THE SEVEN DEADLY ATTRACTIONS AND HOW TO ACHIEVE THEM

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 4, Issue 5, 2 November 1925, Page 30

THE SEVEN DEADLY ATTRACTIONS AND HOW TO ACHIEVE THEM

TT is extraordinarily difficult to -*■ select from a woman’s many possible good points the seven which the majority of people would consider the most attractive, and, if combined, make the nearest approach to perfect beauty. Colouring appeals to one, eyes to another, the figure

to a third, and so on. A celebrated French writer declares that a woman would be irresistibly lovely did she possess the hair of a Hindoo woman, a Greek nose, an English mouth, the complexion of a Viennese lady, the figure of a Georgian, Chinese feet—does he mean natural or cramped and tortured varity I wonder ?—Egyptian teeth, Flemish arms, Italian legs, Spanish eyes and the grace of a Persian. The Seven Deadly Attractions might be catalogued thus—features, figure, the arms, the hands, the hair and the eyes. Perfection of colour-

ing and a wonderful skin, though perhaps more fascinating than these, are of a loveliness less lasting. A PERFECT figure is one of chief attractions. It should be well-proportioned, slender without being thin, and, above all,

supple. Very few women are born with perfect figures; and while, of course, it is impossible to make limbs shorter or longer, or to increase the length of a short, thickset body, by exercises and massage very much may be effected. A graceful carriage, easy graceful movements, give the impression of beauty, even where no beauty exists. The figure should never be let go, but be kept in condition by exercise, diet, and the wearing of a proper corset, or corselette, which will give suffi-

cient support and follow the natural figure at the same time. EAUTIFUL arms are a great ■*“' asset. They should be well moulded and taper to a slender wrist ending with a shapely, well-kept hand. The skin should be white and satin-smooth, and the elbow round and dimpled, if they are to be good to look upon. In order to improve the colour and texture of the skin, the arms should be washed with warm water and soap, dried, and plenty of friction should be applied at night with a loofah. A cucumber and benzoin lotion may then be rubbed in and left to dry on. The elbow should be well rubbed with the hand for five minutes daily with lanoline reduced to the consistency of cream with olive oil. The hands should be well kept and the nails never overpolished, nor many rings worn. pERFECT legs and feet are very f rare possessions—so often they miss the happy medium. The shape, however, can be improved in the same way as the arms, by massage and exercises. Massage and exercises bring back to the normal, making them just right. Suspenders should be worn rather than garters, which, unless too loose to hold the stockings up securely, are apt to constrict the circulation and do a great deal of harm. A S to the mouth, it should receive care both inside and out. The teeth should have their fair share of attention. The lips should be kept full and a good colour by lip tincture or a natural coloured lip salve; they should never be rouged an unnatural colour, and should only be lightly anointed, otherwise they will wither prematurely. And the hair. This can be brightened naturally by plenty of brushing and combing, and plenty of air and a very occasional sunbath.

A PERFECT profile is perhaps the rarest of the seven attractions. The woman who has it is usually handsome all her life, and most so when she is over thirty. The perfectly proportioned face can be divided into three equal parts—the forehead, nose and mouth should measure exactly the same number of inches. A beautiful nose, however, can become most unbeautiful, if it becomes red and swollen. When this is the case the treatment must begin from within, for the trouble invariably arises from digestive troubles, especially those that arise from the intestines—it is little, if any, use attempting outward applications without setting the house inside in order. IT is an excellent plan, when the redness is persistent, to take a wineglassful of senna-pod infusion (soak eight or more pods for half a day in cold water, and add a few drops of essence of ginger to prevent painful symptomsovernight, and then to live for thirty-six hours on vegetable broth and herbal tea. The broth is made by simmering every conceivable vegetable peas, beans, greensfor eight hours the liquor is then strained off and that, alternately with a cup of camomile or aniseed tea, drunk every two hours. At the end of thirty-six hours begin to take light food again. The vegetable broth disinfects the intestinal tract and cures indigestion marvellously. Local treatment of the nose consists in first of all freeing it from powder with cold cream and then thoroughly washing it at bedtime, otherwise the pores become enlarged and blocked; for the same reason friction with a coarse piece of flannel should be given every night to keep the skin fine and free from blemishes. There is no need for anyone to have a really disfiguring nose nowadays. There are surgeons who can make a handsome feature out of a nondescript affair!