Behind the Scenes of Beds, Baths & Beyond #7

Skin Care and Cosmetics Part 4

1850

Rouge, Liquid: Take carmine, 2 parts, pearlash, 1 part, and water, 9 parts; mix.

Pearlash; (potassium carbonate. pearl ash) the primary component in potash, a white salt that softens hard water, used in soap and as a mild drying agent.

Pearl Powders, for the Complexion:

1. Take pearl or bismuth white, and French chalk, equal parts. Reduce them to a fine powder, and sift through lawn.

2. Take 1 pound white bismuth, 1 ounce starch powder, and 1 ounce orris powder; mix and sift them through lawn. Add a drop of attar of roses or neroli.

Pearl White: Take nitrate of bismuth in solution, and add it to a dilute solution of chloride of sodium until the whole of the bismuth is precipitated; collect, wash, and dry the powder with great care.

Bismuth; a white, crystalline, brittle metal (element) with a pinkish tinge as it oxidises.

Lawn; a plain weave linen.

Orris; a root from Iris flowers, used as a fixative with other substances to ensure stability.

Nitrate of bismuth; bismuth and concentrated nitric acid.

Chloride of sodium; (sodium chloride) salt.

**We do not recommend you try these recipes at home.