The World Beauty Book: How We Can All Look and Feel Wonderful Using the Natural Beauty Secrets of Women of Color [Paperback]

Jessica B. Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

A unique and fascinating collection of glamour tips, gathered from women of color from around the world, offers recipes, rituals and secrets covering all aspects of beauty from hair and faces to clothing, fragrances and aphrodisiacs. $25,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Probing traditional "old ways" of enhancing one's looks, Harris (The Welcome Table) explicates the beauty secrets of a "worldwide sisterhood of non-Western women of color." Her historical overview cites earliest evidence of cosmetic use (in body painting) in cave paintings found in Algeria and the consistent reference to cosmetics in ancient Egyptian records. Underscoring the spiritual component that has historically informed the pursuit of beauty and stressing the need for patch tests, Harris offers preparations, treatments and rituals designed to enhance a woman's hair, face and body. Recipes include Carioca Hand Cream, made with ripe banana and unsalted butter, and Mayo Conditioner (commercial or homemade mayonnaise) for dry hair. Other chapters touch briefly on jewelry (Malian Scented Waist Beads), remedies for menstrual cramps (from Chinese Ginger Tea to Granny's Not-Quite-Legal Ganja Tea) and sachets and homemade incense. Although specifically aimed at women of color, Harris's exploration of this strand of folk wisdom is likely to intrigue any woman.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder, yet American definitions and images of beauty often overlook women of color. Harris has included tips on beauty from women of color around the world--Senegal, Mexico, India, Haiti, Brazil, Benin, Guyana, China, and the U.S.--who all share their traditional beauty secrets learned from friends and family. Harris' coverage is broad: the history of non-Western beauty, life stages of beauty, hair, face, the body, ethnic dressing, fragrances. And she is thorough, with suggestions on ways to enhance living and work spaces and life in general. Lists of mail-order resources and suggested readings make up the appendices. The value of this collection is the inclusion of recipes for achieving the long-treasured beauty secrets along with a discussion on why and how that tip is useful and important to overall health and beauty. Readers will feel as if they had acquired a new circle of friends from around the world who share their beauty tips and secrets. Lillian Lewis

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062510924
• ISBN-13: 978-0062510921
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best "make your own beauty treatments at home" book, July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The World Beauty Book: How We Can All Look and Feel Wonderful Using the Natural Beauty Secrets of Women of Color (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. It is full of interesting recipes for various beauty treatments you can make at home, and each one is accompanied by a story about an exotic place, and/or historical information about the recipe. I want to try every one in the book!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing wealth of international beauty tips!, June 14, 2000

By 

BlissGee - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World Beauty Book: How We Can All Look and Feel Wonderful Using the Natural Beauty Secrets of Women of Color (Paperback)

I've bought many copies for gifts. I also have two copies for myself. Though it could have been so much better with illustrations and some photos, it is still one of my absolute favorite beauty books!

This is because of the rich diversity of beauty treatments, adornments, fashion, and grooming tips described. It would be a particularly great book for a young woman/teen of non-European or multiracial descent living in the United States where the beauty standard is still quite shockingly narrow.

This book teaches pride in one's own unique beauty and cultural aspects (from China, Africa, India, Brazil, Japan, the Caribbean, Mexico, Indigenous Americas and more)

There's also a great intro history of beauty and adornment from ancient times to the present, "Beauty Throught the Ages" which I totally love!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unconventional, July 8, 2001

By 

Happy - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World Beauty Book: How We Can All Look and Feel Wonderful Using the Natural Beauty Secrets of Women of Color (Paperback)

"The World Beauty Book..." presents unconventional and exotic beauty treatments that can be found across the globe - treatments which are sometimes inherent in their culture and have spiritual or societal implications, or simply methods of beautifying oneself.

While preparation of the recipes is easy, exercise discretion in determining proportions of the ingredients. (I found this the hard way when I tried the petroleum jelly hair conditioning - I found that the portion called for is too much for my hair. However, the conditioning treatment turned out fine when I reduced the portion significantly.) In addition to this, some of the recipes call for ingredients which I have difficulty looking for.

What I like about this book are the relaxation tips that are included in addition to beauty recipes - I especially liked the bit that teaches you to de-stress yourself by simple hand strokes and visualization. And in presenting beauty recipes and rituals of women across the world, I appreciated knowing more about women worldwide, and how much and how little my culture and theirs have in common.