Put the bitter almonds in a sieve, dip them for a few seconds in boiling water, when they can be easily deprived of their brown skin; carefully bruise them in a mortar, and place them in a glazed pot set in another kept full with boiling water; pour over them two quarts of the rose water heated to near the boiling-point. Keep up the heat under continual stirring until the almond meal and rose water form a uniform mass free from granules; in other words, until the meal is changed into paste. The pot is now allowed to cool somewhat, when the rest of the rose water and the oils dissolved in alcohol are added. Almond paste should have a uniform, butter-like consistence if the first part of the operation has been carefully performed. ALMOND AND HONEY PASTE (PÂTE D’AMANDES AU MIEL). Bitter almonds 2 lb. Yolk of egg 30 yolks. Honey 4 lb. Expressed oil of almond 4 lb. Oil of bergamot 1 oz. Oil of lemon ¾ oz. Oil of clove ¾ oz. Decorticate and bruise the bitter almonds and add them with the essential oils to the mixed yolks, honey, and almond oil. ALMOND MEAL (FARINE D’AMANDES). Almond meal 4 lb. Orris root, powdered 5½ oz. Oil of lemon 1 oz. Oil of bitter almond 150 grains. Oil of lemon grass 75 grains. Almond meal here means the bran left after expressing the oil from sweet almonds. First mix the powdered orris root intimately with the essential oils and triturate the mass with the almond bran. Other essential oils may also be used for perfuming the mass. PISTACHIO MEAL (FARINE DE PISTACHES). Pistachio nuts 4 lb. Orris root, powdered 4 lb. Oil of lemon 1¾ oz. Oil of neroli 150 grains. Oil of orange peel 1 oz. The pistachio nuts are blanched in the same manner as almonds (see under Simple Almond Paste), and then reduced to a meal. C. Vegetable Milk. The several varieties of vegetable milk are merely emulsions containing sufficient water to give them a milky appearance. They are used as such for washes and are in great favor. Owing to the larger amount of water they contain, they are more liable to decompose than the preparations described above, since the fats present in them easily become rancid on account of their fine division in the milk. In order to render these preparations more stable, they receive an addition of about five to ten per cent of their weight of pure glycerin which enhances their cosmetic effect. The addition of about one-half of one per cent of salicylic acid is likewise to be recommended, as it makes them more stable.