Roses have been used in beauty products, most notably perfumes, for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks produced rose water and rose oil, and in India, they used rose extract as eye drops.
While rose-infused beauty products aren't new, the centuries-old ingredient is having a major renaissance. Roses are everywhere this season. Walk into any Sephora, Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, and look for the display of new beauty products. You'll find roses, roses and more roses.
"Roses are the classic flower of beauty," says Audra Senkus, co-founder of Eve Salon in NYC, who describes their scent as "calming and uplifting." Sumptuous scent aside, the romantic bloom is cropping up in skin-care products like never before, thanks to their soothing, hydrating beauty benefits.
And because it takes 60,000 roses to extract a single ounce of oil, rose-infused products are extremely precious. Using one is a truly luxurious experience.
Here, a roundup of the latest rose-infused products to incorporate into your beauty ritual this spring.
While rose-infused beauty products aren't new, the centuries-old ingredient is having a major renaissance. Roses are everywhere this season. Walk into any Sephora, Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, and look for the display of new beauty products. You'll find roses, roses and more roses.
"Roses are the classic flower of beauty," says Audra Senkus, co-founder of Eve Salon in NYC, who describes their scent as "calming and uplifting." Sumptuous scent aside, the romantic bloom is cropping up in skin-care products like never before, thanks to their soothing, hydrating beauty benefits.
And because it takes 60,000 roses to extract a single ounce of oil, rose-infused products are extremely precious. Using one is a truly luxurious experience.
Here, a roundup of the latest rose-infused products to incorporate into your beauty ritual this spring.
L'Artisan Parfumeur Rose Privée, $120, is a fragrance dedicated to the May Rose -- because the flower is that special. It only blooms once a year (in May) in the south of France, and it's extremely fragile and expensive. Also known as rosa centifolia, it has a fresh scent that's anything but grandmotherly. With hints of citrus and basil, this perfume smells like the most amazing rose garden -- without the trappings of a traditional (boring) rose fragrance.
The May Rose is also the key ingredient in the Chantecaille Rose de Mai Face Oil, $185. The rose extract is extremely rich in vitamin C, which brightens skin and acts as a potent antioxidant to fight free-radical damage. It's paired with Chilean tree bark to lighten dark spots even more. The oil feels divine and sinks in quickly, and -- because you can never have enough roses -- it also contains rose geranium and rose Damascena extracts.
If you want to literally bathe in roses, pick up a gorgeous pink tub of Moroccanoil Rose Body Buff, $52. Crushed rose petals are suspended in a blend of Argan, avocado, sesame, grape seed and sweet almond oils, which make your skin feel impossibly soft and smooth.
The House of Lubin is the oldest surviving Parisian fragrance house -- they once made perfume for Marie Antoinette. Now, their scents are available for the rest of us -- at exclusive boutiques, naturellement. With their latest perfume, Grisette, $160, they're celebrating many types of roses -- it's designed to smell like "an armful of freshly cut roses from Morocco and Bulgaria." And the effect is extremely unique with hints of iris and grapefruit to make it feel modern.