Melt the spermaceti in a vessel heated by a water-bath, then add the oils; continue the heat until all flocks disappear; let the jars into which it is poured be warm; cool as slowly as possible, to insure good crystals; if cooled rapidly, the mass congeals without the appearance of crystals. This preparation has a very nice appearance, and so far sells well; but its continued use for anointing the hair renders the head scurfy; indeed, the crystals of sperm may be combed out of the hair in flakes after it has been used a week or two.

Castor Oil Pomatum.

Balsam of Neroli.

Marrow Cream.

Melt the greases, then beat them up with a whisk or flat wooden spatula for half an hour or more; as the grease cools, minute vesicles of air are inclosed by the pomatum, which not only increase the bulk of the mixtures, but impart a peculiar mechanical aggregation, rendering the pomatum light and spongy; in this state it is obvious that it fills out more profitably than otherwise.

Common Violet Pomatum.

Manipulate as for marrow pomatum.

For pomatums of other odors it is only necessary to substitute rose, jasmine, tubereuse, and others, in place of the acacia pomatum in the above formulæ.

Pomade Double, Millefleurs.

Rose, jasmine, fleur d'orange, violet, tubereuse, &c., are all made in winter, with two-thirds best French pomatum, one-third best French oils; in summer, equal parts.

Pomade a la Heliotrope.

Huile Antique. (A la Heliotrope.)

Same as the above, substituting rose oil for the pomade.

Philocome.

The name of this preparation, which is a compound of Greek and Latin, signifying "a friend to the hair," was first introduced by the Parisian perfumers; and a very good name it is, for Philocome is undoubtedly one of the best unguents for the hair that is made.

Melt the wax in the huiles by a water-bath, at the lowest possible temperature. Stir the mixture as it cools; do not pour out the Philocome until it is nearly cool enough to set; let the jars, bottles, or pots into which it is filled for sale be slightly warmed, or at least of the same temperature as the Philocome, otherwise the bottles chill the material as it is poured in, and make it appear of an uneven texture.

Philocome. (Second quality.)

Fluid Philocome.

Take 1 ounce of wax to 1 pound of oil.

Pommade Hongroise. (For the Moustache.)

Hard or Stick Pomatums.

Another Form,—cheaper.

The above recipes produce White Batons. Brown and Black Batons are also in demand. They are made in the same way as the above, but colored with lamp-black or umber ground in oil. Such colors are best purchased ready ground at an artist's colorman's.

Black and Brown Cosmetique.

Such as is sold by Rimmel, is prepared with a nicely-scented soap strongly colored with lamp-black or with umber. The soap is melted, and the coloring added while the soap is soft; when cold it is cut up in oblong pieces.

It is used as a temporary dye for the moustache, applied with a small brush and water.

HAIR DYES AND DEPILATORY.

By way of personal adornment, few practices are of more ancient origin than that of painting the face, dyeing the hair, and blackening the eyebrows and eyelashes.

It is a practice universal among the women of the higher and middle classes in Egypt, and very common among those of the lower orders, to blacken the edge of the eyelids, both above and below the eye, with a black powder, which they term kohhl. The kohhl is applied with a small probe of wood, ivory, or silver, tapering towards the end, but blunt. This is moistened sometimes with rose-water, then dipped in the powder, and drawn along the edges of the eyelids. It is thought to give a very soft expression to the eye, the size of which, in appearance, it enlarges; to which circumstances probably Jeremiah refers when he writes, "Though thou rentest thy face (or thine eyes) with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair."—Jer. 4:30. See also Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. i, p. 41, et seq.

In Greece, "for coloring the lashes and sockets of the eye they throw incense or gum labdanum on some coals of fire, intercept the smoke which ascends with a plate, and collect the soot. This I saw applied. A girl, sitting cross-legged as usual on a sofa, and closing one of her eyes, took the two lashes between the forefinger and thumb of her left hand, pulled them forward, and then, thrusting in at the external corner a sort of bodkin or probe which had been immersed in the soot, and withdrawing it, the particles previously adhering to the probe remained within the eyelashes."—Chandler's Travels in Greece.

Dr. Shaw states that among other curiosities that were taken out of the tombs at Sahara relating to Egyptian women, he saw a joint of the common reeds, which contained one of these bodkins and an ounce or more of this powder.

Turkish Hair Dye.

In Constantinople there are some persons, particularly Armenians, who devote themselves to the preparation of cosmetics, and obtain large sums of money from those desirous of learning this art. Amongst these cosmetics is a black dye for the hair, which, according to Landerer, is prepared in the following manner:—

Litharge Hair Dye.

Slake the lime, using as little water as possible to make it disintegrate, then mix the whole by a sieve.

Another Way.

Mix by sifting, bottle, and well cork.

"After the hair is dyed, the refuse must be thoroughly washed from the head with plain water; when dry, the hair must be oiled."

Simple Silver Dye. (Otherwise "Vegetable Dye.")

Before using this dye it is necessary to free the hair from grease by washing it with soda or pearlash and water. The hair must be quite dry prior to applying the dye, which is best laid on with an old tooth-brush. This dye does not "strike" for several hours. It needs scarcely be observed that its effects are more rapidly produced by exposing the hair to sunshine and air.

Hair Dye, with Mordant. (Brown.)

Hair Dye, with Mordant. (Black.)

Great care must be taken that the sulphuret is fresh made, or at least, well preserved in closed bottles, otherwise, instead of the mordant acting to make to make the hair black, it will tend to impart a yellow hue. When the mordant is good, it has a very disagreeable odor, and although this is the quickest and best dye, its unpleasant smell has given rise to the

Inodorous Dye.

Blue bottles.—Dissolve the nitrate of silver in the water as in the above, then add liquid ammonia by degrees until the mixture becomes cloudy from the precipitate of the oxide of silver, continue to add ammonia in small portions until the fluid again becomes bright from the oxide of silver being redissolved.

White bottles.—Pour half a pint of boiling rose-water upon three ounces of powdered gall-nuts; when cold, strain and bottle. This forms the mordant, and is used in the same way as the first-named dye, like the sulphuret mordant. It is not so good a dye as the previous one.

French Brown Dye.

Blue Bottles.—Saturated solution of sulphate of copper; to this add ammonia enough to precipitate the oxide of copper and redissolve it (as with the silver in the above), producing the azure liquid.

Artificial hair, for the manufacture of perukes, is dyed in the same manner as wool.

There are in the market several other hair dyes, but all of them are but modifications of the above, possessing no marked advantage.

Lead Dye.

Liquid hair dye, not to blacken the skin, may be thus prepared:—Dissolve in one ounce of liquor potassæ as much freshly-precipitated oxide of lead as it will take up, and dilute the resulting clear solution with three ounces of distilled water. Care must be taken not to wet the skin unnecessarily with it.

Quick Depilatory or Rusma. (For removing hair.)

As the ladies of this country consider the growth of hair upon the upper lip, upon the arms, and on the back of the neck, to be detrimental to beauty, those who are troubled with such physical indications of good health and vital stamina have long had recourse to rusma or depilatory for removing it.

This or analogous preparations were introduced into this country from the East, rusma having been in use in the harems of Asia for many ages.

Directions to be sold with the above. Mix the depilatory powder with enough water to render it of a creamy consistency; lay it upon the hair for about five minutes, or until its caustic action upon the skin renders it necessary to be removed; a similar process to shaving is then to be gone through, but instead of using a razor, operate with an ivory or bone paper-knife; then wash the part with plenty of water, and apply a little cold cream.

The precise time to leave depilatory upon the part to be depilated cannot be given, because there is a physical difference in the nature of hair. "Raven tresses" require more time than "flaxen locks;" the sensitiveness of the skin has also to be considered. A small feather is a very good test for its action.

A few readers will, perhaps, be disappointed in finding that I have only given one formula for depilatory. The receipts might easily have been increased in number, but not in quality. The use of arsenical compounds is objectionable, but it undoubtedly increases the depilating action of the compounds. A few compilers of "Receipt Books," "Supplements to Pharmacopœias," and others, add to the lime "charcoal powder," "carbonate of potass," "starch," &c.; but what action have these materials—chemically—upon hair? The simplest depilatory is moistened quicklime, but it is less energetic than the mixture recommended above; it answers very well for tanners and fellmongers, with whom time is no object.

ABSORBENT POWDERS.

A lady's toilet-table is incomplete without a box of some absorbent powder; indeed, from our earliest infancy, powder is used for drying the skin with the greatest benefit; no wonder that its use is continued in advanced years, if, by slight modifications in its composition, it can be employed not only as an absorbent, but as a means of "personal adornment." We are quite within limits in stating that many ton-weights of such powders are used in this country annually. They are principally composed of various starches, prepared from wheat, potatoes, and various nuts, mixed more or less with powdered talc—of Haüy, steatite (soap-stone), French chalk, oxide of bismuth, and oxide of zinc, &c. The most popular is what is termed

Violet Powder.

Rose Face Powder.

Face Powder.

Perle Powder.

Blanc de Perle

French Blanc

This is the best face powder made, particularly as it does not discolor from emanation of the skin or impure atmosphere.

Liquid Blanc (for theatrical use).

The use of a white paint by actresses and dancers, is absolutely necessary; great exertion produces a florid complexion, which is incompatible with certain scenic effects, and requires a cosmetic to subdue it.

Madame V——, during her stage career, has probably consumed more than half a hundredweight of oxide of bismuth, prepared thus:—

Mixed by long trituration.

Is also extensively used as a toilet powder, and is sold under various names; it is not so unctuous as the ordinary kind.

Rouge and Red Paints.

These preparations are in demand, not only for theatrical use, but by private individuals. Various shades of color are made, to suit the complexions of the blonde and brunette. One of the best kind is that termed

Bloom of Roses.

Place the carmine into a pint bottle, and pour on it the ammonia; allow them to remain together, with occasional agitation, for two days; then add the rose-water and esprit, and well mix. Place the bottle in a quiet situation for a week; any precipitate of impurities from the carmine will subside; the supernatant "Bloom of Roses" is then to be bottled for sale. If the carmine was perfectly pure there would be no precipitate; nearly all the carmine purchased from the makers is more or less sophisticated, its enormous price being a premium to its adulteration.

"The preparation of the finest carmine is still a mystery, because, on the one hand, its consumption being very limited, few persons are engaged in its manufacture, and, upon the other, the raw material being costly, extensive experiments on it cannot be conveniently made."—Dr. Ure.

In the Encyclopédie Roret will be found no less than a dozen recipes for preparing carmine; the number of formulæ will convince the most superficial reader that the true form is yet withheld.

Analysis has taught us its exact composition; but a certain dexterity of manipulation and proper temperature are indispensable to complete success.

Most of the recipes given by Dr. Ure, and others, are from this source; but as they possess no practical value we refrain from reprinting them.

Toilet Rouges.

When the bronze green cards are moistened with a piece of damp cotton wool, and applied to the lips or cheeks, the color assumes a beautiful rosy hue. Common sorts of rouge, called "theatre rouge," are made from the Brazil-wood lake; another kind is derived from the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius); from this plant also is made

Pink Saucers.

The safflower is washed in water until the yellow coloring-matter is removed; the carthamine or color principle is then dissolved out by a weak solution of carbonate of soda; the coloring is then precipitated into the saucers by the addition of sulphuric acid to the solution.

Cotton wool and crape being colored in the same way are used for the same purpose, the former being sold as Spanish wool, the latter as Crépon rouge.

TOOTH POWDERS AND MOUTH WASHES.

Mialhe's Tooth Powder.

Sugar of milk, one thousand parts; lake, ten parts; pure tannin, fifteen parts; oil of mint, oil of aniseed, and oil of orange flowers, so much as to impart an agreeable flavor to the composition.

His directions for the preparation of this tooth powder, are, to rub well the lake with the tannin, and gradually add the sugar of milk, previously powdered and sifted; and lastly, the essential oils are to be carefully mixed with the powdered substances. Experience has convinced him of the efficacy of this tooth powder, the habitual employment of which, will suffice to preserve the gums and teeth in a healthy state. For those who are troubled with excessive relaxation and sponginess of the gums, he recommends the following astringent preparation:—

Alcohol, one thousand parts; genuine kino, one hundred parts; rhatany root, one hundred parts; tincture of balsam of tolu, two parts; tincture of gum benzoin, two parts; essential oil of canella, two parts; essential oil of mint, two parts; essential oil of aniseed, one part.

The kino and the rhatany root are to be macerated in the alcohol for seven or eight days; and after filtration, the other articles are to be added. A teaspoonful of this preparation mixed in three or four spoonfuls of water, should be used to rinse the mouth, after the use of the tooth powder.

Camphorated Chalk.

Reduce the camphor to powder by rubbing it in a mortar with a little spirit, then sift the whole well together. On account of the volatility of camphor, the powder should always be sold in bottles, or at least in boxes lined with tinfoil.

Quinine Tooth Powder.

After sifting, it is ready for sale.

Sift.

Peruvian Bark Powder.

Homœopathic Chalk.