With the Expert in the World of Beauty — From the "Helena Rubinstein" Institute in Paris

It came to our ears that the "Helena Rubinstein" institute in Paris had sent to Beirut the expert in the world of beauty, Miss Holzmann; so the correspondent of "The Woman's Voice" hastened to interview this Parisienne, in the hope that she might render some service to her readers. Woman's concern centers before all else on how to preserve her beauty, or to refine and polish it — what, then, might this expert say?

Q — My task, madam, is to record your talk and pass it on to our readers, for I personally am much occupied, and there is no room in my time to care for my face as one should...

— ... But that is what I should like to correct from the very start: all Helena Rubinstein asks of you is ten minutes before sleep and as many in the morning. Is that too much for a lady, however heavy her occupations? Is it not of the very heart of her responsibility to attend consciously to her appearance and to lend her beauty some importance?

Q — Let us hear, then, what you wish to say on that subject.

— The most important thing of all is the cleansing operation just before sleep. This must be done with cold cream, whose effect is to seep into the heart of the pores of the skin and draw out the remains of dust and perspiration and the like...

Q — And why not cleanse with soap and water?

— Because the mixture of soap and water is harsh on the complexion, and exposes it to early dangers... And after the cold cream is wiped from the face, the nourishing cream or paste is worked in; this restores to the complexion its glow and vitality and preserves its freshness...

Q — And the morning operation?

— The morning operation is of less importance... Before noon the face needs only a little color on the cheeks and rouge on the lips — while the afternoon operation demands greater care, and has its ramifications...

Q — What are your observations, Miss Holzmann, on the Beirut woman and her command of the art of beauty culture? I mean, is she extravagant in making up her face, and does her appearance bespeak taste, or a cultivated taste?

— You embarrass me with this question! I shall not hide from you that I have noticed in the Lebanese woman an innate, refined taste — and I spend most of my hours on the seashore, watching faces and the ways they are made up — and it has been proved to me that "general" taste is plentiful here; yet there are individual, "particular" cases that call for particular attention.

Q — And how is that to be had??

— It is for these particular individual cases that Helena Rubinstein sent me to Beirut, for the treatment the Lebanese woman needs in this clear, radiant natural setting is not the treatment needed by the woman in Sweden or in England... And I shall be ready to give every recommendation and all guidance, free of charge, for three weeks beginning the first of June, at the Ramil salon — Avenue des Français — telephone 31136 — provided that each lady reserves an appointment in advance...

Q — What are the chief systems and rules that Helena Rubinstein follows in applying the operation of beauty culture?

— The first characteristic of our institute is renewal, and keeping pace with the newest scientific systems. Helena Rubinstein was the first to introduce "hormones" into the composition of face cream, and she is in constant development, her eye on the newest trends of Paris fashion and its colors, so as to invent shades of rouge that harmonize completely with the colors of dress; the least discord among colors produces a flaw in the whole make-up — and that, I think, is what the woman here somewhat lacks.

— And could you, Miss Holzmann, give us a glimpse of Helena Rubinstein's life? We have long been referring to her, and we know nothing about her?!

— She began her life studying medicine in Switzerland, then followed her family to Australia, and there she soon drew all eyes by the beauty of her skin. They asked her what she used for her face, and she described to them the cream that a doctor had recommended to her, and gave them its formula... And when she sensed the demand for it, she procured a quantity and offered it for sale... And so she began! She traveled to London — her first husband was a journalist, which helped her in advertising her enterprise — and her fame quickly spread... Then she traveled to America, and there she established the greatest laboratories and factories, and trained her five sisters and dispatched them to the greatest capitals of the world: London, Paris, New York, Rio de Janeiro, and Melbourne... She has two sons, young men who manage the business in New York; as for herself, her seat is Paris...

Helena Rubinstein is distinguished by extraordinary energy and vitality — she rises from her bed at five and goes about inspecting her concerns, the great of them and the small. And what matters to her most is to strengthen the ties between her representatives and the women of the world, to keep in close touch with them, and to take up their individual opinions so as to increase the benefit...

She is counted today the highest authority in the world on practical beauty culture. In her view, a woman's beauty depends on the measure of conscious care given to it, and the years have no grave effect if a woman knows the points of weakness and combats them, guards her beauty against fading, and follows the health rules laid down for her... for then the stage of youth extends beyond sixty!

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Such is the talk of the beauty expert Miss Holzmann, who has still more to tell for every woman who wishes to consult her and be enlightened by her sound opinion...