.

Where to find it: Ren Revivio Tonic Two Sugar Body Scrub, £22.50. Ginger adds a circulation boosting punch to this super-smoothing, body scrub. Origins Ginger Touch Relaxing Massage Oil, £17.50, www.origins.co.uk. If you've tried and loved their delicious ginger body soufflés and creams you'll love this for a warming, super nourishing massage. Jo Malone Nutmeg And Ginger Body Creme, £44 www.jomalone.co.uk Sandalwood, cedarwood and nutmeg make this a rich, luxuriously spicy body softener - it's heaven. Aromatherapy Associates Balance Deep Cleanse Face Mask, £23.50, 020 8569 7030. This gives skin a thorough clean and incorporates ginger for its antiseptic benefits Burts Bees Citrus And Ginger Body Wash, £12. This relaxes tired muscles and revives - coconut and sunflower oil make this deliciously moisturising too. Garnier Ultra Lift Eye Cream, £8.99. This has a high concentration of ginger extract included for its wrinkle-smoothing effect.

There's something so pure and clean about cucumber. It has been used in skincare for years, yet is a bit of an unsung heroMUSHROOM
Its benefits: Used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine, we're starting to find mushroom extracts in some of the newest skincare on the market. Why so? The best seem to be of the Chinese variety, Shiitake, Reishi and Matsutake primarily, and their benefits are as an anti-inflammatory and as a skin brightener. They help improve the skin's natural defences against premature ageing. 'We see an improvement in skin clarity, the skin is less prone to redness and the ageing process is slowed down,' says Lieve Declercq, Executive Manager of Origins Biological Research in Europe.

Where to find it Decléor Perfect Sculpt Firming Gel Cream Natural Glow, £36.50, tightens, hydrates and boosts cell renewal thanks to shiitake extracts combined with algae and essential oils - the gradual build up of a light summery, sunless tan is an added bonus. Dr Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Mushroom Face Serum, £50 www.origins.co.uk. The original product from the line based around the Reishi mushroom. Dr Lewinns Ultra R4 Restorative Cream, £45 www.drlewinns.co.uk. A wrinkle-busting, collagen-boosting anti-ageing cream with added Matsutake extract. Dior Capture Sculpt 10 Eye Cream, £33. Shiitake mushroom extract is added for its firming, de-puffing action on the eyelids. Chan Chi Soma Eye Cream, www.chanchiliving.com. Alpha lipoic acid and vitamin C are combined with arnica and mushroom extract to soothe, depuff, promote circulation and hydrate around the eyes.

RICE
Its benefits: Rice isn't just one of our simplest and most useful foods. Its softening, smoothing effect on the skin was a beauty secret held by women rice pickers for hundreds of years. 'Rice starch improves the barrier condition of irritated and damaged skin,' says Origins' Lieve Declerc. Their hands immersed in the starchy water of the paddy fields for hours on end, they must have appreciated this. Twenty-five years ago, another tale emerged: the youthful look of elderly workers' hands at a sake factory in Japan didn't go unnoticed by a visiting monk. It was, he later discovered, due to the fermented yeast from the saki brew which, deeply nutritious, had anti-ageing, smoothing, revitalising benefits on the skin. The skincare line SK-11 was developed based on this ingredient. Also, the hull of a rice grain is an effective exfoliant, and rice peptides are now being used for their skin-firming benefits.

Where to find it: SK-11 Signs Dual Treatment Mask, £60 for 6, incorporates the fermented saki brew in this hydrating, anti-ageing mask. Shiseido Bio-Performance Ultimate Skin Renewal Super Exfoliating Discs, £48 for 8, a scrub with one of rice bran and beer yeast pads will brighten up lacklustre skin a treat. Origins Modern Fusion, £27.50, uses eight rice derived ingredients to soothe redness, boost radiance, firm, soften and generally improve the surface of the skin - apply under moisturiser. Lancome Renergie Morpholift Cou, £49, contains rice peptides that work on keeping the neck firm and youthful by helping protect skin tissue.

CUCUMBER
Its benefits:
There's something so pure and clean about cucumber. It has been used in skincare for years, yet is a bit of an unsung hero. It's taken for granted because it does its job gently and without any fuss. Cucumber is a natural diuretic, which is why it's so commonly added to eye gels - there is sense to the old trick of depuffing eyes with a slice of cucumber. It's a gentle cleanser, soother and skin hydrator, which makes it a useful addition to cleansers and toners.

Where to find it
Palmer Cutler Cucumber Exfoliant, from £4 www.palmercutler.com. Here, cucumber extract has a pH neutral effect on the skin as well as a soothing, hydrating benefit. Omorovicza Reviving Eye Cream, £65. This uses cucumber to refresh and soothe, together with arnica to help reduce puffiness and lucern oil to work on dark circles. RMK Face Protector, £21. Cucumber is used for its hydrating, astringent benefits alongside aloe and camomile - a gentle moisturiser that also has a sunscreen. Boots Cucumber Facial Wipes, £2.29 for 30. These are an absolute must-have for those late nights when you can't face a full cleanse - refreshing and soothing.

CARROT
Its benefits: Back in the '80s and earlier, before we all knew about such things as sunscreen, sun damage, skin cancer (can you believe there was a time?) things were very different. If you weren't slathering Ambre Solaire suntan oil onto your skin, you were smothering it with sunscreen-free carrot oil. Apparently it used to boost your tan, in reality it was frying it.

Today, carrot plays a far gentler, more nurturing role in skincare. Either the oil, extracted from carrot seeds, or an extract taken from the root itself are used. Rich in the antioxidant beta carotene, carrot helps protect and repair the skin from free radical damage. It also has circulation-boosting properties, so makes for a healthy, well-fed and oxygenated complexion. Carrot is often listed in the ingredients as Daucus Carrota, so keep an eye out.

Where you'll find it: Spiezia Organic Night Cream, £34.81 www.spieziaorganics.com. Jojoba, extra virgin, wheatgerm and carrot oils make this a restoring, deeply nourishing night treat for dry, tired-out skin. Dr Hauschka Hand Cream, £9 www.drhauschka.co.uk. Designed for dry, cracked, cold-ravaged hands, this contains repairing, beta-carotene rich carrot extract. The Organic Pharmacy Monoi Body Balm And Aftersun, £30 www.theorganicpharmacy.com. This combines carrot with oils of Marigold, St John's Wort and Rosehip and Monoi or coconut oil from Tahiti. Burts Bees Carrot Nutritive Day Creme, £14.50. Rich, hydrating and repairing for skin that's over-exposed, whether to winter winds or summer sun.

Now you are enjoying organic products, why not cook organic! Check out these fab recipes at All About You