Peculiar Beauty: Three Centuries of Charmingly Absurd Advice

by Bonnie Downing (Editor)

Bonnie Downing has assembled these and hundreds of other absurdly misguided real-life beauty secrets into a comical collection aimed at every woman who has experienced the occasional pain and agony of trying to look her best. Culled from over fifty different manuals dating from as far back as 1890 to Morgan Fairchild’s recent guide Super Looks, Peculiar Beauty is for anyone who’s ever been subjected to the tyranny of an Epilady or had an unfortunate run-in with Sun-In. Filled not only with hilarious beauty advice, but insightful glances into beauty zeitgeists throughout the ages, Peculiar Beauty is a refreshing reminder to us all that despite incessant claims to the contrary, there is no easy path to the fountain of youth.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just what I expected. Amusing and bizarre beauty tips that have been published between about 1850 and 2000.
Gasoline in your hair to make it shine, but don't let it touch your scalp and don't try it if you're a smoker.
Make a mask of paper so your butcher can cut thin strips of meat to cover your face. Copy the mask in cloth so you can strap your meat strips on your face and sleep with it on.
I found the book starts kind of slowly, but gets better and better as it goes on. Maybe that's just a reflection of what kind of peculiar advice appeals to you though.

[Voula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this because I thought it seemed quirky and fun.... I actually didn't care for it at all. It was full of quotes from all kinds of folks regarding a vast array of different beauty advice. I read about half of it and decided it wasn't grabbing me, so I gave up. Sorry, just wasn't interested enough to read the entire book.

[Applied Energy X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone had to write a book like this, and although it was a hodgepodge of random quotes that didn't build into any sort of story, where else would one track down peculiar and old beauty advice like this? The author made it easy for us and it's a fast read.