“The whole body imbibes delight through every pore.”
—Henry David Thoreau
When the autumnal equinox arrives and the harvest moon hangs high over the sky, it’s a sure sign that the skin will need a little extra love.
Autumn is high season for hot apple cider spiced with nutmeg and clove, warm pumpkin pie with cinnamon cream, and other rich bounty from the magical harvest season. All of these beloved autumnal ingredients are also delicious treats for face and body, and the transition into fall is a fine time to feed them to the skin.
Here are some of our fall favorites.
SPICE
Makes Scents Spiced Orange Cider Butter
Coconut oil and cacao-seed butter give this lovely moisturizer the rich, thick texture of a balm. It smells irresistible—with orange peel and stimulating cardamom and cinnamon-leaf oils—like a divine potpourri. Perfect for use all over the body and infused with vitamins and antioxidants that protect and soothe the skin. makesscentsspaline.com
APPLE
Ilike Organic Skincare Quince Apple Gel Mask
This gel mask caresses the skin with its light touch. Quince apple also soothes inflammation and helps clear up blemishes. It’s loaded with vitamin B, which helps boost production of collagen and elastin and promotes skin-cell turnover to soften the appearance of lines and wrinkles on the face and décolleté. And it leaves skin feeling silky soft and supple! szepelet.com
PUMPKIN
Osmia Organics Brighten Facial Serum
A brightening serum rich in botanical extracts of pumpkin, mushroom, and algae, along with pumpkin, prickly pear, and broccoli-seed oils to nourish dull, dry skin, and help stimulate skin-cell turnover for a softer, more luminous complexion. osmiaorganics.com
Naturopathica Pumpkin Purifying Enzyme Peel
A clarifying mask with extracts of cinnamon and clove, along with permutations of pumpkin including pumpkin wine, pumpkin enzymes, and pumpkin ferment extract to slough away dull or congested skin and leave the face looking glowy and radiant. naturopathica.com
Three Sisters Apothecary Harvest Pumpkin and Cinnamon Bar Soap
Packaged in a pretty muslin drawstring sack, this lightly exfoliating fragrant pumpkin soap (for face and body) smells good enough to eat, with honey, ginger, cinnamon, and a healing blend of natural plant oils and butters. soapcauldron.com
WALNUTS
Uma Ultimate Brightening Rose Powder Cleanser
Uma is an Ayurvedic brand, with natural formulations that served 15th century Indian maharajas. Its exfoliating cleanser—with walnut powder, flowers, and spices—is not only a heady sensory experience but it also reduces inflammation with powdered rose, detoxes the skin with chamomile, and gently exfoliates with finely ground oats and walnuts. umaoils.com
Learn how to DIY an autumnal body scrub and masque here!