Skin Care Etiquette for Teens

Elizabeth Post had her own line of cosmetics and beauty products for fans of her etiquette columns. This mid-century, miniature powder and accompanying puff, were the perfect size to toss in a handbag.

Care of Your Face

• Never go to bed without washing it, no matter how late it is. If your skin is oily, use soap and water. If it is dry, use soap sparingly and be sure to wipe the skin dry after every washing.
• Your powder puff and lipstick should never be loaned, and do not borrow other people’s. 
• Face powder is fine to hide a shiny nose, but don't make a mask of it on your face. 
• Lipstick color should match nail polish, if you use colored polish. Select a lipstick that will suit your natural coloring, your hair, skin and also the color of the dress you are wearing. Be careful not to overdo the lipstick. Keep the natural shape of your lips.
• Rouge should be saved for parties and evening dress-up. Use it sparingly, or it will look unnatural.
• Pimples should never be squeezed. Keep your hands off them. Picking can make an ugly scar and start an infection. See your doctor for constant skin trouble, as there are many new ways to treat it. 
• Get plenty of sleep and check your diet. The health of your skin depends on sleep, diet, exercise and cleanliness. Keep away from rich, spicy or fried food. A food allergy can cause a rash. 

– From Emily R. Dow’s 1957, “Brooms, Buttons and Beaux”

💄Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Gilding the Lily

For centuries, books of manners and proper etiquette, had advised young women especially against wearing cosmetics. Lipsticks and powders, etc... were supposed to do no more than enhance one’s “natural charms” and not “gild the lily.” A young woman was seen to be reckless if she were to appear during the day and out in public, in a “made-up” manner. But, by the end of WWI, as more women were smoking and drinking in public, among other things, American women felt much more comfortable in cosmetics, and it wasn’t long before even a few etiquette authorities were promoting its use. Soon, women around the world were taking their cues from their American sisters.   – Along with being the first successor to Emily Post’s etiquette media business, Elizabeth Post, Emily’s only grand-daughter in-law, had a line of “Correct Cosmetics” that were marketed to American women.

American  Beauties

Listen to this girls! A newspaper writer on beauty methods quotes a “famous Frenchman who is a leading light in the cosmetic field” as follows: “To me the most alluring thing about the American girl and woman is that she acts as though she were beautiful, whether she is or not. In France, only the most attractive women have the courage to carry themselves off in the charming manner that is part of almost every American girl and woman.” There is more to this, it appears, than a mere boost for American use of cosmetics. Also, there is more than is meant by the saying, “Beauty is as beauty does.”

 

American women, with or without classic features and perfect natural coloring, do not hesitate to groom themselves smartly and develop ease of manners and charm. The result is that America has acquired international fame as a land of beautiful women. As a woman thinketh, apparently so is she. Courage, good health, independence, cleanliness and—ahem!—wise use of cosmetics, have worked marvels. Only a grouch will raise the question. “What is beauty?” – Lompoc Review, 1930

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia