THE BEAUTY TABLE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 83, 29 June 1927, Page 5

THE BEAUTY TABLE

KEEPING IT IN PERFECT ORDER The dressing table in most bedrooms stands out as the principal centre of attraction in the room. Whether of the most modern and sophisticated type, or the muslin petticoated farmhouse kind, the dressing table is the object which first catches the eye of the visitor. No woman can hope to be daintily turned out whose dressing table is untidy, and, I hardly dare say it, not perfectly clean in all its details. Brushes must be kept scrupulously clean, both from the point of view of your hair and the look of your table. If the brushes are silver-backed, it is the work of a moment to give them a quick rub up when you do your hair, if a leather is kept in the dressing table drawer, preferably one of those which are impregnated with some form of cleaning powder. Never dip the backs of the brushes in the washing water, but beat the bristles quickly up and down in a shallow lather, and the.n rinse in cold ■water to which has been added a little alum. Tortoiseshell brushes, if exposed to the sun, soon get a dull whitish look. Don’t let them get to this state, but from the moment they come into your lucky possession give them a polish up with a drop of linseed oil on a very soft cloth. Ivory is apt to get yellow with time. A paste made with whiting and lemon juice will help to whiten it if used occasionally. The ivory should then be polished with a drop or so of some sweet oil. The sweet oil treatment should also be given to ebonybacked brushes to keep them in good condition. The Beauty Box For the modern bedroom, where oldfashioned furniture would look out of place, I would suggest a “beauty box” either of polished wood or chintz covered, to take all the bottles and jars of cream, etc., and also the ever useful cotton wool. But in a room where the other furniture is mahogany or walnut, nothing could be more charming to hold the toilet accessories than one of the old tea poys, a sort of tea caddy on a stand. In the old days it would have stood beside my lady’s chair when she dispensed tea. It had two or more compartments for tea, and probably a cut glass bowl for sugar. The bowl is a most convenient receptacle for powder, while the two tea compartments make a splendid place to hide away pots and bottles and the indispensable cotton wool.