Rose -The skin nurturer

Every fortnight, we'll share with you nature's secrets to beautiful looking skin. This time, glow-getting Vitamin C is put in the spotlight...

About Rose

  Natural beauty Red roses mean true love, yellow roses friendship and white roses purity. Roses have a long and romantic history, and a long established place in beauty. Today, rose extracts are used as much in skincare if not more than ever. The best rose extract for your skin is Persian, 'it is a very pure extract with an almost hypnotic fragrance,' says Margo Marrone, founder of The Organic Pharmacy. It comes from the red Damascena rose which found its origins in the Middle East. Today, the essential oil is chiefly cultivated in Bulgaria. 'It takes between 308,000 and 310,000 roses to make one kilogram of rose oil,' says perfume guru, Roja Dove. The petals have to be picked before sunrise so as not to compromise the delicate rose oil. 'If a rose is picked at noon, it will have a 50% less rose oil,' he says. Which is why good quality rose products are expensive. It also comes as no surprise that rose is so difficult to copy in the chemist's lab: 'Rose contains over 300 different components, each of which work together to bring about the unique action of rose,' says skincare expert Margo Marrone, founder of The Organic Pharmacy.

What Rose does for your skin
Rose is a very nurturing ingredient in skincare and suits all skin types, especially dry and sensitive. 'It helps strengthen capillaries,' says Marrone. This makes it ideal for you if you suffer from redness, high colour and broken capillaries - it will even help soothe rosacea. Rose is a source of vitamin C, so has antioxidant properties that help protect the skin from the onslaught of free radicals. 'Rose water is especially softening for the upper epidermis,' says Liz Earle or Liz Earle Cosmetics. It is also antiseptic, soothing and nourishing. In facial oils it combines well with Frankincense and Sandalwood.

Rose in make-up
Rose is the signature scent of Chanel's blushers - once you've sniffed one you'll never forget its scent. The make-up guru, Bobbi Brown once said that rose pink is one of the most flattering make-up colours for your skin. She even based a collection around it. Rose pink blusher applied to the apples of your cheeks gives you a fresh, healthy flush.

Something extra
If you inhale the scent of a rose in summer, it makes you feel wonderful. Somehow it dissolves the stresses of the day: 'Rose has an immediate uplifting effect,' says Marrone, and this helps quell stress and even depression. Inhale deeply and your face relaxes, leaving you looking more serene (go on, try it). Beauty companies are well aware of this benefit, YSL for example uses rose's stress relieving scent to enhance the beauty benefits of its Rose based facial oil, Temps Majeur Elixir de Nuit, £180.

Where to find it
Korres Wild Rose Mask, (£16, 020 7581 6455) shea butter and argan oil hydrate, titanium dioxide gives radiance, vitamin C rich wild rose repairs Amanda Lacey Persian Rose Water, £37, has an incredible scent and is wonderfully soothing and refreshing in the morning - an utter treat that lasts ages By Terry Baume de Rose SPF15, (£29 www.spacenk.com) use this Rose flower wax based balm to deep nourish, strengthen, revive and protect lips and cuticles Groom London Rose Maroc Moisturiser, £30, combines Rose with Neroli, Geranium and Lemon to make a deliciously rich but not heavy moisturiser for Winter Aromatherapy Associates Rose Hydrating Body Gel, £22.50, is a light, refreshing body moisturising gel also with hydrating Evening Primrose Oil