Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-14

New and Interesting Facts About Co.'S
metics and Perfumes.

New and Interesting Facts About Cos.
metics and Perfumes.
PREPARATIONS THAT WOMEN BUY TO MAKE THEM
SELVES MORE BEAUTIFUL-DANoEns THAT LURK
IN WASHES AND Observation-Disclosures AND
RoUaEs-How PERFUMES ARE MADE.
''The use Of washes for the complexion is a
rapidly increasing evil" said a Washington
chemist yesterday, land my observation is that
women in this latitude employ such aids to
beauty much moro generally than does their
sex farther north. An F-street apothecary was
telling me only this morning that he himself
sold from $50 to $50 worth of single such
preparation, now enjoying popularity, daily;
and this is only one of a large number OF
creams and balms for the skin kept by him in
stock. As take my walks abroad in the city
my practiced eye tells me that the percentage
of women who buy stuff of the sort is surpris-
ingy high you can see for yourself that it is SO,
since the artifice is always perceptible to scru-
tiny in a bright light. Those addicted to it do
not realize this, putting on the wash as they do
indoors. Funnily enough, most OF them would
think painting dreadful, if not positively dis
reputable, though they see no objection to de-
posting upon their countenances an artificial
coating of tiesh-colored substance, which con-
ceals the epidcrmis and serves the purpose OF
an enamel. 1t looks so innocent, like milk in
the bottle, and is applied in such Gn unsophis-
ticated manner, with q bit of rag. AS a matter
of fact, however, the washes, creams and balms
are all injurious, while many of them are posi-
lively dangerous"
DANGEROUS COSMETICS.
"And why?" asked The STAR reporter.
because they are always made with one or
moro harmful minerals IN large proportion
nd of,
Bismuth is the favorite ingredient The effect
of using it on the skin porsistently is paraly-
sis of the small veins on the surface; the circu-
lation of the blood through those veins is i'm
peded and their tracery becomes permanently
visible in disfguring little red lines. Mercury
is employed in the shape of corrosive sub
Innate; you know how injurious that is 1t has
the effect of a bleach, and when you see a
preparation advertised to remove freckles and
tan you may always take it for granted that
corrosive suDlimate is its active principle. 1t
is quite effective, so far as the freckles are con-
cerned, but being readily absorbed by the skin
the mercury causes constitutional derange-
ments and often eruptions. Oxide of zinc is
not so bad, though it fills up the pores and is
otherwise harmful; but it does not serve the
identifying purpose so well bismuth. All
the complexion prettyfers in the market are
nearly alike as to merit and objectionableness
To make any toilet cream success you must
first give it an attractive name, like Bloom Of
Youth or Sweet Sixteen and then advertise
1t literally as being made from altogether
harmless Ingredients. Then it is sure to go.
The most harmful of such washes are always
those which are advertised the most emphatic
ally as quite inocuous. The two most popular
because most widely advertised creams now in
to beauty. Analysis proves them to contain
CORROSIVE sUBLIMATE AND OXIDE OF ZINC
in large quantities, with little else besides but
oil, md oil oynlr
nostrums can be put up for about cents a
bottle and are sold for an average price OF IS
cents bottle. They are all put on in the same
way. The fluid is applied to the face with
rag and, the watery part evaporating, leaves
behind on the skin a smooth powdery coating
which covers up all ordinary blemishes. A
certain amount of coloring matter forms an in
gredient so that the tint shall be a natural
flesh color. l will venture to say that if
women realized how much men dislike the ap-
pearance produced by such washes and how
little they deceive the eye they would use them
less. But if they must employ them they can
make for themselves a cream which will be
quite as effective for their purpose as any they
can buy in the shops and very much less in
furious than most of those sold by simply mix
ing together half an ounce of oxide of zinc and
one drachm of subnitrate of bismuth in six
ounces, or little less than teacupful. of
water. There is one use to which prepara-
ton like this can be applied with my entire
approval because il is necessary-that is as a
wash for the neck and arms in the evening
when full dress is to be worn. Without some
such thing the skin in the course of the even
ing is apt to become shiny and red"
ROUGE AND DEPILAToRIEs.
"Do many Washington women wear rouge?'
."Not very many 1 think. Those who
do use it employ it in the shape Of
what is called liquid ROUGE but to apply
no little practice. The trouble with women
who rouge is that they get to putting more and
more Oh as years go by. 1t is said OF artists
that sometimes they lose their delicacy of color
perception after long years of painting, SO that
the tints they employ and which appear to
them to produce the right effects seem to other
people too bright Perhaps the same PROPOSE
ton may be applicable to the use of rouge.
Women very rarely go into an apothecary shop
and buy rouge; as rule, they write for it.
The same may be said about depilatories for
removing superfiuous hair. These depilatores.
by the way, are always bad, inasmuch as they
are invariably composed chiefly Of quicklime,
which burns the hair and is very likely to scar
the skin seriously. The manufacturer usually
puts this fact in delicate way to the consumer
by saying in the printed directions accompany
ing the bottle that its contents are a purely
chemical preparation and must be carefully
handled You can make the best sort of LIQUID
rouge at home by mixing half an ounce of
strong liquid ammonia with a like quantity of
triple esprit de rose and quarter of an ounce Of
the finest carmine in pint of rose water. Put
the carmine into pint bottle and pour on the
ammonia; let them remain together, shaking
the solution occasionally, for two days; then
add the rose water and esprit, mix them up
we'll and place the bottle in a quiet spot for a
week. At the end of that time your Bloom of
Roses will be ready for use."
POWDERS, HARMLESS AND OTHERWISE.
"How about powders9"
'Some powders are very harmful, while
others are not at all So All the French powders
are very bad. because they introduce lead
largely as an ingredient. Like the mercury, it
is readily absorbed by the skin, to which it soon
communicates permanent deathlike white
ness, and eventually it is apt to paralyze the
muscles of the face and to cause eruptions and
blood poisoning. The readiest way to detect
the presence of lead in a powder is to heft it;
il it very heavy, you may draw your own con-
clusion. Bismuth is also used extensively in
powders; at distance it gives the face blue
and CHASTITY effect. The powders made from
prepared chalk, rice and starch are satisfactory
enough for ordinary purposes and do no harm
They are only intended to be put on and wipe
off again, whereas the French lead and bismuth
powders have body to them and fill up the
very pores and cellular tissue of the cuticle
After two or three applications the
clogged skin assumes a specify look, necessitat-
ing more applications, and so on until the
epidermis gets into thoroughly unhealthy
condition and eruptions begin to appear My
opinion is that ladies nowadays very rarely use