I met this 75 year old beekeeper one time that had the most beautiful skin. His face was smooth and soft and his wrinkles looked really beautiful. he made his own face cream out of olive oil, beeswax, honey & propolis that he had been using everyday since he was 20 or something. I've never been so awed by someone's skin. It was truly beautiful. He gave me a babyfood jar full of his wonder ointment and when I ran out I tried to recreate it. It's not always easy to find fresh bee materials so I started finding and trying other stuff.
My favorite homeade face wash is this:
a handful of blanched almonds freshly pulverized and mixed with 1 tablespoon of skim milk powder, 1/2 cup honey and a drop of rose essential oil. This amount usually last a few days. It scrapes off the dead skin really gently and because it smells so good you always end up giving yourself a face massage. It helps with dry skin but because honey is antibacterial it cleanses really well too.
Flaxseeds are pretty amazing. You can boil a cup of flax in a chowder pot full of water and end up with a great hair rinse and skin toner. It lasts about a week in the fridge. Really soothing. In the summer I'll squeeze some lemon or grapefruit into it but in the winter I'm all about adding the rose oil.