San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-02-07
FINE COMPILATIONS.
CONSIDERATION OF A MATTER IN
TER ING TO LADIES.

Water the Best Of ALL
or all the gifts that go to the making up of
beauty. nothing catches the eye so distinct
lively and instantaneously as the clear red and
white tints that render the most ordinary
face an attractive one The lack of at least q
good complexion dims all other beauties. and
with a coarse or dingy skin the most perfect
Grecian profile excites no admiration
Therefore it Is that from the beginning Of
history women have resorted to all sorts OF
devises for improving their compilations, from
the pleasant and luxurious milk bath to the
repulsve application Of raw veal, and the dis
comfort of masks and poultices Many OF
these devices sound anything but clearly, yet
the end to be attained was deemed worthy Of
any inconvenience or suffering.
The constant and persevering use of water
only, had these ancient danes but known it,
would have effected the desired transforma-
ton far more thoroughly but a fixed article
Of belief with them In securing good COM
plexion was to abstain from washing the face
This idea is said by a keen writer to have had
some grains Of sense in it, as, when the dogma
prevailed, bathing the body was not pracfcSSsd
to any extent and had the face alone been
favored with additions the unclogged pores
would speedily have brought to the surface
the impurities that should have escaped
through the numerous outlets kept in work
ing order by the daily bath.
JUST LITTLE SOAP
This error prevailed long time ago: but
even now a traditional woman, somebody's
grandmother or great grandmother, who
must have had something feline In her ma
ture, is brought to the front with her bit Of
flannel, which she never even dampened,
merely polishing off her pretty face with it
every morning; and because of this habit
we say in spite of it-she had a complexion
of lilies and rosesl
1t is quite possible to go to the other ex-
IRENE, and utterly ruin the skin with soap
and water. A handsome brunette declared
that she owed her rich clear coloring and
satin texture to liberal use Of common
brown s. ap, but as this soap is the coarsest
and strongest of alkali preparations, nature
had probably been extra generous in this
case, and given complexion that remained
beautiful in spite of the most ignorant at
tempts to spoil it. Twice a week is often
enough for the use Of soap, which should be
of the purest and most delicate kind. and
just before retiring is the best time to APP
ply it
lady who retained her fine, fresh COM
years over TO- always washed her face at
night with very warm water, using white
CASTLE soap once or twice week. Her hands
did the work of wash rag and the soap was
rinsed Off with a soft sponge The complexion
should never be exposed to the outside air
nor to the fire within an hour after washing,
and the same time should elapse after a walk
or drive before applying water to the face.
1t should at all times be protected from wind
and SUN by veil, the thicker the better, and
green and gray are the best colors to use, as
blue draws the sun and causes freckles.
Sleeping in a mask can scarcely be called a
comfortable proceeding, but it is said to be a
marvellous whitener Of the complexion, and
two or three hundred years ago it was in
common use among the French court ladies.
The fashion has been revived in the cosmetic
masks" so often advertised, and used with
very powerful applications But soft water
and closely fitted face covering of quilted
cotton or chamois skin are more etficacious
than these elaborate and expensive appli-
ances, and they are certainly harmless.
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL TREATMENTS.
A clear, fresh complexion gives look Of
cleanliness to the person possessing it, and
the practice Of cleanliness will best accom-
plish this result, as there Is no beautifer
equal to the daily tepid bath. But any water
will not do, and hard water is almost worse
than none. If not naturally soft, it should
be made SO with ammonia or borax- That
wonderful old lady, Diana of Poitiers, who
persisted in being beautiful at such an I'M
reasonable age, is said to have used no COS
metic but daily bath Of rain water This
is a wonderful preserver and freshener Of the
complexion, but at the present day it is
somewhat inaccessible remedy. A handful
of bran to Il basin of water has a very cleans
ing and softening effect, and oatmeal is
equally good.
The ancient Egyptian women Of the higher
class, whose compilations were of rose leaf
texture and coloring, bathed not only daily,
but almost hourly, and never wore their linen
a second time without washing. As frequent
a change of underclothing es possible is
decided beautiier of the complexion, and this
luxury, once INDUCED in, is not easily given
up. Diluted lotos water was the favorite
bath in the land Of the pyramids, but our
own Florida and rose waters are considered
even better.
A salt bath, too, is excellent, and it is not
necessary to 60 to the sea shore for it, as a
few cents worth Of rock salt will supply the
luxury for month. A good sized lump dis
solved in basin Of water is all that is needed
for single application. Besides invigorating
the system, this bath is said to freshen the
complexion and restore the appearance Of
vouthfulness. One certainly feels goodn
Ter it
Many simple purlners, greatly In vogue Two
generations ago, when cosmetics were con-
sidered sinful" have lost none of their active
virtues Among these old fashioned remedies