HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

New Zealand Mail, 3 December 1896, Page 68

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

THE EYELASHES AND EYEBROWS.

Very little attention is bestowed as a rule on the eyebrows and the lashes. A woman will worry herself thin and make the lives of her household unendurable if her hair is falling off, but she pays less than no regard to the state of any other portion of her face. As long as there are enough lashes to protect the eyes, and the eyebrows are thick enough to make their presence kuown, she rests content —unaware, perhaps, that much of the attractiveness of her face depends on these minor points that she seems to despjse. Not everyone possesses that delicate, high-arched curve that is the height of perfection in an eyebrow, or the long, curling lashes, without which no heroine of fiction ever yet was complete. As a rule, scantiness of hair characterises the one and short stubbiness the other. A great deal of this unloveliness is owing to the lack of care which nurses and mothers take of their children’s appearance, and the stupid habits they let a child get into regarding them. Eyebrows, to be perfect, should be slightly arched, and hair of the same length and softness. It should not be too bushy, or it makes us look unduly fierce and musculine ; or too scanty, so that we look characterless and insipid. The colour should be a shade darker than the hair. The brows must never be rubbed or brushed except from the roots to the ends. Some people contract a bad habit in childhood of rubbing them the other way, and the effect is both grotesque and painful to behold. The hairs will never after lie as flat es they ought to do, and bristle in unexpected places. A tiny comb and brush should be used daily on them to keep them soft and smooth. They should be carefully washed every day, and the same care must be taken about the direction they are rubbed in. They should have vaseline gently smoothed over them once or twice a week. This will keep them in perfect health, and serve to strengthen and thicken them. Where they are scanty and coming out very much, there is nothing better to use than a few drops of castor oil in a little paraffin. They are apt sometimes to be a little scurfy. When this is the case vaseline must be put on the spot, and it must be bathed with hot water and a little Vinolia soap till it is cured. On no account must it be rubbed.

Eyelashes should be long and curling, and when they are like this they are most attractive and bewitching. A child’s lashes may be slightly clipped now and then at the extreme points and will be longer and better in consequence. But this should never be done when a person grows older, as the only effect it has then is to make them coarse and stubby. Vaseline rubbed on every few nights keeps the lashes in good order, and will prevent them sticking together on wak-

mg. All “ make-up" near the eyes is very dangerous to the sight, so no cosmetics or belladonna should be used on any account. MISCELLANEOUS. Half a teaspoonful of sugar will neaidy always revive a dying lire, and it is always a safe thing to use for this purpose. A few drops of tincture of benzoin in a bowl of water is an admirable tonic for the face. The benzoin whitens the skins and prevents it from wrinkling. A teaspoonful of the best whiskey added to a cup of beef tea for an invalid is an excellent way to give a stimulant. This is especially good for anyone recovering from influenza.

Soap used on the hair is apt to make it brittle. If any is to be used, tar soap is the best, and after using rinse the hair in several waters in which a little powdered borax has been dissolved.

To keep stained floors in good condition apply beeswax and turpentine, which is very easily prepared. Take some beeswax, scrape it, put it into a wide-mouth bottle, and over it pour the turpentine. Let it stand until it assumes a creamy look, when it may be applied to the floor with a piece of flannel. When it is nearly dry polish with a piece of dry flannel.

Lucy: “ Clara’s honeymoon was completely spoiled." Alice : “ How ? " “ The papers containing the account of the wedding did not reach her." Jaggs 1 “ What; is the best day to get married on ? " Snaggs : “ The 866th day of the year." “What," asked the lecturer in systematic theology, “ do you understand to have been the fruit of the original sin ? " “ The discovery by woman," she answered, “ of the fact that she hasn’t a blessed thing to wear."

“ Learning to ride the bike, eh ? How are you getting on ? " “ Oh, I haven’t got so far." Mark : “ You seem to be in high glee ? " Peter : “ Yes ; great case of kidnapping out at our house last night." “ But I don’t see anything amusing in that ? " “ Don’t ? Oh, yes, there is. You see, it's the first time this kid has napped since he was born, two months ago."