Author: Meredith

Palatine

by  on  in Beauty

This product, however, was probably slightly ahead of its time, comparatively speaking. It was an exfoliator, probably used by women with freckles. Whose faces felt like sandpaper. There is so much acid and grit in this cosmetic that it probably would burn and scrape the skin off a pig. And that’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever committed to writing, I think.

So, this recipe contains liquid ethanol, silver sand, and lemon juice. It also contains soft-soap (made with potassium) and olive oil.

Liquid ethanol—or spirits of wine—is just a distilled wine but the Victorians used it in cosmetics. When combined with the acid in the lemon juice, and the fats in the oil, it creates a pickling agent. Which is what chefs do to raw fish nowadays to create ceviche. Cooking without heat.

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Almond

by  on  in Beauty, Commentary

Aside from the disgusting creams made of lard or other thickening agents, I’m more or less generally OK with pastes. At least I’m OK with Almond Paste. Probably because we use it in pastries—most notably the American Bear Claw, which I had a dream about the night before writing this.

Anyway, I am OK with Almond Paste because it is safe to eat. And if it’s safe to eat, then it’s safe to rub on your face. But if you think about the American Bear Claw, I do not want to squeeze its contents onto my face. And the dream I had about this particular pastry was a nightmare. So maybe, in actuality, I do not think Almond Paste is OK.

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To Remove Black Stains from the Skin

by  on  in Beauty, Commentary

According to my own knowledge, the mourning costume was intense. It was made of wool, silk wool, tweed, cotton gauze, or merino over a black lining. And then there was also crape (that is the spelling of the day). Today it is called crepe, and it is silk. And then there’s a silk bonnet, a silk veil, a cape, and a number of directives on bows and folds to each of these items. I won’t get into those.

Anyway, these items were all stiff as they were dyed black. A deep black that would transfer to the skin as these costumes were expensive, and as a result, many people would wear for at least one-and-a-half years before they switched to lavender or purple garb. For the sake of this recipe, we’re dealing only with what happens to the skin when clothed in these particular fabrics, dyed with black coloring.

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To Soften the Skin & Improve the Complexion

by  on  in Beauty

Flowers of sulfur are made by taking the naturally occurring sulfur and using heat to turn it into a gas that would then be returned to a solid. Then it’s ground into a powder. Historically, it was used to treat skin diseases, like fungus.

Now, it’s used as an agricultural chemical, as a pesticide or fungicide. It also serves as a fumigant, to poison insects.

In the Victorian times, flowers of sulfur was used a lot because people had all sorts of skin conditions and bugs because times were unsanitary to say the least. This recipe recommends that one rub a flowers of sulfur concoction on their face daily, and there’s no reason why I wouldn’t do this to myself as a Victorian lady.

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Pitch Pomade

by  on  in Beauty

If you know anything about lead, you know that one of the side effects of constantly rubbing it on your face causes hair loss. So I don’t have to write the following in my own words, I’ll write the Miriam Webster Dictionary definition:

Definition of scald head

archaic: any of several diseases of the scalp characterized by falling out of the hair and by pustules the dried discharge of which forms scales.

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Cold Cream in Three Variations

by  on  in Beauty

Cold cream was like the Robitussin for the Victorian face. It had a distinct, pungent aroma that should indicate it does the job. It makes you want to sleep until you don’t feel gross anymore. But, unlike Robitussin, cold cream is best for those with oily yet dry, slightly patchy complexions. This is because it is an emulsion.

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