THE BEAUTY BATHS OF NOTED WOMEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10319, 19 December 1896, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BEAUTY BATHS OF NOTED WOMEN.

There is a depressing sameness about the history of all professional beauties. They rise, they reign, and they are supplanted ; and thab is a compendium of their lives in a nutshell. Since the beginning of time they havo been divided into two classes—thoso who fretted to got fab mid those who struggled to got thin. The better fortuno of tho former neod not be dwelt upon, since tho cotton crop, bits of woven wlro and Inflated rubber pads hare gone & long way towards supplying pseudo-cilrvep. Again the slender beauty may eat, drink and be merry, whereas torture and privation seem to be tho lot of her fleshy rival.

But the bath has invariably been the chief medium employed to teach either coveted goal. And such baths 1 The fad of the moment in Paris is the " honey bath," which is recomtnendod as ft skin-feeder, and is very popular with women who are troubled with "saltcellars " in the region of the collar-bone. Ninon de Lenclds tried its virtues whon she was at the zenith of her power, and was abundantly satisfied with its results. The honey bath of to-day is but a revival of Ninon's old recipe, and there is no reason why the faithful family tub should not bo used and slender damsels disport themselves a la Lenclos. Rainwater is the proper foundation for tho honey bath, but if that is unattainable an excellent substitute is a tablospoonful of ammonia to an ordinary bith o! thirty gallons of water. Into this throw a handful of salt, two tableHpooiifuls of bicarbonate of soda and throe pounds of honey. The bath must be topid and the " ingredients well mixed," as tho cookery-book has it. This bath should bo taken on retiring, and tho blither ought to let hor skin feed at least fifteen minutes. Sara Bornhardt's seeming gift of perpetual youth is said to be due to tea-bathing. The first thing Mine. Bernhardt does on arriving at a strange hotel is to order a gigantic teabath, several pounds being necessary to give the mixture its proper strength. "The effect on the actress," says the authority for the story, "is known to all the world; but the effect on the landlord is a secret between himself, the plumbers, and the recording angel." As a skin food and a preventer of wrinkles the milk-bath is said to be unsurpassed. It has been popular with famous beauties from time immemorial. All the beauties of Goorgo IV.'s time, whon they bathed at all, bathed in milk, Bathing was . something of an eccentricity then, and those' who bathed did so to bo beautiful rather than clean, uEAOTIKS' bath OF milk. RcCamior bathed in milk. So did Mine. Tallien ; but tho latter had twenty pounds of stratvberrlos and two pounds of raspberries added to her bath 711011 tho' fruit was in season. Isabella rtf Bavaria bathed in ass's milki Cathorlno 11. of Russia bathed In milk as hot as Rho could stand to keep down her flesh. The samo recipe for flesh-reduoing was said to be popular with the Marquis of Queotisberry, "Old Q." A milk bath ab tho present time would cost about, 10 dollars, which might bo an impediment to trying the experiment. An excellonb substitute for tho milk bath may bo made with half pound marshinallow flour, quarter pound hyssop herb, four pounds bran flour. Put into a chooseoloth bag and add to ordinary bath of thirty gallons. Mrs. Langtry has never divulged tho secret of her bath, but it is popularly thought to bo milk. Some other secrets of her toilet) havo leaked out, however, and everyone knows that she binds straps of raw veal on her face at least twice a week bo feed the tissues, It is also reported that she sloughs her skin once a year by mians of chemicals. She Oortainly "bears hor years well," as tho French say. The judgment of Paris. (Franco) was diridod regarding the groater beauty, possessed by Gleo de Morodo or Llnno do Pougy. Liano was beginning bo drop behind in the race,, when Paris was startlod by the news of hor attempted suicide. '.'Fear of assassination was tho reason sho unsigned at tho time, bub sinoo then Mllo. do Pougy's maid has been telling tales out of school.

PARISIENNF.'a I'JCMT >'0R BKACfi'V' Llano's chief boauty is Iter lithe, doliciously slender figuretho sorb of figure that a certain class of novoliats always describes as " leopard-like In its movements." A llttlo ovor a year ago Llano begun to grow stoub, riud the rapldly-uccurnulating tissues refused to yield to' ordinary methods. Ib was then that sho determined to resort to tho horrible system of torture prevalent 'enough in Paris and St. Petersburg. She tightened her •corsets to the utmost) capacity of the laces and went to hod and ate nothing. After twenty-four hours of this regime she found they could bo tiehtenod a little more., This system she followed for days at a time, eating just enough food to sustain lifo, and varying the corset crushing with, cold suit baths and dancing. But all to no purpose, for-after the nmnllest little' supper up went her weight. So the sorrowing ■ Liana' determined to quit this vnlo of tears while she was still slender enough to slip thtdugh the gates beyond/ i -'« '. ' Let the average woman think 'for one moment of Liane's 'dancing to keep down her flesh while ; ?ho plannod suicide, and then be thankful that she does nob have to live up to tho ideals of a professional boauty. ■> ' 1 ■/ • LILLIAN KOSSKLT/fl KEAOTY BATH, Lillian Russell, it is reported, has found tho secret of preserving, her beauty, if nob her youth, in a scented bath, She tubs herself morning and, ovening in wator that has a refreshing and vivifyiiig effect upon the skin. The 'famous' 1 stage beauty 1 preserves the secret'of hor bath carefully, and the recipe for it -is kept : locked :up in a private drawer in her dainty desk. > • 1 Ada Bolian, whoso complexion 1 as brlllianb, and whine skin is as's6?bai it was when she was youthful 'enough to play it}genuo parts, is a- believer! in the bath as' a preservative of beauty. ! Like Miss' Russell, Miss Rehan 'has ' nob dla'olosdd the secret of her beauty-imparting tub, bub ib is hinted to be as costly as it is. effective. ' : 1