Timeless Tips from a Bygone Era

In 1914, Mme Lina Cavalieri published a beauty guide for ladies, called, My Secrets of Beauty.

Natalina "Lina" Cavalieri was an Italian operatic soprano, actress, and monologist, and she was known as a great beauty in her time. Her advice on the matter would have been highly desired. Here is her recipe for a homemade cold cream:

Last of all, give the face its cold cream bath. This is indispensable to the person who would have a good complexion. A skin food such as lanolin may be used instead of cold cream for the face bath if preferred. A cold cream that is excellent for softening and cleansing the skin is made as follows:

We have in this recipe an example of Edwardian skin care practices, which emphasized the importance of a cold cream facial bath, for all ages and skin types. Our author suggests using cold cream or a lanolin-based skin food to soften and cleanse the skin. Her recipe for cold cream includes spermaceti, or whale oil, which is nowadays both undesirable and unavailable. Jojoba and meadowfoam oils would be good substitutes. A “white wax” should be something simple, like beeswax. Combine the ingredients in a double-boiler for your own natural cold cream formulation.