There is no better test of a woman's taste and refinement than the use which she makes of perfume. There is an old saying that " No scent at all is the best scent," but it is quite possible to deflect from that austere line, and yet not offend against the laws of good taste.

The subject of perfumes is one of the arts which always are closely allied in one's mind with the mystic East.

Araby is the birthplace of the earliest known perfumery, and to this day the scents produced from an Indian bouquet or by the distilling of the lotus are the most popular. Chemists and perfumery specialists of the West, however, are ever investigating and experimenting to learn the effect of various combinations, and there is probably not a high-class scent which is composed of fewer than thirty ingredients.

Six flowers may be taken as forming the basis of European perfumes - the jasmine, the tuberose, acacia, violet, and orange flower - and of these jasmine is the most useful.

It is a curious fact that some odours are most objectionable when isolated, but most attractive when blended with other ingredients. A striking example of this is civet. When isolated it has a horrible odour, and so strong is it that the scent still remains in some of the palaces where it was used two hundred years ago.

In perfuming herself and her attire, a woman's art lies in her power to give the delicate impression of exhaling perfume as she moves hither and thither. In itself the smell should be almost indistinguishable, but as she passes one should be conscious of something vaguely pleasant. To accomplish this, something more intimate is needed than a few dabs of scent on the pocket handkerchief or cheek, or even a hurried shower from a spray. Indeed, an insistent toilet method must be carried out.

After the tepid bath, which should be a daily duty of every woman, the body should be sponged with a lotion composed of one ounce of good toilet water in a basin of cold water. This tones the skin, and imparts a delicate odour. Perfumed soaps are a luxury which only a Spartan would deny herself. It is best, however, to make a lather of the bath water, and so avoid the direct application of the soap to the skin, and then with the aid of a flannel or fine piece of chamois leather gently to dab the face. To dry the face a soft, absorbent towel should be used. Many beauty specialists believe in patting rather than rubbing the face, and claim that this action tends to drive the scent inwards.