Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1886 — HOW TO BE BEAUTIFUL. [ARTICLE]

HOW TO BE BEAUTIFUL.

The Secret of the Empress Eugenie’s Perpetual Youth. Seated in a little box of a room just large enough for a toilet stand, a mirror, and a chair, the artist in complexions begins her task by remarking: “Ah, madamo, you have not taken care of your face. See, you have little crows’ feet round your eyes. The skin is dry and harsh; you have no color in particular. ” , “Yes,” looking in the glass. “You have a poor subject to operate on.” “You shall see in one hour how pretty I shall make you. You will not know yourself,” said the young woman, tying a towel about the patient’s shoulders, then gently washing her face with soft water and an ambercolored soap in which there is no alkaline, and rubbing it with a fine towel. “Confess, madame! Have you not used the powders and stuffs sold in the shops to improve your complexion ?” “Certainly, face powders—such as all women use. ” “Oh, it is shameful, wicked, to sell these balms and powders. They are full of mercury, that is absorbed by the blood, and that eventually gets into the bones. Let me show you how a drop of ammonia will turn a teaspoonful of famous ‘ balm ’ black in a moment.” The artist poured the material in question into a saucer, added the ammonia, and it became jet black instantly. The patient’s face being dry, the artist proceeded with her manipulation. Wetting a sponge with a preparation called “Mama Dura,” a white, creamy substance, she applied it to the face, neck and ears of the subject, who asked meekly if this was the famous preparation invented by Eugenie or Mme. Jumel.

“This is Mme. Jumel’s recipe. It is intended as a face-wash for the night, to soften and whiten the skin and to remove wrinkles and discolorations. After washing your sac?, on retiring cover it with ‘Mama Dura,’ and then put on our beauty mask.” Here the artist produced a white cloth mask lined with white cotton flannel. “Oh, I cannot breathe!” said the patient, putting it on for a moment. “That is nervousness. You wtuld soon become'accustomed to it. Thousands of women use the toilet mask. Jumel had a beautiful complexion to the day of her death, and she was very old when she died. She used this ( ream to keep her youthful in appearance. Old men will tell you how dazzlingly fair she was to the very end of her life. It is perfectly harmless, and removes all crows' feet, so vexatious and enduring under any other treatment.”

The artist poured a few drops of the Dura in a saucer, adding a drop of ammonia. The substance “remained white. A greenish white paste was then laid about the- patient’s mouth, the artist saying as she used it: “This is to take away superfluous hair. You have a deli ate little beard coming, madame,.and hair on a woman’s face is so ugly.. This paste must dry, sol shall amuse you me in while by telling you something. Ask some questions if you like.” “Do many women of respectability come here for this- sort of thing ?” said the patient. “Well, madame r you would be astonished to see how many come for a regular treatment of the complexion and to learn their social standing. And why not ? Is there any harm in a woman’s desire to look as well as possible? Does sne not use every art of dress to consummate her elegance of form? Why not beautify her face, her hair, her hands, and feet?” “But ‘nature when unadorned,’ etc.” “O, I don’t believe in that sentiment at all. Art is often more attractive than nature, and more complete. Painters make sketches of nature, and combine the best of them in pictures—but the ‘ Kusma ’ is dry and 1 will wipe it off.” The little hairs round the mouth and chin were gone, leaving the skin as smooth as that of a new-born babe. Then a soft linen cloth removed the shiny traces of the “Dura.” - “Madame, youi are now as though you had wakened in the morning. Bathe your eyes and your mouth, but don't use soap. There, lam ready for you. See how much softer your face looks 1”

Here she produced a pure white liquid and slowly applied it to the face—giving it a pale;, delicate tint. “This is Eugenie’s secret of beauty; we purchase it, from her, and now send it all over the civilized portions of the globe.” Next, a little sponge wet with Extract of Bose was touched to the cheeks near the eyes, the lower part of the chin, and the- lobes of the ears, giving asubdued bat exquisite coloring. A pencil dipped in “ Indian Fard ” was passed over the eyebrows and the eyelashes. “Ah, now look at youself—you are ten years younger in appearance, madame. l ean tell you of actresses who owe their beauty to me. Langtry has just sent on an order for my white cream. She came here regularly when in New York for treatment for her complexion. Lillian Bussell, Minnie Palmer, and other noted women of the stage have and are doing the same.”— New York Morning Journal. The peasant Indians of Central America hold some curious superstitions, of which the following are examples: When a child is sick the mother takes a d ake, singes its tail feathers, and, muttering certain words, passes it over the patient. A woman feeds a parrot with a few pieces of tor-

tilla and gives the child the crumbs which fall from the beak, as they will make it talk. Colic is due to the evil eye; in order to get rid of the disturbing influence the woman breaks four duck’s eggs into a basin, and, having mixed them with rue, places the whole under the child’s bed; if the compound be curdled in the morning the spirit has departed.