The Woman Beautiful; or, The Art of Beauty CultureJameson, Helen Follett
Science
The Woman Beautiful; or, The Art of Beauty Culture
Jameson, Helen Follett
Beauty, Personal
There is but one way--and it's so simple--of making oneself good to
look upon. Resolve to live hygienically. There is nothing in the world
which works swifter toward a clear, glowing, fine-textured and
beautiful complexion than a simple, natural diet of grains and nuts and
fruits. But you women--oh! it positively pains me to think of the
broiled lobsters, the deviled crabs with tartar sauce, the pickles, and
the conglomerate nightmare-lunches that you consume. And yet you're
forever fussing over leathery skins, dark-circled eyes and a lack of
rosy pink cheeks. Oh, woman! woman! why aren't you wise?
Here are some rules. They're golden, too:
Eat with wisdom and good sense. That means to pension off the pie and
its companion workers of physical woe.
Take a tepid sponge bath every day, either upon arising in the morning
or just before going to bed.
Limit the hot scrubbings to one a week.
Exercise with regularity, and dress as a rational human being should.
Drink three pints of pure, distilled water every day.
See that the bedroom is well ventilated, and don't heap up the pillows
until you have a mountain range upon which to rest your poor, tired
head. A flat bed and a low pillow help toward a fine, straight figure
and a good carriage.
Keep your feet warm. Give those pretty round yellow silk garters to the
girl you hate, and invest in sensible hose supporters. If your
circulation is defective, wear wool stockings.
Don't fret. Bear in mind what Sheridan said:
"A night of fretful passion may consume
All that thou hast of beauty's gentle bloom;
And one distempered hour of sordid fear
Prints on thy brow the wrinkles of a year."
Then rest. Don't, I beg of you, live on the ragged edge of your nerve
force. You need quiet, and all you can get of it. We victims of
civilization go through life at a breakneck gallop, and it's an immense
mistake. Anyhow, those who know say so. And it sounds reasonable.
But, after all, the complexion is only a small part toward the making
of a beautiful woman. The hair must be kept sweet and clean and
healthy, and the teeth should be white and lovely. It was Rousseau, you
know, who said that no woman with good teeth could be ugly. Then the
hands and nails must have proper attention. Deep breathing should be
practiced daily and the body properly exercised. The carriage must be
graceful, the walk easy and without effort, the eyes bright, the
expression of the face cheerful and animated, the shoulders and head
well poised--but all these are different stories. There's a chapter in
each one of them.
Above all, remember this one rule: Don't fret. Don't wear a look of
trouble and worry. Above everything else, remember those delicious
lines of the immortal bard:
"You have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm, of cloudiness."
And after remembering, refrain.
EXPRESSION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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