Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1926)

•■2 The Oldest Beauty Secrets in the World Continued from p;ige 50 ly, holding the chest firm. Then relax the chest and abdomen an instant, and breathe again. Practice this before a mirror, with the hands over the abdomen, till you see how it works. And make it a habit to breathe in this way. It really exercises the organs of the body, and when you are tired you will find that a few minutes' breathing in this way will rest you wonderfully. From the Ancient Romans. Another beauty secret that is as old as the hills is the beauty bath, of which a good deal has been written. If your skin is not soft and white, or if you are troubled with insomnia, try filling a cheesecloth bag with three cups of bran and soaking it in very hot water ; then fill the tub with cooler water, so that your bath is just comfortably warm, and remain in the bath for fifteen minutes. No high-priced pine-needle lotion for the bath will have a more soothing effect on tired nerves — and no lotion will whiten the skin more satisfactorily. In ancient Rome the value of using a skin tonic after the bath was appreciated. Here's a formula for one that may have been used by Cleopatra, for it dates back to that time. Take one ounce each of mint, sage, rosemary, lavender, mixed spices, verbena, and camphor gum. S'oak the camphor in one pint of alcohol for two weeks. Soak the herbs in one quart of strong white vinegar. Mix the alcohol and vinegar, and add a wine glass of tincture of myrrh and one of benzoin. Rub this over the body with a soft brush — a camel's-hair complexion brush is best. It will make the skin firm and white. While we're speaking of tonics, here is a formula for one that has found favor with many a girl who must keep her face perfectly clean, but feels that cleansing it morning and evening with cold cream is often enough for that sort of process, and wants something different to use during the day. One pint of rose-water, half an ounce of simple tincture of benzoin — an excellent bleach — and ten drops each of tincture of myrrh and of glycerin. Put the rose-water in a bowl and stir while slowly adding the other ingredients. If glycerin does not agree with your skin, omit it. Another beauty secret that cannot be given too much emphasis is this — use plenty of ice on your skin ! There's a story to the effect that some one who knew Fanny Ward quite well decided to find out the real secret of Fanny's famous youthfulness — for never was there a younger or prettier skin than Fanny's. So she mustered up all her courage and said, "Fanny, do tell me, how have you kept your skin so young?" And Fanny calmly replied, "I've always used plenty of ice, my dear !" Curiosity certainly deserved no better reply. But, while we can't quite give ice all the credit in this case, it merits a good deal. After you've cleaned your face and neck thoroughly with cold cream — or with mild soap and warm water and a complexion brush — rub it well with a small piece of ice. Don't rub any one part too long ; go over the whole face a number of times, however, and if you're inclined to have a double chin, use the ice thoroughly right there to remove it. Do this night and morning. When It Comes to the Hands. With cold weather upon us, it is even more necessary than in warmer days to give the hands proper care. In the first place, don't let your hands get too dry. Use plenty of oil on them. When they are manicured, try rubbing this oil into them, after the nails have been bled and the cuticle pushed back, and before any polishing is done. Take equal parts of olive oil and cod-liver oil and add a few drops of oil of lavender, just enough to scent the mixture. Rub the oil in well, then scrub the hands with brush and soap and hot water. If your hands need bleaching, make a cream of two ounces each of oil of sweet almonds, cocoa butter, and refined white wax. Melt them together in a porcelain saucepan, and pour into a small jar to cool. Rub this cream into your hands at night and put on a pair of old, clean gloves over them. Always, after washing your hands, rub a very little of a softening lotion into them ; glycerin and rosewater make a very good mixture. When the Eyes Have It. Some of the best beauty secrets are the most inexpensive and the easiest to make use of. Nowadays we still make up our eyes — not quite so much as the famous ladies of historical times did, but still we use mascara on the lashes and tinted powder or kohl on the lids. They do far less to make the eyes bright, however, than does cleanliness. If you haven't an eyecup, get one immediately, and use it twice a day, morning and night, also when your eyes are tired during the day, or when you've just come in from outdoors and they're likely to have dust in them. Boric acid, lukewarm, is the best thing to cleanse them with; many of the much-advertised lotions for the eyes are nothing but tinted boric acid. You can make the boric acid yourself. To one half pint of boiling water add as much boric acid as the water will absorb ; put it in a bottle, and use it with an eyecup. A Letter from Location Continued from page 48 cabin with the captain or into the engine room. I have never had a more beautiful trip than going up the Sacramento River by starlight — there were many shooting stars — in among the little islands, through the seven-mile slough into the San Joaquin River. We landed in a cove, or rather we walked a plank about four inches wide which had been laid from the top of the boat to the bank of the river, and walked to what had once been a gay hotel when the Sacramento was the means of transportation for the gold seekers but which is now the ranch house of the mayor of Rio Vista. The first room we went into was the barroom where there were about thirty • Italians — the river workers and vineyards men — playing cards, then into the kitchen, which was as clean as a new pin. Here we were greeted by the cooks, Vurokini and his wife, who showed us into a large room which they said had been the ballroom, where we ate. The high point of the evening was the dinner. Any hotel that could serve such a meal would have a world-wide reputation. Wild duck cut up small, cooked with curry and mushrooms. Spaghetti also, salads, lamb's feet, and many dishes that were unfamiliar but tasted — uv.unm! We had taken Yaconelli along to play the accordion, and three of the boys played the ukelele, violin, and guitar, so you may guess that there were some dances that would have done credit to a Broadway show. We left early because Mr. De Mille wanted us back by twelve. The evening was not without its casualty, however, for Hans Joby fell into tbe river when he walked that narrow plank and lost his violin in the water. Having lots of fun but won't be sorry to return to the studio. Sincerely, Julia Faye.