All Nature is filled with gladness. Look around you and listen: the birds sing, the leaves rustle, the trees sway, the smallest stream ripples and chuckles, and at night the stars shine steadily and faithfully. There is a constant inner hum you can hear in your relaxed moments. Listen to it. It will help you become and develop a sunny spirit and a joy in life. These are the essential qualities of heart and mind which are so necessary to inner beauty. Gayelord Hauser

{HISTORY} 

Among the female set of the 1960s, there was a growing trend that offered a way of looking at beauty from the inside out. One that encouraged healthy eating, rest, relaxation, moderate exercise and pleasurable living in such a way that it led to radiant skin, a healthy figure, and a lustful vigor for life.  It was a philosophy and regime espoused by German-American nutritionist Gayelord Hauser (1895-1984), who made a name for himself consulting Hollywood starlets on health and wellness from the 1930s-1980s. 

You might suspect that a mid-20th century beauty book written by a man for women might be full of cliche ideas and chauvinistic viewpoints, but Gayelord was a modern guy way ahead of his time, with a keen understanding of a woman's desire to look and feel her best regardless of her age, shape, size, and stamina. 

European in his approach, through several books on beauty, fashion, style and aging Gayelord consistently taught and reminded his female audience that they deserved a beautiful, vibrant, relaxed, and pleasurable life.  By practicing self-care and wellness via a whole food diet, simple forms of regular exercise, quality sleep,  holistic beauty routines and happy acceptance of one's physical appearance, Gayelord believed that all women would and could live their best lives. Their beautiful lives. With confidence and joy. Stress and tension, he believed were the two detrimental causes of an unattractive appearance and an unattractive personality. It was Gayelord's mission to help women eradicate both so that they could shine inside and outside. 

In his 1961 book, Mirror Mirror on the Wall Gayelord dives into food and nutrition that compliments the female face and form. He includes menus, recipes, exercises, skincare tips, beauty routines, sleep techniques and ways in which to embrace the sunny side of life in personality and mindset.

Although viewed as somewhat radical in his day within the medical community, when it came to food and nutrition, Gayelord believed in the power of five superfoods - blackstrap molasses, yogurt, brewer's yeast, skim milk and wheat germ. Naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients, he witnessed time and again how these five foods in particular led to vitality, happiness and youthful beauty. He even witnessed how they affected his own body when he battled tuberculosis, and thanks to his training in nutrition and diet he understood the powerful effects they unleashed on the body.

Revered by a string of old Hollywood's glamorous leading ladies including Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, and Marlene Dietrich,  Gayelord's mission was to naturally bring peace and beauty to the frazzled, tired, stressed-out midcentury woman who was busy juggling the demands of home, family, career, and personal fulfillment. 

Offering practical advice with achievable results, the information he shares here will bring to light common-sense advice about caring for your body and spirit in simple ways. Like a fairy godmother, Gayelord gives readers permission to reach for their best life possible using wisdom, techniques and tips compiled by experienced medical professionals, psychologists, philosophers, beauty consultants, fitness trainers and writers from around the world. 

This is not a beauty book about fad diets, magic pills, trendy makeup styles, fast fashion, covering ill-perceived flaws or hiding behind insecurities. It's a beauty book about celebrating individuality and unique character. It's about enhancing not hiding.  It's about the power of red lipstick, a bright smile, a healthy meal, a satisfying walk, an optimistic outlook. It's about embracing inner beauty so that your outer beauty will shine. 

In sharing such timeless info across 350+ pages, Gayelord offered women of the 1960s a a continual stream of reassurance and encouragement that a beautiful life is within everyone's grasp and deserved by all. Still so relevant today, this is classic information that defies trends and fads and lifts women up instead of making them feel inferior or inadequate. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES} 

• Book Club Edition published in 1961 by Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
• 370 pages
• Illustrated with line drawings by Carl Malouf
• Includes original dust jacket
• Recipes include Braised Endives, Summer Soup from Persia, Complexion Salad, GreenGoldnDresing, an array of fruit/vegetable smoothies, Wholewheat Pilaf, Honey Custard, Five Minute Applesauce, Honey Mint Vinegar, Mexican Guacamole, and Crisp Wheat Germ Sticks along with over a dozen beauty recipes for lotions, baths, tonics, masks, balms and rinses

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. The dust jacket contains some chippy areas along the top edge but has been reinforced with archival paper to prevent further degradation. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.

{SIZE}

Measures 8.5" inches (length) x 5.75" inches (width) x 1" inch (thickness) and weighs 1.6 lbs