THE USE OF PERFUMES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7667, 28 March 1903, Page 3

THE USE OF PERFUMES.

(Nev> York Sun.) The French have a way of scenting the hair, while, the Spanish perfume the clothing and the breath. The English have taken up the fad of scenting the atmosphere of the house, and of all pretty fancies this one is the prettiest. To scent tho room you can take an atomiser and let ite vapour penetrate the., ail'. Go specially into tilie corners and let tlie perfume touch the portieres. If there are swaying curtains, let them i be sprinkled with it, and do not forget tba.t swinging articles of bric-a-brac and furniture give out the scent much more readily than, stationary ones. In houses where work is no consideration the portieres are lifted from their hcoks or taken down from their poles, and laid over night in a deep wooden chest, which is lined with scented cushions. This j is a trifling luxury which makes the house charming. The influence upon the health of this device is great. The perfume acts as a disinfectant and, at the" same time,^ as> a pleasant smell. It is felt by all who enter, and the woman who is trying to fascinate begins by creating a pleasant atmosphere. Scenting the hair is a recent very pretty fancy. The French do it by perfumes. A" small atomiser is filled with a powerful perfume, and for this the carnation o'dours are usually employed, and the hair is lightly sprayed with, the strong essence. This is done just before the hair is dressed for evening, and the scent clings to it alt the next twenty-four hours. The English have a. more thorough way. It is one that was invented by Mrs Langtry's hairdresser and followed by all the swell hairdressers of London. It is administered after the shampoo. The hair is dried, but just before the final drying a tub is filled "with cologne water. For this there are used distilled water, cologne water and a few drops of lavender. The hair is now thoroughly saturated j with the cologne mixture and is then dried | as quickly as possible. It is not dried, however, in 'the open air nor by electric fans, as 'this would dispel the odour, but by allowing it to hang in the sun. A pleasant day must be chosen for the operation. The luxurious American hairdressers have taken to the. rose-leaf process. Fresh roses are torn apart and the head is covered with tne leaves. The hair is next covered, leaves and all, with a cloth and bound down s-o that no odour escapes. When the hair is dry it is found to be thoroughly, yet delicately, scented. This does not give a strong scent, but a very fleeting, fascinating odour, j that is Hked by many better than the full, round perfume. For those who want to geb a stronger odour., one that is more lasting, there is a perfume mixture that can be applied. It is mad© by taking about 4oz of spirits of coloone and adding to it a grain ot musk. " To this add a quarter of an ounce of oil of rose geranium. If two power- j ful, add another ounce of spirits of cologne. Use with a small atomiser after the hair is dressed. An odour to use in greater quantity, when the hair is partially dry, consists of spirits of cologne, about 6oz, to which is added one drop of attar of roses. The Southern mammies, who understand the art of making their young charges very attractive, havo a trick of emptying the contents of a rose jar into a bandanna handkerchief. The leaves are covered with gauze, and for this the ordinary mosquito netting will do. . The hair is sprinkled and tne whole is bound on the moist head, like a poultice. After two hours the poultice of scented leaves is removed and the hair is scented for a week. ■ • Again, scents are very good for old women^as well as for young, because they act upon the. head. Elderly; 1 women who suffer from nervous headaches should perfume the hair slightly as a tonic to the nerves. If hair is to be curled, it can be saturated with cologne and curled with the tongs when partially dry. Of course, the warm tongs must be held in the hair until it is well dried. . Disagreeable roughness of the scalp, producing dandruff, can 'be cured by rubbing scented pomade into the scalp. Let the pomade be a simple cold cream with a drop of lavender, neroli, bergemot or rose rubbed into it. And let it be applied to the scalp in very limited quantities. Just the slightest touch of it is enough, and the scalp will be soft and smooth after using it. For rough, uneven eyebrows the scented cream can be slightly heated and applied to the eyebrows twice a day with a camel's hair brush. ' The best hair invigorator in the world is said*o be castor oil, and this, if disagreeable, can be scented with a drop of oil of geranium. This can be rubbed into the scalp, but not more than five dTops is needed for the entire head. Scented locks are found upon the head of many beauties, and there are very few upon the stage who do not lightly anoint the "hair with perfume. It is a delicate, pretty way of making one's self attractive, and even 'before it became a fad' there were those who followed it. . The Queen of Portugal scents her hair, and her beauty is greatly set off by this act. She uses carnation pink, and her hailis brilliantly lovely with gloss and attractive with scent. Queen Alexandra uses heliotrope on her hair— which, be it whispered, is a wig— just the faintest odour of it,- and her deep Ehglish bans; is permeated -with it. ■ The Dowager Queen of Spain and her daughters perfume their hair with a Spanish extract that is 'very much like rose, aid they do not use it cautiously but boldA

]}-. Queen Wilhelmina also likes rose. Her hair is washed in rose toilet water, 'and she sprinkles rose in her clothes presses. Surely, when Queens think it expedient to use perfume, the domestic woman cannot afford to ignore it.