Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-10-02
SHOULD A WOMAN
USE ROUGE
By LUCREZIA BoRT
PrimA Donna OF the Metropolitan Opera
Company. New York.

HNHfsRE II question puzzling tho minu
i OF a prominent social leader in one OF
our smaller cities. "ls Il ever considered
good taste for woman Of refinement TO
use cosmetics?" che asks me In letter
Every feminine member Of our set freely
uses powder and rouge, while many color
their lips and darlIen their eyebrows. i am
tho only one who does not use any artlncial
beautiners, and am frank to say that the
others appear much more attractive than J.
'T have always believed that no woman
OF good breeding would paint her face
Am I wronK7 Kindly discuss this problem
IN your colum for there are many others,
I know, who are confronted with the same
puzzlng question"
Tho prevalence OF the makeup" habit
20 borrow stage parlance--brings up sub
ject worthy OF very serious discussion. In
the majority OF instances the use Of makeup
where Il is perfectly permissible to remedy
the defects OF nature
Il In my personal opinion that It is the
duty Of every woman TO improve her appear
ance as much as she can. This does not
mean however, that ! approve of painting
tho lily"
II shows wretched taste for a woman
whose complexion IL blemishless to resort
20 the rouge pot. II Is an inexcusable
breach OF good breeding for a young girl
60 paint and powder her fresh. young face
like an actress ready 20 make her bow
before the footlights. Mothers are seriously
at fault for this state Of affairs in our
larger cites. OF course, am not prudish
enough TO object to the use Of a harmless
face powder to remove the 'shlne" from
your nose and the surrounding skin. +
protest against the wholesale use of heavy
powders, whitening liquidH rouge, lip-sticlSs
and black eyebrow pencils. where there Is
no excuse for calling such beautifers to
your aid.
DOESN'T 1T DEPEND?
II my correspondent is young and good
looking, she is right In not following the
example of the other women In her set
If. on the other hand. she Is past the first
flower of youth and wishes 10 appear at
her best and not suffer by comparison with
others, a judicous use of makeup" will
be countenanced by the world in general.
First, It is necessary to learn the art OF
making up for II IL an art. This artificial
touch must be applied so that It does not
betray itself Your self-respect must never
IN the use OF makeup" win promote
beauty. Any bungling In its application and
you will appear ridiculous.
I can readily understand why cultured
women consider tho use OF makeup "the
brand OF Cain" In aristocratic commu-
mites, comprising exclusive, cultured fnmi-
lies, II is a law TO avoid the merited-sugges-
tion OF that which IL has always associated
with evil The woman who belongs to this
social atmosphere believes in playing safe"
and keeps her outward appearance severely
natural.
Where physical defects are pronounced
such as q misshapen eyebrow, colorless eye
lashes, or a deathlike pallor OF the COM
plexlon. artificial means should be employed
TO correct them The anemc girl should
tint her colorless cheeks with rouge. so that
the world and his wife will not get the
impression that she is dying on her feet"
but at the same time she must build up her
general health by taking plenty Of exer-
else In the open air, eat good. wholesome
food and take a blood-building tonic. pre-
scrlbed by her physician. and thus WOO
back the roses to her cheeks, when she can
then throw the rouge pot away.
USE GOOD SENSE"
The homo woman can use makeup"
when such instances as the above make
Il necessary. In other cases, II will de-
pend entirely upon the community In which
she lives and the friends with whom she
mingles. Your own good sense will tell you
where TO draw the line. II you need to
improve your appearance and makeup"
will help you, use It but II nature has
endowed you so richly that you do not