Regency Beauty: Lip Stuff

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individual The lips the charming seat of the softest caresses cero tainly deserve that we should say something concerning them Nature has conferred on them a particular delicacy of touch their texture swells and expands with a voluptuous contact and to them alone belongs the delisious kiss We love to see upon the lips that ruby colour so highly extolled by poets by painters and by lovers but that
colour depends chiefly on the health it may indeed be secalled when it has orice disappeared but in many cases this cannot be done without the sacrifice of other advantages Some females bathe their lips with brandy or other spirits to make them red and others make use of cosmetic vinegars for the same purpose By recurring to these means they run the risk of acquiring an artificial colour at the expense of the softness elasticity and freshness of the parts We have already shewn the dangerous tendency of vinegars which are liable to dry the skin For the lips those delicate charnis in particular nothing but unctnous or mucilaginous substances should be employed to preserve them from the influence of the atmosphere The lips are subject to chaps which are often of considerable depth These chaps are occasioned by severe cold almost any kind of fatty or unctuous substances may be applied as a remedy There are different sorts of salve for the lips that which is looked upon as the best is composed in the following manner Melt in a glazed pipkin on a slow fire four ounces of yellow wax cut in small pieces when melted add half a pound of fresh butter and immediately afterwards put in the berries of three bunches of black grapes and an ounce of well pulverized orchanet Boil the whole for a moment and strain it through a cloth without squeezing This salve will congeal when cold and may be put away in gallipots It is an excellent specific for chapped and cracked lips The oil of wheat is also used for the same purpose with great success This remedy is extremely simple and for
this reason it is particularly convenient for persons who reside in the country To obtain the oil nothing more iş necessary than to press the wheat between two hot iron plates This oil is likewise excellent for chapped hands and roughness of the skin

These hints, receipts, and general discussion of the lips and how to keep them pretty and healthy was part of The Lady’s Toilette Containing a Critical Examination of the Nature of Beauty, and of the Causes by which it is Impaired : with Instructions for Preserving it to Advanced Age : an Historical Sketch of the Fashions of France and England : Directions for Dressing with Taste and Elegance : and Receipts for Preparing All the Best and Most Harmless Cosmetics Proper for a Lady’s Use (1808).

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3 Responses to Regency Beauty: Lip Stuff

  1. Sharon Butler says:
    April 29, 2022 at 2:04 am

    I’d love to use this quote for a magazine devoted to historical dancers. May I please do so?

    • Anne says:
      April 29, 2022 at 7:14 am

      Absolutely! If you wouldn’t mind sharing a link when its published, I am sure Regency Readers would love to take a peek!

  2. miriamgreen says:
    April 29, 2022 at 10:37 am

    recommend Maya Rodale book of guild age girls starting cosmetics business and the outrage surrounding it, title Some like it scandalous. does have accurate history and accompanies women’s woes in attempting to keep their complexions