Keep Your Face Fresh

Cleopatra used make-up, and set about beautifying her face according to the rules known in that age. For she knew what women have known through the ages: that every face has a beauty with its own magic and attraction, and that only the fashion of make-up differs with differing tastes. Painting the eyes with kohl in an exaggerated manner, drawing the kohl out beyond the outer corner of the eye, with an excess of white powder and the use of red on the cheeks, is an old method of make-up that prevailed in the eighteenth century, and it looks jarring and unwelcome in our present age, now that we have grown used to the new methods of make-up, which call for more skill and art than the methods of ages gone by. Today, in her make-up, a lady tries to bring out her natural beauty and develop it, not to disfigure it by displaying artificial charms. But do you always succeed, Madam, in this attempt of yours, and do you pursue this principle in your make-up?

What matters is not the time you spend painting your face with scents, creams, powders, and colors for some occasion, but the time you apportion wisely and set aside for the care of your face's beauty. In other words, what matters is the kind of care, not its quantity.

Do you neglect to feed your face and neck with the necessary skin nourishments? And do you know the best way of using these preparations? You should begin by massaging the skin very lightly, from the base of the neck in front and upward, so that the massaging motion passes from drawing the fingers of both hands in straight lines to moving them in circular fashion. Then use both your palms to massage your face, beginning from the chin toward the ears, from the nose to the temples, from between the eyes to the two ends of the forehead, and finally from beneath the eyes to their outer corners and up to the eyelids — patting the delicate skin under the eyes very lightly instead of massaging it.

Dry skin generally needs this kind of massage with a little liquid cream, which enters the pores and should be left on all night. This method should be followed as continuously as possible. If, however, the skin is rich in oily secretions, do not use the cream or the liquid oil, but the solid kind; use it before bathing, and remove it the moment you come out of the bath.

Keeping the skin clean is as necessary as feeding it is necessary. So beware, Madam, of neglecting to cleanse your face of powders every evening before sleep, and every morning when you rise from sleep, by means of one of the creams or liquids made especially for this purpose — this operation being the first step before applying the cream to your face at night and before your make-up by day.

And know that your success in the operation of make-up depends chiefly on this first step, whose object is to preserve the skin, to heighten its beauty, and to put it in a condition to receive the powder without the powder's blocking the passages by which it breathes or by which air enters it. It is preferable that you not use large quantities of creams, but that you take great care over choosing the finest and best of them, relying on your past experience and the guidance of a beauty specialist in selecting the colors that suit you. The basic rule is that red suits nearly every lady — bearing in mind that deep crimson suits the brunette more than any other, while light red suits the blonde. If your hair is red, you should use a very light red — what is called the rose shade.

Apply the rouge to your cheeks as soon as you have covered them with cream, in a way that adds to the brilliance of your cheeks' color and the beauty of the face. If your face is oval — that is, elongated — follow the natural line of your face; if it is round as the full moon, apply the red extended toward the nose, so that on the cheeks it lies level with the mouth. If the face is very long, the red should be placed below the cheekbones and cover a wider area, with a little red on the chin. Then apply the powder over the red, beginning from the neck and working upward until you end at the parting of the hair. Wipe what is left over from the face with a special soft brush. As for the lashes, use a special color for them, and smooth the eyelids with cream.