Rose in Skincare: A Guide to Rose Water, Rose Oils and Everything In Between

Rose Waters and Mists

The easiest way to start is with a rose water. Use it as a toner after cleansing, or as a mist during the day when your skin needs a refresh.

Rose water is also one of the most forgiving products you can add to a routine. It’s light and easy to layer, so it slots in between cleansing and your serum or oil without changing anything else you do. Many people keep one on their desk or in their bag for a midday pick-me-up, and it works over makeup too.

Anima Mundi’s Rose Water Beauty Myst is a soothing face toner, and Blue Beautifly’s Organic Rose Toner is another simple choice. The Soft Rose Mineral Water is a pH-balancing face tonic, and Living Libations’ Rose Glow Complexion Mist adds a glow. For something more layered, the Earth Rose/Vetiver Mineral Water and the Glow White Rose/Sandalwood Mineral Water combine rose with other botanicals.

Tip: Mist your face while it is still slightly damp after cleansing, then follow with your serum or face oil. The water gives your skin a little moisture to hold on to, and your next product helps to seal it in.

Rose for Lips, Cheeks, Hair and Body

Rose is not just for the face. It works just as well in the small things you reach for every day, which is why it’s such an easy ingredient to build into a routine, one product at a time.

The Rose de Sang Lip & Cheek Crème gives a soft flush, and because it works on both, a single pot can do your lips and cheeks in one go. The Natural Rose Lip Polish is an edible plumping conditioner, a nice step to add before lipstick or whenever your lips feel dry. The Tea Rose & Wild Mint Lip Crème and RoseGlow Lover Lips complete the lips shelf, and they are easy to keep in a bag for a quick top-up.

For hair, The Innate Life’s Rose Hair Elixir adds softness, and customers tell us it also takes the edge off frizz. Viori’s Chamomile Rose Conditioner Bar suits brittle, dry ends, and as a bar it’s easy to pack for travel.

In the bath and on the body, the Rose Body Oil is a lovely thing to massage into damp skin after a shower, and the Bed of Roses Boudoir + Body Mist adds a light veil of scent through the day. The Bed of Roses Pink Clay Bar Soap brings the scent into the everyday, so even washing your hands feels a little more special.

Tip: If you want to try rose in more than one way, start with a product you use every day, such as a lip crème or a body oil. You’ll get to know the scent and decide how much of it you enjoy before you add more.

Wearing Rose

If you want to smell like a rose, there are options for that too. Rose is one of the most loved scents in perfumery, and it can be anything from fresh and dewy to deep and velvety, which is why it suits so many people.

Living Libations’ Petal Perfume (Roses Shining Everywhere) is a classic, and the English Tea Rose Huile de Parfum No. 1 is a softer, oil-based perfume with a gentler, more skin-close feel. Oil-based perfumes tend to sit closer to the skin than sprays, so they are a good choice if you like your scent to be noticeable only when someone leans in.

Even deodorants have joined in. The Poetic Pits Rose Glow and Agent Nateur’s Saint-Honoré roses deodorant bring a touch of rose to the start of your day, so you smell lovely without reaching for a separate fragrance.

Tip: Apply perfume to your pulse points, such as the wrists and the sides of the neck, where the skin is warm and the scent opens up. If you like to layer, use a rose deodorant as the base and a rose perfume on top, so the two scents work together.

Rose Oils: Otto, Absolute and Attar

For the true rose lover, we carry the oils themselves: Rose Otto, a white Rose Otto, Rose Attar, and absolutes including Rose de Mai, Rose Bourbon and the Apothecary Rose. There is also Rose Otto Anointing Oil, which is already diluted and ready to use, and Castor Oil + Rose Otto from Living Libations.

Two of our favourites take rose a step further by distilling it together with another plant. Roses over Vetiver pairs rose otto with vetiver root, and the result is a scent that is both floral and earthy, with the lightness of the rose balanced by the deep, grounding character of the vetiver. Roses over Geranium combines rose otto with geranium, two oils that are both known for being soothing for the skin, which makes it a lovely addition to serums and beauty balms you blend yourself.

Remember that essential oils and absolutes are very concentrated. Dilute them in a carrier oil before they touch the skin, do a patch test, and speak to your doctor first if you are pregnant or have a medical condition. PurO3’s Ozone-Infused Jojoba Oil with Rose Absolute is an easy way to enjoy rose already blended into a carrier.

See our full range of rose oils and blends here.