ABSORBENT POWDERS.
A lady's toilet-table is incomplete without a box of some absorbent
powder; indeed, from our earliest infancy, powder is used for drying the
skin with the greatest benefit; no wonder that its use is continued in
advanced years, if, by slight modifications in its composition, it can
be employed not only as an absorbent, but as a means of "personal
adornment." We are quite within limits in stating that many ton-weights
of such powders are used in this country annually. They are principally
composed of various starches, prepared from wheat, potatoes, and various
nuts, mixed more or less with powdered talc--of Haüy, steatite
(soap-stone), French chalk, oxide of bismuth, and oxide of zinc, &c. The
most popular is what is termed
VIOLET POWDER.
Wheat starch, 12 lbs.
Orris-root powder, 2 lbs.
Otto of lemon, 1/2 oz.
" bergamot, 3/4 oz.
" cloves, 2 drachms.
ROSE FACE POWDER.
Wheat starch, 7 lbs.
Rose Pink, 1/2 drachm.
Otto of rose, 2 drachms.
" santal, 2 "
PLAIN OR UNSCENTED HAIR POWDER
Is pure wheat starch.
FACE POWDER.
Starch, 1 lb.
Oxide of Bismuth, 4 oz.
PERLE POWDER.
French chalk, 1 lb.
Oxide of bismuth, 1 oz.
Oxide of zinc, 1 oz.
BLANC DE PERLE
Is pure oxide of bismuth in powder.
FRENCH BLANC
Is levigated talc passed through a silk sieve.
This is the best face powder made, particularly as it does not discolor
from emanation of the skin or impure atmosphere.
LIQUID BLANC (FOR THEATRICAL USE).
The use of a white paint by actresses and dancers, is absolutely
necessary; great exertion produces a florid complexion, which is
incompatible with certain scenic effects, and requires a cosmetic to
subdue it.
Madame V----, during her stage career, has probably consumed more than
half a hundredweight of oxide of bismuth, prepared thus:--
Rose or orange-flower water, 1 pint.
Oxide of bismuth, 4 oz.
Mixed by long trituration.
CALCINED TALC
Is also extensively used as a toilet powder, and is sold under various
names; it is not so unctuous as the ordinary kind.
ROUGE AND RED PAINTS.
These preparations are in demand, not only for theatrical use, but by
private individuals. Various shades of color are made, to suit the
complexions of the blonde and brunette. One of the best kind is that
termed
BLOOM OF ROSES.
Strong liquid ammonia, 1/2 oz.
Finest carmine, 1/4 oz.
Rose-water, 1 pint.
Esprit de rose (triple), 1/2 oz.
Place the carmine into a pint bottle, and pour on it the ammonia; allow
them to remain together, with occasional agitation, for two days; then
add the rose-water and esprit, and well mix. Place the bottle in a quiet
situation for a week; any precipitate of impurities from the carmine
will subside; the supernatant "Bloom of Roses" is then to be bottled for
sale. If the carmine was perfectly pure there would be no precipitate;
nearly all the carmine purchased from the makers is more or less
sophisticated, its enormous price being a premium to its adulteration.
Carmine cannot be manufactured _profitably_ on a small scale for
commercial purposes; four or five manufacturers supply the whole of
Europe! M. Titard, Rue Grenier St. Lazare, Paris, produces, without
doubt, the finest article; singular enough, however, the principal
operative in the establishment is an old Englishman.
"The preparation of the finest carmine is still a mystery, because, on
the one hand, its consumption being very limited, few persons are
engaged in its manufacture, and, upon the other, the raw material being
costly, extensive experiments on it cannot be conveniently
made."--DR. URE.
In the _Encyclopédie Roret_ will be found no less than a dozen recipes
for preparing carmine; the number of formulæ will convince the most
superficial reader that the true form is yet withheld.
Analysis has taught us its exact composition; but a certain dexterity of
manipulation and proper temperature are indispensable to complete
success.
Most of the recipes given by Dr. Ure, and others, are from this source;
but as they possess no practical value we refrain from reprinting them.
TOILET ROUGES.
Are prepared of different shades by mixing fine carmine with talc
powder, in different proportions, say, one drachm of carmine to two
ounces of talc, or one of carmine to three of talc, and so on. These
rouges are sold in powder, and also in cake or china pots; for the
latter the rouge is mixed with a minute portion of solution of gum
tragacanth. M. Titard prepares a great variety of rouges. In some
instances the coloring-matter of the cochineal is spread upon thick
paper and dried very gradually; it then assumes a beautiful green tint.
This curious optical effect is also observed in "pink saucers." What is
known as Chinese book rouge is evidently made in the same way, and has
been imported into this country for many years.
When the bronze green cards are moistened with a piece of damp cotton
wool, and applied to the lips or cheeks, the color assumes a beautiful
rosy hue. Common sorts of rouge, called "theatre rouge," are made from
the Brazil-wood lake; another kind is derived from the safflower
(_Carthamus tinctorius_); from this plant also is made
PINK SAUCERS.
The safflower is washed in water until the yellow coloring-matter is
removed; the carthamine or color principle is then dissolved out by a
weak solution of carbonate of soda; the coloring is then precipitated
into the saucers by the addition of sulphuric acid to the solution.
Cotton wool and crape being colored in the same way are used for the
same purpose, the former being sold as Spanish wool, the latter as
Crépon rouge.