Fashion
Why Rose Beauty Products Are The Absolute Best, Plus Which Ones To Try First
There is a reason why roses (and rose beauty products) are synonymous with beautiful skin. Rose's essential oils and chemical composition keep it supple, soft, and full of volatile scent compounds. The leathery feel of a rose petal is one not soon forgotten, much like the touch of baby soft skin. You can get close to that degree of softness on your own skin by simply working some rose in anywhere you can!
Usually when I do a product roundup based on a specific ingredient, the options are sometimes limited, but with rose there are a serious amount of choices out there! Of course, there are tons of luxury rosewater products, but you can find plenty in the drugstore aisles as well. Also out of the ordinary? Nearly everything I tested for this roundup was phenomenal. That is pretty rare, but a week of trying a different moisturizer every night resulted in smooth, lovely skin as opposed to the usual trials and tribulations of potential failure.
Without further ado, I present you seven ways to add more rose into your life. I promise, you won't regret it.
Images: Darnell Scott
Cleansers
Left to Right: Jurlique’s Rose Moisture Plus Moisturizing Cleanser , $24, Jurlique
Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick, $40, oo35mm
As the first step in any good beauty routine, you really want your cleanser to start things off right. Rosewater’s soothing properties make for a great (and great smelling) ingredient in any face wash.
Reach for Jurlique’s Rose Moisture Plus Moisturizing Cleanser when you want a nice, gentle wash. I like this one in the morning, as it wakes me up gently and does the same for my face. Jurlique grows their own ingredients at a farm in Australia, which is fun to day dream about as you suds up for the morning.
At night, I do a quick oil cleanse before sudsing with an exfoliating cleanser, and I’ve been pretty into this Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick, a cult cleanser perfect for travel from Korea. I picked mine up at oo35mm, my fav Chinatown beauty boutique that is also online, and was informed that this can be very hard to get, as the roses used are specially grown and fermented to give skin an angelic softness with every wash come in limited amounts. You quite literally only need a tiny swipe of this gorgeous smelling stick of glory to get a full face of bubbles going.
Serums and Toners
Left to Right: Dermelect Restructuring Serum, $75, Dermelect
Cecilia Wong Rose Serum Spray , $40, Birchbox Erno Laszlo Hydra Therapy Refresh Infusion, $90, Erno Laszo Jurlique Daily Moisture Balancing Serum ,$50, Jurlique Kat Burki Rose Peony Beauty Elixir , $65, Kat BurkiDermelect Firming Activator, $39, Dermelect
Toners are a step that I feel too many skip. They help with serum and moisturizer application, plus as rebalance the skin’s pH after washing. Kat Burki makes fabulous natural products, and the Beauty Elixir smells like a fresh bouquet while prepping for your next move. It’s great as a mid-day refresher! Cecilia Wong Skincare’s Rose Serum Spray is like the best of both worlds, providing slip for your next product with added nutrients such as vitamin C, beta glucan, and hyaluronic acid.
Packed with humectants and treatment ingredients, the Erno Laszlo Hydra-Infusion leaves a natural finish and smells of roses without being overwhelming. Moisture penetrates the skin like a glass of water without a drop of visible shine in sight!
Moisturizers and Sleeping Masks
This is the fun part, because moisturizers and masks are definitely the most instantly effective part of a routine. I tried every kind of rose moisturizer you can dream of! Gels, creams, sleeping packs — you name it, I’ve put it on my face. These were my absolute favorites, and all for different reasons, so click next for a breakdown of each.
Swatched For Your Pleasure!
Left to Right: Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturizing Gel Lotion , $47, Jurlique
Belif First Aid Overnight Brightening Mask, $34, Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, $48, Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Bio Repair Precious Cream, $75, Hollybeth Organics Rose Geranium Face Moisturizer, $45, Dermelect Resilient Stem Cell Regenerating Treatment, $79, Dermelect
Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturizing Gel Lotion:Fresh scented, effective humectant style moisturization, and a potent dose of antioxidants? I deem this the most acne friendly, as extracts of green tea, turmeric, and grapefruit plus its gel texture are perfect for oily skin.
Belif First Aid Overnight Brightening Mask: This is the everygal sleeping mask. Innocuous smelling, affordable, deeply hydrating, and packed with luxury ingredients like black truffle, gold, amber, and pearl, this is going to make everyone look alive the next day as it did for me.
Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial: I chose to cover this mask because it promises a drastic change after two weeks of use. So far so good, as it has noticeably lightened some acne scars in just three days of use! My only caution: the scent. It’s not a bad scent, but very potent. Still, I think it’s worth it for perfect skin.
Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Bio Repair Precious Cream: This was my second favorite of the group. This cream soaks in instantly and leaves behind a sweet smelling, silky, non-greasy finish. Rose stem cells and extracts from 12 different species of roses give you a dozen like never before.
Hollybeth Organics Rose Geranium Face Moisturizer: This one is sooooo good for very dry skin. Its oily texture and high carotenoid content make it an ideal choice for mature or sun exposed skin, and its golden natural hue will impart warmth to your skintone while sealing in your routine with an occlusive layer.
Dermelect Resilient Stem Cell Regenerating Treatment: My fave of this entire product roundup. Lightly scented with an ideal non-greasy creamy texture, this moisturizer is full to the brim with free radical fighters and renewing extracts. After just one night of use, things were plump, dewy, and radiant.
Makeup
Left to Right: By Terry Celluarose Blush Glace in Flower Sorbet, $58, Space NK
Cellularose Moisturizing CC Cream in 3. Beige, $87, Space NK
ByTerry is one of the most fabulous makeup lines out there. Period. Just ask Kim Kardashian and her team, who love the Cellularose line enough to shout it out freely. This CC cream ($86) provides sheer texture that corrects any uneven tones while smelling like you have your face in a rose bush. It creates a perfect base for further complexion makeup or is lovely as is if you want to go light.
The Blush Glace is so crucial for warm weather! Its subtle dewy finish is perfect for days when you don’t want to look like you have a full face on, and it gives your cheeks glow while adding hydration to plump it up, an essential for a natural look. Plus the marshmallow fluff-like texture is so fun to work with.
Body
Left to Right: Morroccan Oil Fleur de Rose Body Buff, $52, Barneys
Jason Rosewater Hand and Body Lotion, $6, Amazon
When it comes to pampering yourself, treating your body to the same level of care as your face and hair has immediate benefits. You can quickly relax body and mind when you sink into a tub littered with rose petals and bubbles. Too bad organic roses cost a small fortune, and store bought ones tend to have pesticides to make the grow pretty, but not suitable for topical use.
Here’s where the Body Buff from Morroccan Oil comes in: Oils of sweet almond, avocado, and their signature argan oil play with one of the truest rose scents I’ve ever come across, and it leaves skin feeling smooth and touchable. This stuff is brand new this April, and I think it’s going to be quite popular.
No bath is complete without a generous slathering of lotion afterward, and I went for the rose double hitter with Jason’s affordable and all natural body lotion ($7). Aloe, glycerin, and avocado oil mingle with rosewater and rose extract to seal in all the goodness of your soak.
