Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright,
Meet in her aspect and in her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies"
BYRON
Reportedly many of the early face creams and washes contained such things as silver, lead, sulphur, arsenic and mercury; which I imagine caused some pretty horrendous results.
But Lily White was so sure of their product that they asked you to send them a sample of what you now use, so that they could analyse it for you. I'd love to see some of their findings. Fortunately Light on Dark Corners had their own suggestions to achieve a beautiful skin.
2. FOR RED HANDS - Keep your feet warm by soaking them often in hot water, and keep your hands out of the water as much as possible. Rub your hands with the skin of a lemon and it will whiten them. If your skin will bear glycerine after you have washed, pour into the plam a little glycerine and lemon juice mixed, rub over the hands and wipe off.
3. NECK AND FACE - Do not bathe the neck and face just before or after going out of doors. It tends to wrinkle the skin.
4. SCOWLS - Never allow yourself to scowl, even if the sun be in your eyes. That scowl will soon leave it's trace and no beauty will outlive it.
5. WRINKLED FOREHEAD - If you wrinkle your forehead when you talk or read, visit an oculist and have your eyes tested, and then wear glasses to fit them.
6. OLD LOOKS - Sometimes your face looks old because it is tired. Then apply the following wash and it will make you look younger: Put three drops of ammonia, a little borax, a tablespoonful of bay rum, and a few drops of camphor into warm water and apply to your face. Avoid getting it into your eyes (ouch)
7. THE BEST COSMETIC - Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a pint of sweet milk. Wash the face with it every night and in the morning wash off with rain water. This will produce a very beautiful effect upon the skin.
8 SPOTS ON THE FACE - Moles and many other discolorations can be removed from the face with a preparation composed of one part chemically pure carbolic acid and two parts pure glycerine. Touch the spots with a camel's-hair pencil, being careful that the preparation does not come in contact with the adjacent skin. Five minutes after touching, bathe with soft water and apply a little vaseline. It may be necessary to repeat the operation, but if persisted in, the blemishes will be entirely removed.
9. WRINKLES - This prescription is said to cure wrinkles: Take one ounce of white wax and melt it to a gentle heat. Add two ounces of the juice of lily bulbs, two ounces of honey, two drams of rose water, and a drop or tow of ottar of roses. Apply twice a day rubbing the wrinkles the wrong way. Always use tepid water for washing the face.
10. THE HAIR - The hair must be kept free from dust or it will fall out. One of the best things for cleaning it, is a raw egg rubbed ito the roots and then washed out in several waters. The egg furnishes material for the hair to grow on, while keeping the scalp perfectly clean. Apply once a month.
11. LOSS OF HAIR - When through sickness or headache the hair falls out, the following tonic may be applied with good effect: Use one ounce of glycerine, one ounce of bay rum, one pint of strong sage tea, and apply every other night, rubbing well into the scalp.
Facial treatments included washing with buttermilk, applying oatmeal and glycerine and placing cold teabags to our eyes. Then once a month we had to 'purify' our skin. To do this we poured boiling water into a large bowl, and then held our face as close to the bowl as possible, without making contact with the water. Then mom would place a towel over our head and the bowl and we stayed in that position until the water cooled, cleansing in the steam. Though we all later preferred commercial products, my mother rarely used them. She lived til she was sixty-nine, and I've got to tell you, she never had a wrinkle.
Another interesting fact about the use of milk as a beauty treatment: King Henry II of France's mistress, Diane De Poitiers was often thought to be a sorcerer, because she always managed to look so young. Apparently, she achieved this by bathing in goat's milk everday. Go figure.
The Secret of It's Preservation
3. Do not bathe the face while it is very warm, and never use very cold water.
4. Do not attempt to remove dust with cold water; give your face a hot bath, using plenty of good soap, then give it a thorough rinsing with warm water.
5. Do not rub your face with a coarse towel.
6. Do not believe that you can remove wrinkles by filling in the crevices with face powder. Give your face a Russian bath every night; that is, bathe it with warm water so hot that you wonder how you can bear it, and then a minute after, with moderately cold water, that will make your face glow with warmth; dry it with a soft towel.
2. BARBER'S SHAMPOOS - Carefully avoid all kinds of barber's shampoos, hair oils, etc. They are very injurious and in time will ruin a good head of hair. Avoid strong shampoos of any kind.
4. HAIR WASH - Take one ounce of borax, half an ounce of camphor powder - these ingredients fine - and dissolve them in one quart of boiling water. When cool, the solution will be ready for use. Dampen the hair frequently. This wash is said not only to cleanse and beautify, but to strengthen the hair, preserve the colour and prevent baldness. Another Excellent Wash - The best wash we know for cleansing and softening the hair is an egg beaten up and rubbed well into the hair, and afterwards washed out with several washes of warm water.
5. THE ONLY SENSIBLE AND SAFE HAIR OIL - The following is considered a most valuable preparation: Take of extract of yellow Peruvian bark; fifteen grains; extract of rhatany root, eight grains; extract of burdoch root and oil of nutmeg (fixed), of each two drachms; camphor (dissolve with spirits of wine), fiteen grains; beef marrow, two ounces; best olive oil, one ounce; citron juce, half a drachm; aromatic essential oil, as much as sufficient to render it frangrant; mix and make into an ointment. Two drachms of bergamont, and a few drops of ottar of roses would suffice.
6. MORE HAIR WASH - A good hair wash is soap and water, and the oftener it is applied, the freer the surface of the head will be from scurf. The hair brush should also be kept in requisiton day and night.
7. TO REMOVE SUPERFLOUS HAIR - With those who dislike the use of arsenic (there are some who do?) ; the following is used to remove superflous hair from the skin: Lime, one ounce; carbonate of potash, two ounces; charcoal powder, one drachm For use make it into a paste with a little warm water, and apply it to the part, previously shaved close. As soon as it is lifted, dry thoroughtly, and it may be washed off with a little warm water.
8. COLORING FOR EYELASHES AND EYEBROWS - In eyelashes the chief element of beauty consists in their being long and glossy; the eyebrows should be finely arched and clearly divided from each other. The most innocent darkener of the brow is the expressed juice of the elderberry, or a burnt clove.
