BEAUTY NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 7, 9 January 1926, Page 26

BEAUTY NOTES.

(BY A TARIS BEAUTY SPECIALIST.) Beads For Beauty. Not so many years ago beads came in, after a long period of being ignored. They have never gone out since. Their manufacture and importation form a considerable trade. It is quite unusual nowadays to see a girl or woman without her beads—not using the word in any religious spnsc.

But how are they worn? Often not wisely, but too well—that is to say, well for trade. They are. alas! too frequently just tossed on without care or appreciation of the artistic touch they may confer or destroy for the costume they do, or do not, adorn.

If you doubt this statement, walk up and down the principal street in your town, and judge for yourself.

"Oh, how pearls, imitation pearls, predominate!" You will be tempted to exclaim.

They do. Girls have them on their round, smooth, throats. More mature women have them, less attractively. And, where they seem terribly out of place—older, much older, women show them on a lined or wrinkled throat. Mesdames! Mesdames! If you have pearls and are not happy to leave them at home, dt least, interpose lace between their softly iridescent glitter "and a skin no longer young!

Beads of Almost Anything. In perhaps no one form of adornment do we see quite so extensive a variety. Black beads and white, crystal clear as water, oval, round, Bquare, sharply faceted, or smooth as moon-tones, or, again, crystal in the hues of the ruby and sapphire, emeralds and amethysts, ultramarine and beryl. Beads of wood, beads of metal, gold, silver and others} beads of every strange composition known, and available. Beads of rare and precious ivory, plain or carved, beads of amber, beads made from the seeds of tropic fruit, beads of almost everything. And their colours! You can match every shade of silk in some kihd of bead. Rose, blue, green, red, maroon, lilac, pink, yellow, brown, grey, slate-colour, dust-colour, tan-hued, leaftinted, every shade known in Nature art reproduces in beads. With this variety, this abundance of choice, one may well ask why some women wear their beads so carelessly, so profusely,' so mistakenly.

A String of Beads Confers a Note of Distinction. a A string of beads should be a striking addition to the complete toilette, and should confer a note of distinction upon any gown. It should be chosen with care, with regard to the laws of harmony or contrast. It should have reference to the hair, the eyes, or the complexion of its wearer, as well as to the colour Imd the style of the gown. Beads should be permitted- plenty of room. Some beads look huddled on. They sometimes appear as if they were trying to hide. While any length is permissible, it would seem that in beads extremes are perhaps best. Let us consider the individual string, with regard to wearer, gown and occasion. On the whole, tweeds, iv suits, are better without beads. 80, too, are sports things. Beads are no help in tennis. No help In golf. LeaVe them at home. With the one-piece gown, however, beads have affinity. Here, I think, as a rule, the long strand comes

best into play, not the very long, kneereaching length, but the strand hanging mid-way between throat and waist. On the whole, this strand, which ought to play a striking part in the ensemble, is better in a contrasting colour. With a frock in any pale, yet vivid colour, yellow, rose, and especially green, a black string is effective to a degree. It may be taken as a rule that where the beads touch the' gown they should contrast. Green beads ought got to hang upon a green gown. On the other hand, where the neck is round and the strand is short, just encircling the throat, the same colour of beads goes very well. A dark-haired girl in a yellow gown may wear a short row of yellow beads clasped close about her throat very satisfactorily, though blue beads with -a 'blue gown, and green with a green, are yet more artistic and pleasing, more affording of a sens.c of fitness. Beads for Evening Gowns. For evening gowns of a simple make and straight silhouette, the strand reaching to the knee is often most beautiful, especially if in a contrasting hue. I have in mind a lemon silk gown, sheathlike and simple, with a strand of dull black beads of this" length. Each seemed set off by the other. Where the style of evening gown is bouffant, and more especially where the skirt is trimmed with flounces, only the short string of pearls clasping the neck closely is permissible. Sometimes, however, if the decolletage be extremely low, three strands of graduated pearls may be worn. However, on the whole, the single strand must be always the more effective. It makes the necklace more of the feature which it should be. Pearls. •Pearls, one cannot help remarking, ought not to be daytime jewels, unles3 a single row, always of small beads, bo adopted as part of everyday costume. Some women, with real pearls do this, , for the sake of the benefit accruing to the pearls from contact to the skin. But, on the whole, they belong to evening attire. The new coloured pearls are very attractive; in pale rose, pale green, palest yellow, lilac, they are lovely accessories to any toilet. Some Paris dressmakers are using them on sheer evening frocks of tulle or gorgette, trimming the skirts and corsages with loops of these lovely beads. They usually go with gowns of the same colour. For instance, a green