ABSTRACT
This essay offers an analysis of arguments put forward and rhetorical strategies employed in Artificial! Embellishments^ a remarkable little book on cosmetics by an anonymous author printed at Oxford in 1665.1 One of the reasons why this book is of considerable interest is the way its subject matter is being treated. Like most other books of its type, it contains a large number of recipes for homemade cosmetics serving a wide range of purposes. These are grouped in chapters ranging from the general to the specific, beginning with 'Of the whole Body, and the beautifying thereof, or What course of life is probably the best either to procure beauty or to preserve it' and then moving on to aspects such as 'How to repair the beauty of an itchy or scabby skin' or cHow to beautifie the fore-head'. Each chapter contains a number of recipes, some of them quite elaborate.
