1870-1900 Soft clean scrubed healthy facial skin, glowing beneath mounds of radiant silk tresses. Early photographed American and English Victorian women revealed a natural beauty. Potography being newly discovered the camera photographed what the lens focused without special beauty enhancing features. The peaches and cream complexion really came from peaches and cream.

Victorian young women of marriage age found it necessary to make a most profitable match in their quest to get married. Marriage was important simply because the nobel and upper class women did not work. If a young woman did not marry soon to a prosperous man the family chose her mate for her. It was business wise for family to marry her off to a rich old man. To avoid this fate beauty was their occupation. Attracting the best possible catch was their goal.

Victorian men did want a beautiful wife with perfect morals and a sense of style. More often than not, they looked for an heiress with good land holdings and financial stability.

Getting ready for the ball actually started weeks before the event:

Morning __ drink 6 oz. spring water with fresh lemon juice. M-W-F- rinse face with warm water make a baking soda paste in palm of hand. Using upward circular strokes clean face pores and neck. five min. only. With finger tips dab pure rose water on face. The breafast : fresh juice__sm.breafast meat patty__cereal or toast__fresh peaches and whipped cream. Tea was always available.

Carriage rides, horse back riding and short walks were important. With a hat or parasol the face was always shielded from the sun. To prevent an unpleasant face with wrinkles, to frown was strickly against their code of ethics. If angry and not happy revealing a blank stare and no signs of emotions was as ugly as they wanted to get.

Victorian Beauty Peach Mask:__1-very ripe peach__2-tbs. heavy cream__1-tsp. fresh lemon drops.__1-egg white beaten until stiff. Blend the above together. Smooth on clean face. Recline for 30-min.__rinse face thoroughly__Apply dabs of almond oil to face.

Corn meal face scrub: Wet face__scoop up a little corn meal from a nearby decanter__And gently scrub the face. Scant corn amt. oil from the meal will leave a lubricating film on the skin.

Butter Milk Mask for Bleaching Skin: 1/2 cup Pure buttermilk__1 tbs cornstarch (thickner) mix together to make paste. Paste is applied to face daily to brighten the skin. Results in 4-weeks.

Strawberry De-frekle Mask: 1/2 cup fresh strawberries__mashed to a paste__spread on the face and leave like this several hours to bleach skin and remove frekles. Best results leave on over night. Strawberries leaves should be saved for when strawberries are out of season. The dry leaves are to besoaked in warm water before application. They are not as effective but will keep the skin until the berries are back in season.

Strict Weight Loss Diet: From Mrs Beaton cookery. Must not be sensative to Citrus: Morning: 1-large grapefruit no substitutes__ 2-soft or hard boiled eggs__Mid. morning 1-orange__cup of tea__ Noon: 1__bananna and milk__1-cup coffee__Dinner: 1__boiled chicken breast and 1__boiled potato__1-tomato with lettuce- with lemon juice__Supper: 1-cup clabored milk ( yogart) with 2-stewed prunes__cup Camomile tea. That is all for 24 hours. To follow this diet for 4-weeks the victorian women have taken off up to 20-lbs. and have felt strong. Men have been on this diet for 2-weeks and lost 15-lbs but felt deminished because of it. It was not encouraged that anyone remained on this diet for more that 4-weeks.

Barley Water: To relieve water retention and swelling of the extremeties. 1__cup washed barley. Put in med. 3/4 full pot bring to a boil then turn low to simmer. Simmer I-hour. Strain off liquid chill and drink. Drink small glass twice a day, or whenever the body shows signs of swelling.

Barley water sweet drink: 1/4 cup pearl barley__1-qt and 1-tbsp. water__ rind and juice of 2-lemons. Put in your best pot bring to boil then simmer 2-hrs and stir at times. Strain now. Swetten to taste. Add 3-drops of cherry syrup to color pink. Garnish with fresh lemon slice.

Frown line removal: Melt pure Bee's wax when warm not hot apply to frown lines between nose and on forehead. Leave on overnight. Wash face before removing wax. Remove wax with clean case or butter knife gently peeling upward. Brush away any wax crumbs and powder face as usual.

One Best Kept Victorian Secret: Hair Collecting: A Great many victorian women wore their hair very long which was fashionable. Different styles could be dramatized with additional hair pieces such as braids, chignon, curls and waves. Hair collecting is a lost art like other victorian skills. Tools Used: Barber shears, hair thinning shears, razors, and regular scissors. The hair to be removed is cut at the root. To Bind Hair Together: Horse hair is used for thread, a delicate crochet needle and regular needles are used. A tight weave is made to hold the ends of hair together. The latest fashion magazines were helpful to see the latest in-vogue hair styles.

Procedure for Hair Collecting: When long healthy strands of hair were lost they were saved. Usually this hair was retrieved after shampoo or hair brushing. A new collection might start with just a few long strands. These strands would be tied together with a silk ribbon in two places. The hair is then placed in a long thin cedar box made for this purpose.

The first day of spring or just before was believed to be the start of the hair growing cycle. Most Victorian women thinned their hair especially the English women. American women often settled for just triming the ends. If the hair was thin already at least 10-strains were thinned out. Usually at least 50-strands of hair were removed and the split ends cut. This helped to stimulate new healthy hair growth and to maintain thick healthy hair. The crop of hair that was removed became a part of their hair collection.

The up stairs maid often helped with this skill. In a year a nice switch has been collected. This switch is gently washed and conditioned with alovera and placed back in the box. After several switches have been collected and conditioned they are joined together. Some times the women of a family get together and fashion their hair pieces. When told you have such beautiful long hair they can honestly say, " thank you I did it myself."

Aloe Vera Conditioning: 1-med. size alovera leaf__Boil 1-qt. water allow to cool__Slice aloe into the now warm water.__Add juice from 1-lemon__stir together enclose in qt. jar__after 24 hrs squeeze pulp and reserve juice__after shampoo condition hair with pure alovera. rinse hair well.

Victorian women of the upper classes were careful not to engage in premarital intercourse. If they did their chances of marriage would be zero. It was a dangerous deception to try to pass as a virgin. Their wedding night most likely would be a disaster.

Birth Control: 1. Abstain from intercourse. 2. Coitus inturptus. 3. Vinegar and cold water ( hide the bag) internal cleansing. 4. Abstain from coitus 1-wk. before mensus and one week after mensus. There was nothing fool proof.

Home Abortions: These were desperately dangerous solutions and against the law. 1. Cascara Sagrata--taken orally and douched with. 2. Quinine tablet insertion as many as they could obtain until results. 3. The dreaded midwife was usually called in the end.

The Light Skirts ( prostitutes ) that worked around " Covent Gardens" had little free time so they took the most desperate remedy of all. The arsenic douch. Of course without the proper dousage it could be fatal.

There were Victorian women who playfully spoke slang.

1.  Tea Gown.....Teagie    2.  Night gown.....Nightie    3.  To borrow money from friend with no intentions to pay back.    Lootin ( looting )  4.  Disgusting person.....A diskie  5.  A good cut to a gown......Fittums.

Reading:  Victorian Wit and Humor  Ronald Pearshale.  A Study of Old English Literature  C.L Wern