THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, September 14, 1995           TAG: 9509090093
SECTION: FLAVOR                   PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 
COLUMN: Morsels 
SOURCE: Ruth Fantasia 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   38 lines

"FEED YOUR FACE" TAKES ON A NEW MEANING

THE 1970s-era platform shoes are making a comeback. And so, it seems, are beauty products made from food. Remember those herbal shampoos and avocado masks so popular in the disco decade?

Now, add brussels sprouts, basil, kidney beans, pumpkin, shortening, rum, mushrooms and refried beans to your beauty regimen. These and other ingredients are from recipes in ``Blended Beauty: Botanical Secrets for Body and Soul'' (Ten Speed Press, 1995).

This cookbook for looks was written by the last-nameless Phillip B., who has salons in New York and Los Angeles and whose hair- and skin-care products have been sold in Neiman Marcus stores since 1992.

``My clients love to eat, I love to eat, it just made sense,'' B. says on the book cover. ``We'd go into the kitchen with white truffle oil and lemons and come out with a great shampoo.''

Never mind dinner.

Imagine whipping up a three-bean body salad or a vegetarian refried bean hair mask.

``All you need is a blender,'' B. says. There's even a recipe for Ginger-Lemongrass After Shave Lotion for Men. Somehow, I can't picture Brad Pitt slapping this concoction on his face in the morning.

Then there's the Vanilla-Rum Cocktail, a ``marvelous remedy for oily deposits found on hair and scalp,'' reads the description. You could drink it, but it probably isn't as tasty as the name implies.

You'll find some of B.'s recipes inside. by CNB