RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32959, 4 July 1972, Page 19

RANDOM REMINDER

LOSS OF FACE

No man who has had women in his house — mothers, sisters, wives, etc., of course—can fail to be sharply aware of how costly it is to have them turned out at their elegant best. Here is one facet of the economy in which not even the most benevolent budget makes allowances for the suffering tax-payer. And there must be some sort of argument to be put up in favour of cosmetic and clothing costs being eligible for deductions of assessable income because there is unquestionably considerable value, in

morale, in keeping up these particular appearances.

The younger ladies, these days, have even more to spend on themselves, and more to spend it on, than their mothers. Fashion gimmicks are forever being dreamed up to make sure there is not too much money accumulating in those incredible hand-bags. And in recent years, one of the more popular artifices has been the false eyelash; perhaps a plural form would have been better.

One young beauty of our acquaintance, only 20, spent $3 recently on a set of eyelashes, because she was going out that evening

to what she regarded as a very special occasion. Came the twilight hour, and she began to prepare for her evening. It is quite a business, and it takes some considerable time, and the survival of a series of minor crises. One of hers was the loss of her new eyelashes, which she had carefully placed on a cushion in the lounge. They searched the house for them—they, because it is easier to join forces than to dissociate from the operation. And after a long time, they found them. They were slightly askew, an inch or two below the proper place, on the face of their Blue Persian cat.