“It is a most difficult task to fix upon any general and satisfactory standard of female beauty, since forms and qualities the most opposite and contradictory are looked upon by different nations, and by different individuals, as the perfection of beauty”  (Montez, 19). 

The theme of beauty ideals and imperfections is at the heart of "The Arts of Beauty, Or, Secrets of a Lady's Toilet. With Hints to the Gentlemen on the Art of Fascinating", as the text explicitly illustrated what the "ideal" woman looks like. These ideals, as stated by Montez, include having soft hands, a charming voice, and firm bosom, however the list goes on and on. Any characteristic which deviated from what women "should be", according to the manual, therefore may be interpreted as an imperfection. The text directly supports this idea since in addition to indirectly defining flaws of women's appearances, Montez offers suggestions on how to be rid of, or fix, these imperfections such as how to make think ankles appear small, color grey hair, and remove freckles from the face. 

Some questions which were raised by this text, which guided research on this specific theme were: 

What determines our beauty standards? 

How do beauty ideals define what should be important to women? 

Is striving for the ideal look appealing to the patriarchy, or a feminist act?