On a Rose-Scented Kick

I've been on a rose kick since January. Rose foods, rose teas, rose scents, rose colors...rose everything. I find rose scents and products restoring of my inner balance, and incredibly feminine. I apparently am in need of more of both these characteristics lately.

I'm not usually into feminine things, but rose and lavender are two scents I deeply associate with femininity and centered, inner balance. So I sometimes make exceptions on occasion and jump on the girly bandwagon.

Back in January I had my first taste of rose water as a tea with hot water and a spoonful of honey (Bois de Jasmin blog posts here and here).

From there, I kept an eye out online and in stores. I discovered rosebud tea, rose marmalade tea, and rose water tea. I thought "wow, what a great idea!" Edibles to help extend our enjoyment of favorite scents and perfumes. I can pick out the note within a favorite perfume that calls out to me the most, and pursue that scent in a variety of products.

So, back to my rose kick. To broaden my rose-scented horizon--I hadn't bought a rose perfume since high school--I began looking at rose perfumes, body products, and other related products while I was out and about at Ulta and Sephora, or even online.

My first purchase was Cortas rose water from Amazon, and some dried rosebuds form Whole Foods to use in teas. Several weeks later I purchased Weleda's wild rose deodorant because I ran out of my favorite deodorant and I had a mammogram scare. So I went with a top of the line natural deodorant. It's a really great scent with a strong alcohol base that lingers all day for me.

Around that same time, I realized that one of my already favorite perfumes, Ferragamo Incanto Bloom, features rose noticeably. It's a great, vibrant rose and blossom scent that can work for day or night.

My first official rose perfume purchase, in February, was Tresor Midnight Rose--a spinoff from Lancome's famous Tresor line featuring Emma Watson as its model. It's a complex perfume a sexy, mysterious rose scent. This perfume is my favorite pick as I'm heading out on weekend nights.

I later discovered Bvlgari Rose Essentielle as I was perusing Ulta. This has now become one of my very favorite fragrances, next to Ferragamo's. It's delightful and it develops quickly on my skin but doesn't last long.

On a recent trip away from home I passed a Crabtree and Evelyn shop. It suddenly brought back memories of, years ago, when I used to save up my allowance to purchase rose and lavender soaps to use in my lingerie drawers. I remember their Rosewater glycerin soaps, but today discovered their Evelyn Rose scented items as well. There are innumerable products to choose from: lingerie hangers, lingerie drawer sachets, room aerosols, stick room diffusers, candles, soaps, hand creams, body washes, and more.

Another great place to try out rose scented items is Lush. Although it sometimes seems like a cacophony of scents in their shops, they have some great, rose-specific products that are worth a look, if not a sample. I am trying out their rose jam bubbleroon, imogen rose solid perfume (think baby powder and rose), a sample of ro's argan body conditioner, and a sample of turkish delight.

I'm liking my little obsession du jour and it's a great way to cut out some of the not-so-great product scents out there by specializing in a classic, long-lasting favorite.