The Ladies Book of Useful Information Part 4

=Circa.s.sian Cream.=-This celebrated preparation is made, according to a published recipe, in this way: Castor oil, one pint; almond oil, four ounces; liquid pota.s.sa, three drams; essence of bergamot, oil of cloves, and oil of lemon, in equal quant.i.ties; and about a dozen drops of otto of roses.

=Toilet Vinegar.=-Add to the best malt vinegar, half a pint of cognac and a pint of rose-water. Scent may be added, and if so, it should be first mixed with the spirit before the other ingredients are put in.

=Bloom Rose.=-This is a preparation of carmine for the face and lips.

Take a quarter of a dram of carmine and place it in a phial with half a dram of liquid ammonia; keep for a few days, occasionally shaking the mixture; then dilute with two ounces of rose-water, to which half a dram of essence of roses has been added. Draw off and keep a week or ten days, then apply with the corner of a soft handkerchief, taking care that if the color is too bright it is reduced by means of pure water.

=Certain Cure for Eruptions, Pimples, Etc.=-Having in numerous instances seen the good effects of the following prescription, I can certify to its perfect remedy: Dilute corrosive sublimate with the oil of almonds, apply it to the face occasionally, and in few days a cure will be effected.

=To Clear the Complexion, and Reduce the Size.=-It is essential that the blood should be cleansed. Take a teaspoonful of powdered charcoal, mixed with water or honey, for three successive nights, then use a seidlitz powder to remove it from the system. It acts splendidly upon the system and purifies the blood; but under no circ.u.mstances must the physic be neglected to carry the chemicals from the system; if not, ill effects are certain to follow.

=To Cure and Refine a Stippled or Blotched Skin.=-A small dose of teraxac.u.m every other night will most materially aid in refining the skin. It is a month's or six weeks' job to accomplish the desired result. You must also wear a mask of quilted cotton, wet in cold water, over night. Do not get discouraged, for it is worth the trouble.

TO CURE AND PREVENT WRINKLES.

=Pomade d'Hebe.=-This pomade is used for the removal of wrinkles. To make: Melt white wax, one ounce, to gentle heat; add juice of lily bulbs, two ounces; add honey, two ounces; rose-water, two drams; and otto of roses, a drop or two. Use twice a day.

=Lotion for Wrinkles.=-Beautifies the face, preserves the freshness of youth, and gives a beautiful brilliancy to the skin. Take the second water of barley, one pint, and strain through a piece of fine linen; add a dozen drops of the balm of Mecca; shake it well together until the balm is thoroughly incorporated with the water, which will be effected when the water a.s.sumes a whitish or turgid appearance. Before applying, wash the face with soft water. If used once a day, this lotion will beautify the face, remove wrinkles, preserve the freshness of youth, and give a surprising brilliancy to the skin.

=Wash for Wrinkles.=-Take two ounces of the juice of onions, two ounces of the white lily, two ounces of Norboune honey, and one ounce of white wax; put the whole into a new earthen pipkin until the wax is melted, then take the pipkin (crock) off the fire, and continue stirring briskly until the mixture grows cold. This should be applied on going to bed and allowed to remain on till the morning.

=To Remove Wrinkles.=-To one fluid ounce of tincture of gum benzoin add seven fluid ounces of distilled rose-water and one-half ounce of glycerine. Bathe face, neck, and hands with it at night, letting it dry on. Wash off in the morning with a very little pure white castile soap and soft water. This is a famous cosmetic, and has been sold under various names. It is an excellent remedy for tan, freckles, and sunburn also.

HOW TO HAVE BRILLIANT, BEAUTIFUL EYES.

Beautiful eyes are the gift of nature; but even those of the greatest beauty may owe something to the toilet, while those of an indifferent kind are very susceptible of improvement. We entirely discountenance any tampering with the eye itself, with a view to giving it l.u.s.ter or brightness. The sight has often been injured by the use of belladonna, preparations of the calabar bean, eyebright, and other substances having a strong effect on the eyes. But without touching the eye itself, it is possible to give the effect of brightness, softness, etc., by means of the eyelids and eyelashes. Made-up eyes are by no means desirable, and to many are singularly displeasing; but the same may be said of made-up faces generally. Some ladies are, however, persuaded that it adds to their charms to give the eyes a long, almond shape-after the Egyptian type-while very many are persuaded that the eye is not seen to advantage unless its apparent size is increased by the darkening of the lids. Both these effects are produced by kohl, a black powder, which may be procured at the chemist's, and is mixed with rose-water and applied with a camel's-hair brush.

=To Cure Weak Eyes.=-It is well to have on the toilet table a remedy for inflamed eyes. Spermaceti ointment is simple and well adapted for the purpose. Apply at night, and wash off with rose-water in the morning. Golden ointment will serve a like purpose. Or, there is a simple lotion made by dissolving a very small piece of alum and a piece of lump sugar of the same size in a quart of water. Put the ingredients into water cold and let them simmer. Bathe the eyes frequently with it. Sties in the eyes are irritating and disfiguring.

Foment with warm water; at night apply a bread and milk poultice. When a white head forms, p.r.i.c.k it with a fine needle. Should the inflammation be obstinate, a little citerine ointment may be applied, care being taken that it does not get into the eye, and an aperient should be tried.

=To Improve the Eyelashes.=-Many people speak highly of this secret.

Trim the tiny points slightly, and anoint with this salve: Two drams of ointment of nitric oxida of mercury, and one dram of lard. Mix the lard and ointment well, and anoint the edges of the eyelids night and morning, after each time, with milk and water. This will restore the lashes when all other remedies fail. It is not known in this country, and is a valuable secret.

=To Cure Weakness of Eyes.=-Sulphate of copper, fifteen grains; camphor, four grains; boiling water, four ounces. Mix, strain, and when cold make up to four pints with water. Bathe the eyes night and morning with a portion of the mixture.

=How to Have Beautiful Eyelashes.=-The effect of the eyes is greatly aided by beautiful eyelashes. These may be secured to a certain extent by a little care, especially if it is taken early in life. The extreme ends should be cut with a pair of small, sharp scissors, care being taken to preserve the natural outline, not to leave jagged edges.

Attention to this matter results in the lengthening of the lashes.

Dyeing them is another expedient often resorted to for increasing their effect. A good permanent black is all that is needed, and for this use Indian ink. As an impromptu expedient to serve for one night, a hairpin held for a few seconds in the flame of a candle, and drawn through the lashes, will serve to color them well, and with sufficient durability. It need scarcely be added that the hairpin must be suffered to grow cold before it is used, or the consequence may be that no eyelash will be left to color. Good eyebrows are not to be produced artificially. It is possible, however, to prevent those that are really good from degenerating through neglect. When wiping the face dry after was.h.i.+ng, pa.s.s a corner of the towel over the forefinger and set the eyebrows in the form you wish them to a.s.sume. And when oiling the hair, do not forget to oil the eyebrows also.

=To Cure Watery and Inflamed Eyes.=-Foment frequently with decoction of poppy heads. When the irritation and inflammation occur, a teaspoonful of cognac brandy in four ounces of spring water may be used three or four times in the course of the day as a strengthening lotion.

=General Care of the Eyes.=-The eyes, of all the features, stand pre-eminent for their beauty and ever-varying powers of expression, and for being the organs of the most exalted, delicate and useful of the senses. It is they alone that "reveal the external forms of beauty to the mind, and enable it to perceive them, even at a distance, with the speed of light. It is they alone that clothe the whole creation with the magic charms of color, and fix on every object the ident.i.ty of figure. It is the eyes alone, or chiefly, that reveal the emotions of the mind to others, and that clothe the features with the language of the soul. Melting with pity, or glowing with hope, or redolent with love, benevolence, desire, or emulation, they impart to the countenance those vital fascinations which are the peculiar attributes of man." "And when the mind is subdued by fear, anxiety or shame, or overwhelmed by sorrow or despair, the eyes, like faithful chroniclers, still tell the truthful story of the mental disquietude. And hatred, anger, envy, pride, and jealousy, ambition, avarice, discontent, and all the varied pa.s.sions and emotions that torment, excite or depress the human soul, and find a resting place in the human breast, obtain expression in the eyes. At one moment the instruments of receiving and imparting pleasure, at another the willing or pa.s.sive instruments of pain, their influences and changes are as varied and boundless as the empire of thought itself." Through their silent expressions the mind reveals its workings to the external world in signs more rapid and as palpable as those uttered by the tongue. It is "the eyes alone that stamp the face with the outward symbol of animation and vitality," and which endue it with the visible "sanct.i.ty of reason." The eye is, indeed, the chief and most speaking feature of the face, and the one on whose excellence, more than any other, its beauty depends.

Theories have been based on even the peculiar color of the eyes. Thus, it is said that dark blue eyes are found chiefly in persons of delicate, refined or effeminate mental character; light blue eyes, and more particularly gray eyes, in the hardy and active; hazel eyes, in the masculine, vigorous, and profound; black eyes, in those whose energy is of a desultory or remittent character, and who exhibit fickleness in pursuits and affection. Greenish eyes, it is a.s.serted, have the same general meaning as gray eyes, with the addition of selfishness or a sinistrous disposition. These statements, however, though based on some general truths, and supported by popular opinion, are liable to so many exceptions as to be unreliable and valueless in their individual applications.

Shakespeare is said to have had hazel eyes; Swift, blue eyes; Milton, Scott, and Byron, gray eyes. Wellington and Napoleon are also said to have had gray eyes.

A beautiful eye is one that is full, clear, and brilliant; appropriate in color to the complexion, and in form to the features, and of which the connected parts-the eyelids, eyelashes, and eyebrows, which, with it, in a general view of the subject, collectively form the external eye-are also beautiful, and in keeping with it.

To increase the beauty and expression of the eyes, various means are occasionally had recourse to, nearly all of which, except those herein mentioned in connection with the eyelashes and eyebrows, are not merely highly objectionable, but even dangerous. Thus, some fas.h.i.+onable ladies and actresses, to enhance the clearness and brilliancy of their eyes before appearing in public, are in the habit of exposing them to air slightly impregnated with the vapor of prussic acid. This is done by placing a single drop of the dilute acid at the bottom of an eyecup or eyegla.s.s, and then holding the cup or gla.s.s against the eye for a few seconds, with the head in an inclined position. It has also been a.s.serted, and I believe correctly, that certain ladies of the demimonde rub a very small quant.i.ty of belladonna ointment on the brow over each eye, or moisten the same part with a few drops of tincture of belladonna. This produces dilation of the pupil, and gives that peculiar fullness and an expression of languor to the eyes which, by some, is regarded as exceedingly fascinating. The use of these active medicinals in this way must be manifestly injurious; and when frequent, or long continued or carried to excess, must necessarily result in impaired vision, if not in actual blindness.

The following means of repairing and restoring the sight, which has for some time been going the round of the press, being based on scientific principles, may be appropriately inserted here:

For nearsightedness, close the eyes and pa.s.s the fingers, very gently, several times across them outward, from the canthus, or corner next the nose, towards the temple. This tends slightly to flatten the corner and lens of the eye, and thus to lengthen or extend the angle of vision. The operation should be repeated several times a day, or at least always after making one's toilet, until shortsightedness is nearly or completely removed. For long sight, loss of sight by age, weak sight, and generally for all those defects which require the use of magnifying gla.s.ses, gently pa.s.s the finger, or napkin, from the outer angle or corner of the eyes inward, above and below the eyeball, towards the nose. This tends slightly to "round up" the eyes, and thus to preserve or to restore the sight. It should be done every time the eyes are washed, or oftener.

TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MOUTH AND LIPS.

The beauty of the human mouth and lips, the delicacy of their formation and tints, their power of expression, which is only inferior to that of the eyes, and their elevated position as the media with the palate, tongue, and teeth, by which we communicate our thoughts to others in an audible form, need scarcely be dilated on here. The poet tells us that:

"The lips of woman out of roses take The tints with which they ever stain themselves.

They are the beautiful, lofty shelves Where rests the sweetness which the young hours make, And which the earnest boy, whom we call Love, Will often sip in sorrow or in play.

Health, when it comes, doth ruddiness approve, But his strong foe soon flatters it away!

Disease and health for a warm pair of lips, Like York and Lancaster, wage active strife: One on his banner front the White rose keeps, And one the Red; and thus with woman's life, Her lips are made a battle-field for those Who struggle for the color of a rose."

A beautiful mouth is one that is moderately small, and has a well-defined and graceful outline; and beautiful lips are gracefully molded, neither thick nor thin, nor compressed nor lax, and that are endowed with expression and are tinted with the hues of health.

The ladies of Eastern nations commonly heighten the hue and freshness of their lips by means of cosmetics, a practice which in Western Europe is only adopted on the stage, and occasionally by courtesans and ladies of the demimonde.

Chapped lips most frequently occur in persons with pale, bluish, moist lips and a languid circulation, who are much exposed to the wind or who are continually moving from heated apartments to the external air.

East and north-east winds are those that generally produce them. The occasional application of a little cold cream, lip salve, spermaceti ointment, or any other mild unguent, will generally prevent them, and remove them when they have already formed. A still more elegant and effective preventive and remedy is glycerine diluted with about twice its weight of eau-de-rose, or glycerinated lip salve or balsam.

The moist vesicular eruption of the lips, referred to above, may also generally be prevented by the use of glycerine, or any of the preparations just mentioned. After its accession, the best treatment is to freely dust the affected portion of the lips with violet powder, finely powdered starch, prepared chalk, or French chalk or talc reduced to an impalpable powder by sc.r.a.ping or grating it.

The following formulas of preparations are all valuable for beautifying and preserving the beauty of the lips:-

=White Lip Salve-No. 1.=-Take half a pound spermaceti ointment, liquify it by the heat of warm water, and stir in one-half dram neroli or essence de pet.i.t-grain. In a few minutes pour off the clear portion from the dregs (if any) and add twenty drops of oil of rose. Lastly, before it cools, pour it into jars.

=Lip Salve-No. 2.=-This indispensable adjunct to the toilet is made by melting in a jar, placed in a basin of boiling water, a quarter of an ounce each of white wax and spermaceti; flour of benzoin, fifteen grains; and half an ounce of oil of almonds. Stir till the mixture is cool. Color red with two-penny worth of alkanet root. Splendid for keeping the lips healthy and of a beautiful crimson color.

=French Lip Salve.=-Lard, twenty-six ounces; white wax, two ounces; nitre and alum in fine powder, of each one-half ounce; alkanet to color.

=German Lip Salve.=-b.u.t.ter of cacao, one-half ounce; oil of almonds, one-quarter ounce; melt together with a gentle heat, and add six drops of essence of lemon.

THE CARE OF THE TEETH.

The influence which the teeth are capable of exercising on the personal appearance is usually known and admitted.

The teeth have formed especial objects of attention, in connection with the toilet and cosmetic arts, from almost the earliest ages of the world to the present time. History and tradition, and the researches of archaeologists among the remains of the prehistoric nations of the East, show us that even dentistry may trace back its origin to a date not very long subsequent to the "confusion of tongues."

We are told that the ancient Welsh took particular care of their teeth, by frequently rubbing them with a stick of green hazel and a woollen cloth. To prevent their premature decay, they scrupulously avoided acid liquids, and invariably abstained from all hot food and drink.

Europeans pride themselves on teeth of pearly whiteness; but many Asiatic nations regard them as beautiful only when of a black color.

The Chinese, in order to blacken them, chew what is called "betel" or "betel nut," a common masticatory in the East. The Siamese and the Tonquinese do the same, but to a still greater extent, which renders their teeth as black as ebony, or more so. As the use of the masticatory is generally not commenced until a certain age, the common practice is to stain the teeth of the boys and girls with a strong preparation of it, on the former attaining the age of ten or twelve.

Keeping the lips apart and breathing through the mouth instead of the nose, and, particularly, sleeping with the mouth open, are habits which are very prejudicial to the teeth and gums. In this way the mouth forms a trap to catch the dust and gritty particles floating in the atmosphere, which soon mechanically injure the enamel of the teeth by attrition.