Chapter XI · COSMETICS, ETC.

Habit of snuff-taking — Perfumes — Charles Lillie — List of scents — Soaps — Wash balls — 'Complections' — Tooth powder — Hair dye — Spectacles.

There was one social habit that the two sexes had in common, and that was in taking snuff: nay, it was more than hinted that some of the fair sex smoked—not nice little fairy 'Paquitas' or dainty little cigarettes, but nasty, heavy, clumsy clay pipes. The subject will be discussed in another part, but now we merely glance at the prevalence of the habit—not so much with the ladies, as it was later on in the century, but with the gentlemen; and the quantity taken, in the latter part of the reign, was excessive.

But the prince of perfumers and puffers was Charles Lillie, whose connection with the Tatler is so well known, and who was so belauded, that Addison, or Steele, in No. 96, had to issue a disclaimer. 'Whereas several have industriously spread abroad, that I am in partnership with Charles Lillie the perfumer, at the corner of Beaufort Buildings; I must say with my friend Partridge, that they are Knaves who reported it. However, since the said Charles has promised that all his customers shall be mine, I must desire all mine to be his; and dare answer for him, that if you ask in my name for Snuff, Hungary or orange water, you shall have the best the town affords at the cheapest rate.'

When Lillie died, he left his MS. receipts behind him, made into a book, but it was never published till 1822; and he gives a long list of the scents in use.

Spirit of ambergris

" " musk

" " benjamin (benzoin)

" " orange

" " lemons and citrons

" " bergamot

" " lavender

Red spirit of lavender

Otto of roses and sandal citron

Perfumed catchui

Essence of jessamine

" " orange flowers

Lavender water

Hungary water

Aqua Mellis, or King's honey water

Portugal and Angel water

Oil of Rhodium

" " roses

" " lavender

" " rosemary

" " cloves

" " cinnamon

" " marjoram

" " coriander

Eau Sans Pareil

Eau de Carm

Jessamine water

Bergamot water

Orange flower water

Myrtle water

Rose water

Cordova water

This reads like a very sufficient list of scents; that it was not greater was undoubtedly owing to the disturbed state of trade, and the absence of geographical discovery—which of late years has greatly increased the perfumer's répertoire.

There were soaps enough, in all conscience—Joppa, Smyrna, Jerusalem, Genoa, Venice, Castille, Marseilles, Alicant, French, Gallipoly, Curd, Irish, Bristol, Windsor, Black, and Liquid Soaps—and yet the ladies would use abominations called 'Wash balls.' These must have been a profitable manufacture, for the makers advertised freely in the papers. Let us look into a 'Composition for best Wash balls. Take forty pounds of rice in fine powder, twenty-eight pounds of fine flour, twenty-eight pounds of Starch powder, twelve pounds of white lead, and four pounds of Oris root in fine powder; but no whitening. Mix the whole well together, and pass it twice through a fine hair seive; then place it in a dry place, and keep it for use. Great care must be taken that the flour be not Musty, in which case the balls will in time crack, and fall to pieces. To this composition may be added Dutch pink, or brown fine damask powder, &c., according to the Colour required when the wash balls are quite dry.' These wash balls were in some variety—common, best camphor, ambergris, Bologna, marbled, figured, Greek, Marseilles, Venice, and chemical.

Rose and white lip salves were used as now, but their dentifrices were peculiar, to say the least, if this is a fair sample: 'Take four ounces of Coral, reduced to an unpalpable powder, eight ounces of very light Armenian bole, one ounce of Portugal Snuff, one ounce of Havanah Snuff, one ounce of the ashes of good tobacco, which has been burnt, and one ounce of gum myrrh, which has been well pulverised. Mix all these well together, and sift them twice.' An inferior tooth powder was made by leaving out the coral and substituting old broken pans (brown stone ware) reduced to a very fine powder. These mixtures were either rubbed on the teeth with the finger, or else used with a vegetable tooth brush or 'Dentissick Root,' which seems to have been made out of the roots of the marsh mallow, partially dried, and then fried in a mixture of rectified spirits, dragon's blood, and conserve of roses, until they were hard; when one end was bruised with a hammer, in order to open the fibres and form a rudimentary brush. There were dentists, both male and female, and they seem to have been so far successful that some of them guarantee their patients being able to eat with the false teeth after they were fixed. 'So firm and exact as to be eat on, and not to be discover'd by any Person from Natural Ones.'

Should the sight fail, it could be aided by spectacles, as now—but they were awsome things—with heavy horn, tortoiseshell, or silver rims, and were certainly no adjuncts to personal appearance. They varied in price from 4d. to 25s. per pair.