Tea at Trianon: Home Remedies for Skin

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Home Remedies for Skin

Natural ways to have a beautiful complexion. To quote:

Fran E. Cook-Bolden, MD, a dermatologist and director of the Skin Specialty Group and the Ethnic Skin Specialty Group in New York, suggests the following home remedies for acne.

Grape Cleanser
Grab a few fresh grapes from your fridge, and you've got an easy facial cleanser. Cut two or three grapes in half and rub the flesh over your face and neck, says Dr. Cook-Bolden. Follow with a cool water rinse.

Cucumber Face Mask
"Make a paste by blending one small cucumber and 1 cup of oatmeal," says Cook-Bolden. Mix 1 teaspoon of this paste with 1 teaspoon of yogurt and apply it to your face. Leave it on for 30 minutes, and then rinse.

Cucumber Face Pack
This cooling, soothing mask will help smooth your skin, which can often feel rough from acne. "Mash one whole cucumber, strain the water, add 1 tablespoon of sugar, and mix well," says Cook-Bolden. "Apply to your face and leave it on for 10 minutes; then wash with cold water."

Simple Honey Mask
Before applying this mask, rinse your face with warm water to open up pores, says Cook-Bolden. Then apply honey and leave it on the skin for 30 minutes. Rinse the honey off with warm water; then rinse again with cold water to close the pores.
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