"In those convenient little powder books there are pretty new books that have satin covers blue, pink, heliotrope, red—all colors—and they do not cost more than the ordinary books, There is more to them, too, than the attractive outside. Whoever will polish away the soil of a Summer day’s trip through the streets may do it with a sheet of powder which has her own particular tone of complexion; there is rose, white and “Rachel”—named for the famous actress—and a brown tint for brunette."(New York Times, 1905)
Cleopatra's Boudoir has an excellent article about common powder colors of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the history of the mysteriously named "Rachel" powder. Also throws in some useful information about theater history to boot!
It is of note: period beauty books often include recipes for ladies to make their own powder at home. The instructions for tinting suggest that "Rachel" was just a deeper shade of the pink/rose.
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