CULT OF BEAUTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

CULT OF BEAUTY.

IN THE BEHOLDER'S EYE. PERFUMES FOR YOUR TYPE. (By A SPECIALIST.) "Beauty," said one of our wisest philosophers, "is in the eye of the beholder." And never yet have mortals agreed on just what beauty is. "A short-lived tyranny," Socrates called beauty. But Homer declared it to be "a glorious gift of Nature." Ovid, opined that beauty is a favour bestowed by the gods, but 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, sincc the wisest men of all time disagree, why 6hould we try to define beauty ? Let us, rather, try to live it. Courage, graciousness, 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-o'-living. That's a prettv lady. Guide Post on Beauty Highway. Beauty is best when appropriately framed, so watch your clothes, and see that they really harmonise with your type, both as to colour and design. If J'our eyes are blue, wear the tints of lilue that best become them, and bring out their beauty, if you possess orbs of brown or hazel, then wear shades of 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 shapes 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. Possibly not to everyone is given beauty of face, 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, 011 the other hand, it may be neglected and abused until it degeneiates 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. 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 iee rub. Keep your hair alive, no matter what the colour. Brush it nightly, massage the scalp, and oncc in a while apply a good tonic. Hints. Every woman is interested in perfume. Fragrance lias such an important psychological effect that it enhances happiness and increases at the same time the vitality. The redhaired woman should not be lavish in her use of perfume. She should tone down with the proper scent that glamorous charm so often associated with her type. The fragrance of the lily of the valley, combined with gardenia, is a soft supplement to her. Or, if she prefers, to add to jasmine a few drops of orange blossom it makes an interesting alternative.

The blonde# may choose such perfumes as rose France, rose Jacqueminot or chypro and violet in equal quantities. At the same time, rose of any kind should be "renauss-ee," as the French say. by another perfume. Mix your rose perfume with violette pourpre or violette de Parme, and just see how exquisitely the two blend. The blonde may also use violet alone, but she must See to it that whatever scent she choose is the best of its kind. Oriental scents are best left alone.