It is said that a long time ago, in the mountains, lived King Laurin. His kingdom was prosperous and his people extracted gold, silver and precious stones from the rocks. Around the castle the king could admire every day a splendid rose garden surrounded, it is said, by a golden thread. That garden was the king's pride and made all the surrounding rock glow pink. One day, a king from the neighboring kingdom threw a party for his daughter's wedding but did not invite King Laurin. Laurin, however, decided to go there anyway thanks to two magical objects, a cloak that gave him invisibility and a belt that gave him the strength of 12 men. Arriving at the banquet King Laurin, made himself invisible thanks to the cloak, fell madly in love with the bride and kidnapped her. Immediately all the knights set out in pursuit to block his way to the borders of the kingdom but King Laurin was still invisible and could count on a force of 12 men. Laurin thus got the best, even if with difficulty because the riders were numerous, and it was in this way that he managed to reach his rose garden where he thought he was safe. But he hadn't considered that the roses moved and bent as he passed. Thus the knights were able to capture him. King Laurin, enraged against his own kingdom which had not protected him, launched a curse. No human eye could admire it anymore, neither day nor night, but in saying this he had forgotten sunrise and sunset and since then, in these two magical moments of the day, the mountains are tinged with pink. This spectacle can still be admired today, when you look towards the Catinaccio, a mountain in north Italy, or Rosengarten, the garden of rose in German language. Let us therefore be inspired by this magical legend and bring the fascinating power of roses to our cosmetics.
Roses for the skin, properties
Roses are an extraordinary ingredient for cosmetics, useful for both young and mature skin, in fact they are antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. Extracts of rose petals are useful to soothe sunburned skin but also to counteract the damage of photoaging (Lee et al, Food Sci Nutr, 2018). Not only that, even the scent of the rose is a cosmetic, since it stimulates receptors located on the skin and activates mechanisms that counteract the signs of fatigue on the face (Duroux et al, Molecules, 2020).
Small cosmetics with rose petals
Rose petals can be used to make fantastic cosmetics, such as face masks, lip balms and floral water. Here is a DIY lip balm with a moisturizing and slightly colored action. In a bowl, pour 5 grams of cocoa butter and 1 gram of beeswax. Melt on low heat, then remove from heat and add 3 grams of jojoba oil, 5 grams of rose petal powder, it is easily found online and in specialized stores. Mix and pour into a small jar, spread on the lips when necessary. Instead, for the beauty of the face, here is a simpler recipe. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of rose powder and as much rose water as you need to make a creamy mixture. Apply on the face, leave it on for a quarter of an hour then rinse. Complete the treatment by sprinkling rose water on the face. This elixir of youth, in fact, is anti-aging and soothes irritations.
