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Vanity and the Bluestocking

Vanity and the Bluestocking

Category Archives: Beauty

Homemade rose essential oil by any other name would smell as sweet

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Beauty

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DIY, rose essential oil, rosewater

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I’m in the process of annotating a new edition of a wonderful old book on beauty and food from the early 1600’s. It was written by Sir Hugh Platt in 1602, and rejoices in the title “Delightes for Ladies to Adorne their Persons, Tables, Closets and Distillatories with Beauties, Banquets, Perfumes and Waters. Reade, Practice and Censure.” Absurd title or not, it was one of the most highly regarded manuals for the still room at the time. Some of the recipes sound lovely, others…well…. Best not to put sulphuric acid on your hair at home I think!

I looked at the price of rose essential oil recently and nearly had an apoplexy, so I thought I’d share a recipe for rose essential oil and rosewater from those illustrious pages – and a modern equivalent or two.

To drawe both good Roſewater, and oyle of Roſes together.

After you have digeſted your Roſe leaues by the ſpace of 3. months, ſicut ante, nam. 13 eyther in bottyls or hookers, then diſtill thē whith faire water in a limbeck, and ſo long as you finde anie excellent ſmell of the Roſe, then diuide the fatty oile that fleeteth on the top of the Roſewater, and ſo you haue both excellent oile of Roſes, and alſo good Roſewater togither, and you ſhall alſo haue more water then by the ordinarie waie, and this Roſewater extendeth farther in phyſicall compoſitions, and the other ſerueth beſt for perfumes and caſting bottles. You may alſo diſtill the oyle of Lignum Rhodium this way, ſauing that you ſhall not neede to macerate the ſame aboue 24 houres in your water or menſtruum before you diſtill: this oyle hath a moſt pleaſing ſmell in a manner equall with the oyle of Roſes.

In more modern English:

To draw both good Rosewater and oil of Roses together.

After you have digested your Rose petals for the space of three months, as before, for 13 (he is referring to a previous recipe here, which calls for the best rose petals to be dried of any dew and packed into stone jars – hookers – with small mouths and sealed with wax) either in bottles or hookers, then distill them with fair water in an alembic, and so long as you find any excellent smell of the Rose, then divide the fatty oil that floats on the top of the Rosewater, and so you have both excellent oil of Roses, and also good Rosewater together, and you shall also have more water than by the ordinary way, and this Rosewater extends further in physical compositions, and the other serves best for perfumes and casting bottles. You may also distill the oil of Lignum Rhodum this way, excepting that you shall not need to macerate the same above 24 hours in your water or menstruum before your distill; this oil has a most pleasing smell in a manner equal with the oil of Roses.

The essential oil that you obtain through this method is attar of roses – the process of heating it up changes the nature of the smell somewhat. To get an essential oil that smells as much like the original rose as possible, try the following:

Rose absolut essential oil

Fill a sterilised jar with rose petals and cover with vodka, and leave in a dark place for 3 weeks. Strain through a cheesecloth into another sterilised container, pressing the cheesecloth well. Freeze overnight, and when you come back to it the rose oil should have frozen, but the vodka will still be liquid.

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Perfume Review – Yves St. Laurent’s Opium

07 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Beauty

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I struggle with winter perfumes. Summer is easy – something light and green and fresh usually suits (Bulgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert is my current favourite), but in winter that feels too austere and pale. I want something warm and spicy and rich, but also elegant and not too sweet. Since almost any floral notes seem to become overpowering and sickly sweet on my skin that’s quite an ask! I was passing through duty free today on my way to Austria, and as part of my ongoing quest for the perfect winter perfume I sampled one of the most famous (or infamous) perfumes of all time – Opium.

The creation of Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac of Roure, Opium was released in 1977, and almost immediately became the signature scent of the era. Some people love it, others hate it, but it certainly can’t be accused of being boring. I wasn’t around in 1977 to witness Opium’s launch and the ensuing frenzy, and as for the controversial adverts – well – they can’t exactly be described as subtle or elegant! They never really appealed, so I hadn’t tried Opium before; and to me this had the air of trying on one of my (very glamourous) aunt’s designer dresses from 30 years ago.

The first thing that hit me was the slightly numbing scent of cloves and a rich, sweet amber note. Within about ten minutes, lilies and a whisper of jasmine had taken over, but they quickly faded into patchouli and cinnamon. It was opulent, spicy, warm and lovely, but after an hour or so it blended strangely into aldehydes and floral notes, and I was startled to find myself smelling like carnation soap! Thankfully the florals faded after a while, and it slowly turned from soap through resin to a rich, sweet, shadowy accord of amber, sandalwood and incense, which lasted the rest of the day. It’s very potent stuff – even after a long shower a whisper of the scent still lingered on my skin – so you only need a drop or two.

The Renaissance Man likes it, but I’m not totally convinced – I really didn’t enjoy the hour I spent smelling like soap from a cheap hotel! (The things I do in the name of research….) On the other hand, the rest of the time it was wonderfully warm and opulent and complex and spicy, without ever veering into the danger zones of powderiness or over-sweetness. It has a lot more personality than most modern perfumes too, which I like.

I guess Opium is a bit like those 1950’s “new look” dresses – they’re unmistakably of a certain era, and they don’t suit everyone, but they are undeniably glamorous! It’s getting close to my perfect winter perfume, but it’s not quite there…

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