HUNGARIAN BEARD WAX (CIRE À MOUSTACHE HONGROISE.)
Castile soap, powdered 3½ oz. Mucilage of acacia 10 oz. White wax 9 oz. Glycerin 3½ oz. Oil of bergamot 20 drops. Oil of lemon 10 drops. Oil of rose 10 drops.
Rub the powdered soap with the mucilage, previously diluted with nine ounces of water, then add the wax and glycerin, and heat the mass on a water-bath, stirring constantly, until it becomes homogeneous. Lastly add the oils, and pour the mass into suitable moulds.
For brown or black wax the corresponding color is added. The mass is formed into sticks the thickness of a lead pencil.
Tragacanth 14 oz. Rose water 8 qts. Oil of bitter almond ¾ oz.
Crush the tragacanth, place it in the rose water, and leave it at rest in a warm spot, stirring occasionally, until the tragacanth has swollen to a slimy mass. Press it first through a coarse and then through a finer cloth, add a little carmine and the oil of bitter almond.
This is made like the preceding, only substituting 1½ oz. of oil of rose for the oil of bitter almond. Other varieties may be produced by the use of different odors.
Under various names preparations are placed on the market which render the hair both soft and glossy. The chief constituent of all these articles is glycerin which is perfumed according to taste and stained reddish or violet. As many aniline colors easily dissolve in glycerin, they are generally used for this purpose. Formerly, before glycerin was obtainable in sufficient purity, brillantines were chiefly made of castor oil dissolved in alcohol, but aside from the fact that glycerin is cheaper than castor oil with alcohol, the former is preferable, as alcohol injures the hair.
Glycerin 8 lb. Extract of jasmine (or other flower) 2 qts.
Glycerin 4 lb. Castor oil 4 lb. Oil of bergamot ¾ oz. Oil of lemon ¾ oz. Oil of neroli 150 grains.
In perfumes in which next to the odor, the appearance is of importance, the colors play a prominent part.
In handkerchief perfumes, any accidental color present is an obstacle, as it would cause stains on the material. Hence the aim is to obtain the perfumes colorless or—a highly prized quality in fine articles—they receive a pale green color which disappears on drying. Extract of cassie possesses this color, and in many cases this extract is added to perfumes for the purpose of giving them this favorite color.