Complete Women's Guide

The beauty of the human mouth and lips, the delicacy of their formation and tints, their power of expression, which is only inferior to that of the eyes, and their elevated position as the mediawith the palate, tongue, and teeth, by which we communicate our thoughts to others in an audible form, need scarcely be dilated on here. The poet tells us that:

A beautiful mouth is one that is moderately small, and has a well-defined and graceful outline; and beautiful lips are gracefully molded, neither thick nor thin, nor compressed nor lax, and thatare endowed with expression and are tinted with the hues of health.

The ladies of Eastern nations commonly heighten the hue and freshness of their lips by means of cosmetics, a practice which in Western Europe is only adopted on the stage, and occasionally bycourtesans and ladies of the demimonde.

Chapped lips most frequently occur in persons with pale, bluish, moist lips and a languid circulation, who are much exposed to the wind or who are continually moving from heated apartments tothe external air. East and north-east winds are those that generally produce them. The occasional application of a little cold cream, lip salve, spermaceti ointment, or any other mild unguent, willgenerally prevent them, and remove them when they have already formed. A still more elegant and effective preventive and remedy is glycerine diluted with about twice its weight of eau-de-rose, orglycerinated lip salve or balsam.

The moist vesicular eruption of the lips, referred to above, may also generally be prevented by the use of glycerine, or any of the preparations just mentioned. After its accession, the besttreatment is to freely dust the affected portion of the lips with violet powder, finely powdered starch, prepared chalk, or French chalk or talc reduced to an impalpable powder by scraping orgrating it.

The following formulas of preparations are all valuable for beautifying and preserving the beauty of the lips:—

White Lip Salve—No. 1.—Take half a pound spermaceti ointment, liquify it by the heat of warm water, and stir in one-half dram neroli or essence de petit-grain. In a fewminutes pour off the clear portion from the dregs (if any) and add twenty drops of oil of rose. Lastly, before it cools, pour it into jars.

Lip Salve—No. 2.—This indispensable adjunct to the toilet is made by melting in a jar, placed in a basin of boiling water, a quarter of an ounce each of white wax andspermaceti; flour of benzoin, fifteen grains; and half an ounce of oil of almonds. Stir till the mixture is cool. Color red with two-penny worth of alkanet root. Splendid for keeping the lipshealthy and of a beautiful crimson color.

French Lip Salve.—Lard, twenty-six ounces; white wax, two ounces; nitre and alum in fine powder, of each one-half ounce; alkanet to color.

German Lip Salve.—Butter of cacao, one-half ounce; oil of almonds, one-quarter ounce; melt together with a gentle heat, and add six drops of essence of lemon.