CULT OF BEAUTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 83, 8 April 1933, Page 3 (Supplement)

CULT OF BEAUTY.

VALUE OF SPORT AND WORK. CLASSIC DEFINITIONS. (By A BEAUTY SPECIALIST.) "Beauty," said one of our wisest philosophers, "is in the eye of the beholder,." And never yet have mortal*, agreed on just what beauty is. "A short-lived tyranny," Socratea called beauty. But Homer declared it to be "a glorious gift of Nature." Ovid opined that beauty 16 a favour bestowed by the gods, t>ut Theophrastus came back at him gloomily with the avowal that beauty was nothing but "a silent cheat." To Theocritus, beauty seemed only "a delightful prejudice, but Plato felt it to be "a privilege of Nature."

So, since the wisest men of all time disagree, why should we try to define beauty? Let ue, rather, try to live it. Courage, graciousnees, intelligence, kindliness, generosity, and radiant health may all be cultivated. Each of them is a real component of beauty together; they blend into perfect womanhood, charming, sane, well-poised, full of the joy of living. That's a pretty lady!

Beauty is best when appropriately framed, so watch your clothes ajid see that they really harmonise with your type, both as to colour and design. If your eyes are blue, wear the tints of blue that best become them and bring out their beauty. If you possess orbs of brown or hazel, then wear shades iof brown, henna, or tan which will intensify their loveliness, particularly if your hair be of auburn hue. Beauty has two relentless foes in fear and worry, and these enemies are not always ready to vanquish, either; yet a real sense of humour and an abiding trust in "the divinity that 6liapes our ends, rough hew them as we may," will in the end make us to see and know that, every single experience in life was, after all, a lesson to lead us on to eternal and everlasting beauty. Cultivate the Mind. Possibly not to everyone is given beauty of face and form, but beauty of soul and spirit is for everyone who will strive sufficiently for its attainment. We all know that any natural gift may be cultivated into greater perfection, or, on the other hand, it may be neglected and abused until it degenerates into unloveliness and leaves a story (that may be read by all) of the sort of thoughts we have entertained and the sordid lives we have lived written on our very countenances. Beauty of soul is not altogether inherent, but is a gradual growth wherein selfishness, envy, jealousy, and all kindred passions are overcome by the exercise of strong will power, for the will strengthens and develops only through constant use. Value of Hard Work. A good beauty programme is such a one as follows: Plenty of good, hard work and intense interest in the same. Plenty of sports—golf, tennis, swimming, driving, riding, dancing. Plenty of good friends. No smoking, no cocktails. Plenty of baths. An occasional Turkish bath. And in the summer heaps of sea bathing thrown in for good measure. A cleansing cream is most essential to keep the face soft and firm. This to be followed by a. simple astringent and an ice rub. Keep your hair alive no matter what the colour. Brush it nightly, massage the scalp, and once in a while apply a good tonic.