HINTS AND IDEAS

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 71, 24 March 1928, Page 4 (Supplement)

HINTS AND IDEAS

BATH SALTS FOR YOUR USE. THE PROFESSIONAL AND THE HOME MADE.

I Whether the bath of milk for the complexion was ever as commonly taken as was made out by the beauties of a former age is a matter for conjecture. But no such question is raised about the popularity of the modern bath salts. These are a luxury—some would say a necessity—that every woman appreciates, and that many always use in their daily bath.

More tempting than ever before are lthe displays that catch the eye in every chemist's shop and at the perfume department of the large stores. Glass containers grow more and more elaborate. [Some are real works of art that are worthy to decorate the daintiest of bedrooms. Most makes are procurable in colours that will match a bedroom colour scheme, or will point the contrast in an all-white bathroom. A dainty novelty much appreciated last season as a Christmas gift was a graceful flower-decked powder bowl filled with delicately tinted bath salts. Even more carefully thought out than previously are the designs of the boxes, which are filled with brilliantly wrapped tablets of compressed salts.

The two newest types of bath salts' are illustrated oil this page. The rose-, wood-coloured box contains half a dozen flower bods of bath salts. Each little bundle is wrapped in coloured transparent paper—two are rose coloured, two are lemon yellow, and the others lavender. Each" bundle is tied in a bunch on top, and decorated with a tiny pink blossom with two green leaves. The glass cylinder contains round flat lozenges, and is the very latest of the Parisian perfumers' ideas. It is the daintiest of ornaments for the dressing table, with its gilded lid and stand, and its artistic label. The whole fits into a container covered with the tiniest of ilowers, and a "window" in the front gives* an indication of the luxuries inside The making of bath salts at home is not the strenuous task one might imagine, though the perfuming and colouring are matters which present the greate t difficulty to the amateur, yet experiment will solve the problem" satisfactorily*. Ihe basis of bath salts is a mixture of equal parts of crystal carbonate of sods and crystallised borax. Special errs tail* are made for the purpose, but it is pos sible to make a small varietv of crystal by crushing equal parts of ordinary washing soda and borax, and siftinuntil the crystals of one size are a ted. Concentrated perfumes are sold tor perfuming the salts. Oil of verbena is perhaps the most usual. A simple pre >cription is to use oil of rose geranium 1 dram, oil of lavender 1 dram, spirit of wuie ioz, carbonate of soda 21b. The oilind spirit should be mixed together ano hen cover the bottom of a wido louthed 21b glass bottle with a two-mcl aver of the soda crystals. Over this I'nnkle a dozen or so drops of the mixed ..Is and spirit. Shake well and stand n a coo! corner for a day. Next dav add nother two inches of the soda crystal* nd another dozen or eo of the o'il and ~m and ,h»ke we,..' ReptZuf, he bottle is nearly full, and then pour m the remainder of the mixrure of oils keep tightly corked for two months before use. A tablespoonful of thU wil' he sufficient to add to a full bath, or a ccaspoonfid to a hand basin. If you are going to tint the salts remember when purchasing the dve to in qu.re the effect that soda will ha™ on ?t"