HISTORIC BEAUTIES

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 107, 2 November 1933, Page 15

HISTORIC BEAUTIES

POMPADOUR'S CUCUMBER

Each beauty of every age has had her favourite recipe for the preservation of all, or a favourite part, of that beauty that.was noticeable (states a correspondent). The orange diet of the famous Marquise Crespy has become a part of the beauty creed of all who have studied the preservation of beauty. Chroniclers of the charms of women of her time assert that when she-lacked but two years of being 100 years old her-''complexion resembled an apple blossom. For the secret of this marvellous preservation we are informed that for the last forty years of her life she ate as many as eight oranges a day. ■ Madame Pompadour, who was celebrated for having one of the finest skins of the day, used to wipe her face every morning with a soft cloth dipped in the juice of cucumbers. .>''', Nearly all women have been a.ware of the fact that a clear, smooth complexion of delicate tint and texture is one of the greatest assets that a woman can possess. Queen Elizabeth of Hungary bathed her face solely and often in water distilled from rosemary, the recipe for which she obtained from a hermit. This is said to have preserved her btjauty to old age. An analyist of her superb beauty declared that her features possessed a fascinating irregularity, to which defect the beholder was ■blinded by the dazzling radiance of her skin. She was famed on three continents because she never learned the unhappy art of growing old. y The celebrated Duchess of Marlborough, called the "queen of society" under the reign of Queen Anne, was captivating as a wit rather than as a beauty. Yet, her loveliness still 'remained during middle age. Her hair, preserved by the use of honey water, was abundant and untouched by time. The beauties of-the Boyal Courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV used to brighten the complexion by sprinkling their faces with a vinegar composed of honey, vinegar, and shredded sandal wood.