Beauty Cream

This formula gives the skin a beautiful, smooth, and fresh appearance, and, at the same time, serves to protect and preserve it:

            Alum, powdered           -           10 grams

            Whites of                      -           2 eggs

            Boric acid                     -           3 grams

            Tincture of benzoin       -           40 drops

            Olive oil                        -           40 drops

            Mucilage of acacia        ­            5 drops

            Rice flour, quantity sufficient

            Perfume, quantity sufficient

Mix the alum and the white of eggs, without any addition of water whatever, in an earthen vessel, and dissolve the alum by the aid of very gentle heat (derived from a lamp, or gaslight, regulated to a very small flame), and constant, even, stirring. This must continue until the aqueous content of the albumen is completely driven off. Care must be taken to avoid coagulation of the albumen (which occurs very easily, as all know).

Let the mass obtained in this manner get completely cold, then throw into a Wedgwood mortar, add the boric acid, tincture of benzoin, oil, mucilage (instead of which a, solution of fine gelatin may be used), etc., and rub up together, thickening it with the addition of sufficient rice flour to give the desired consistence, and perfuming at will. Instead of olive oil any pure fat, or fatty oil, may be used, even vaseline or glycerine.