The Arts of Beauty/Chapter 13

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CHAPTER XIII.
BEAUTIFUL MOUTH AND LIPS.

The beauty of the mouth and lips has been a rapturous theme for lovers and poets, ever since the world began. Old Hafez, the great poet of Persia, sang perpetually of

"Lips that outblush the ruby's red,With luscious dews of sweetness fed."

Even Milton's stern lyre was tuned to sweetest song about

"The vermil-tinctured lip."

And Petrarch seems to have found no charm in the divine Laura greater than her "beautiful and angelical mouth." "La bella bocca angelica!" he exclaims. And so Dante found inexpressible delight in the charming mouth of Beatrice, especially when it said "yes." "Thus," says he, "it is my remembrance of that mouth of hers which spurs me on ever, since there is nothing which I would not give to hear her say, with a perfect good will, a "yes." Yes, it is the sentiment or emotion that lingers about the mouth that constitutes much of its beauty. A mouth perpetually contracted as though it were about to say no, or curled up with passions of ​sarcasm and ill-nature, cannot be beautiful, even though its lips were chiselled like Diana's, and stained with the red of the ripest cherries. The mouth, indeed, is scarcely less expressive than the eyes, and therefore woman must not forget that its chief beauty consists in the expression. If a lady is anxious to have her mouth look particularly charming for some particular occasion, she will do well to fill her thoughts with some very delightful subject. And let her not forget that the muscles of the mouth and face are, like the rest of human nature, "creatures of habit;" and long use in the language of amiability and happiness, gives that expressive organ its greatest charm. An old Persian poet sings to his beloved:

The language anger prompts I bear;If kind thy speech, I bless my fair;But, is it fit that words of gallFrom lovely lips, like thine, should fall?"

Let every woman at once understand that paint can do nothing for the mouth and lips. The advantage gained by the artificial red is a thousand times more than lost by the sure destruction of that delicate charm associated with the idea of "nature's dewy lip." There can be no dew on a painted lip. And there is no man who does not shrink back with disgust from the idea of kissing a pair of painted lips. Nor let any woman deceive herself with the idea that the men do not instantly detect paint on the lips.

Ruby lips are generally the result and the ensign of perfect health. But, still, those who are entirely well ​do not always enjoy the possession of cherry lips. Where this is the case, the tincture of benzoin, as described in chapter viii. and which has none of the properties of paint, may be used with beneficial effects. I need not remind the ladies that clean white teeth are indispensable to a beautiful mouth. The lady who neglects to brush her teeth with pure cold water after every meal, not only loses the benefit of the natural whiteness of her teeth but she renders herself liable to have the disgusting evil of an impure breath. The best tooth-powder I know of is made as follows:

Prepared chalk
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 6 oz.
Cassia powder
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  ½ oz.
Orris-root
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 1 oz.

These should be thoroughly mixed and used once a day with a firm brush.

A simple mixture of charcoal and cream of tartar is an excellent tooth-powder.

To be sure of a sweet and clean-looking mouth, a lady should take her looking-glass after each meal and with a fine tooth-pick gently remove the particles of food, or any matter, which may be discovered about the roots of the teeth, or in the interstices. To ensure the great charm of a beautiful mouth requires unremitting attention to the health of the teeth and gums. To keep the gums red and firm frequent friction with the brush will be necessary.

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