INEFFABLE CHARM

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 35, 4 May 1927, Page 5

INEFFABLE CHARM

WHAT IS THE SECRET? Rigorous banting is still the order of the day in fashionable circles. Early morning tea is almost a thing of the past. Hot lemonade has taken its place. And if you want to be really up-to-date you will “sugar” your lemon with—guess what? Not saccharine, but glycerine! The substitute comes from Paris. It seems that saccharine has never caught on with the gay Parisienne. Too reminiscent of wartime, I suppose. Glycerine is non-fattening, of course. Tea a la russe, sweetened with glycerine, has proved a huge success, I am told. Talking of banting, reminds me that a famous American medico is prescribing liquid, and nothing but liquid, refreshment one day a week for his overweight clients. “This gives the system a chance to work off its excess fat,” he declares. He suggests that Sunday be set apart for the cure. The general tendency, according to this authority, being to over-eat on Sunday. A specimen bill of fare runs this wise:— 9.15 a.m.—A glass of whole milk, or two glasses of skimmed or buttermilk, and a little orange juice. 1.15 p.m.—Clear vegetable soup or meat juice up to half a pint, another glass of milk, hot or cold as you prefer, and a little orange juice. 4.30 p.m.—Milk again, up to a tunv bierful. 7.30 p.m.—A little orange juice, and anything up to half a pint of consomme. How do you like the sound of the regime? A little too drastic for most of us, I am afraid. HOME TINTING Times without number I have recommended cold tea baths for tired eyes, and strong cold tea for tinting faded hair, but only when asked for a. “harmless, inexpensive eyebrow and eyelash tint” to-day, did it occdr to me that the hairs might be stained with tea. If your brows and lashes are too pale for your liking, paint them to-night with a little strong cold tea, minus leaves, be it understood. Continue the treatment for a couple of weeks, and you should notice a marked improvement. BATH CRYSTALS Strong, cold tea is 'being used extensively for tinting bath salts, I hear. Coffee dye is equally successful. First you spread out your soda crystals on an enamel tray. Next spray over your tea solution, to which you have already added a little perfume, and a drop or two of glycerine, and work it well into the salts. Glycerine prevents the crystals developing a powdery outer crust. Should you prefer a rose-tinted salt, substitute cochineal for tea. A little washing blue, on the other hand, will give you an attractive blue bath salt. I thought everyone knew that liquid powder would spread more easily if applied with a piece of wet cotton wool. But apparently I am mistaken. Only yesterday I discovered a little person trying to get a smooth effect with a dry sponge. I suggested that she tried damping her cotton wool. It had the desired effect. If your skin is inclined to be coarse and greasy, moisten your bit of wool with a mixture of witch hazel and cold water, equal parts. FURTHER LIGHT ON “WET WHITE” And I find a goodly number of liquid powder devotees forget to give their skin an additional coat of loose powder. Stage folk always let their “wet white” dry thoroughly, and then dust over with specially fine grained powder. STAVING OFF WRINKLES No matter how grubby your face is, never use hot water near it, or near your neck either. Hot water invites wrinkles. Begin with tepid water, and finish up with as nearly an ice-cold rinse as you can get. Remember salt and borax have the effect of lowering the temperature of water—but never use more than half an eggspoonful to an ordinary sized hand basin of water. LARD AND MUSTARD The chilblain season is still with us, so I feel bound in duty to pass on the new-old cure that is going the rounds just now. Beat up a little lard with an equal quantity of freshly prepared' mustard, and rub a little into the affected parts night and morning. Need I say that mustard is not suitable for broken chilblains? SAL VOLATILE Camomile shampoos followed by lemon rinses should prevent blonde hair darkening. But should your hair still show signs of fading, try adding a little sal volatile to your last rinse now and then. Once every six or eight weeks should be ample. FOR THE GAS STOVE A wall splashed with grease is a serious eyesore, and, as it is impossible to prevent the splashes, a splasher set behind the gas stove, which can be washed down every day, is a splendid notion. A piece of linoleum is the best material; it can be stuck to the wall round the edges or tin-tacked in place. A narrow wooden beading set round the edges with thin nails is a nice finish, or a narrow lath can be cut up and used as a border. Paint the wood the same shade as the linoleum, or to match the rest of the woodwork of the room. In tiny flats, where the stove is set in the passage or in any corner which can be spared for cooking operations, this splasher is particularly to be recommended. It will cost very little and always looks clean. A piece of linoleum to match, nailed with tiny nails to the kitchen-table, will also prove a work-saver.