Why I Spent $35 on a Bottle of Water

I got the best beauty tip from a 60-year-old grandma in my spin class the other day.

I see this woman almost every day during the week, so we’ve gotten to know each other well. The other day, when I walk into class, I notice her skin is absolutely radiant. I tend to be really good at noticing differences in people’s skin or hair – and usually when I notice a change, it’s because they’re using a new product or just got a treatment or something.

So I ask Y (she’s kind of a funky grandma, so this is what she likes to be called) if she got a treatment or something. She tells me that just the day before, she started using a rose water spray on her face.

She didn’t have to tell me twice. The next day I went out to the shops to track down a rose water spray. It’s harder to find than you might think! Kiehl’s didn’t have one. C.O. Bigelow has one, but the lady told me they only have it over the holidays. And Body Shop doesn’t have one. Then I went to the place I should have gone first – Sephora, duh!! I felt kind of stupid spending $35 on a bottle of water that smells like roses, but when the checkout girl commented that she had tried it and loved it I knew I had made a good purchase.

Fresh Rose Marigold Floral Water

I could swear I saw an improvement in my skin almost immediately after using it. First of all, when you spritz it on your face, it gives your skin a nice sheen, just like you would expect. But it doesn’t stop there. This could be my imagination, but I feel like it actually did something to plump up the fine lines around my eyes. I am super-self-conscious about my crow’s feet, and I really scrutinize them in the mirror every day to make sure they’re not getting worse. Today, I looked in the mirror before I even used the rose water spray, and the fine lines were almost invisible!

I googled rose water and tons of stuff came up about its skin-soothing properties and all the vitamins it’s supposed to have. Apparently people have been using it since they discovered its healing uses in tenth-century Persia. I’m not usually big on all this mumbo-jumbo, but since I’ve actually seen the results in this case, I have to wonder if there’s something to it.

Y told me she got her rose water spray from Aveda. I found a couple of different kinds of rose water online, too. And I know Shobha has a Rosewater Toner. The thing I like about my Fresh Rose Marigold Floral Water is that it comes with the spray attachment. I don’t think it would feel the same if you just applied it with a cotton ball.

Shobha Rosewater Toner

I spray my face with the rose water a couple times a day. I think spraying it on after applying makeup actually helps set the makeup, too. Y says she keeps hers in the refrigerator because then she’s reminded to spray it on every time she opens the refrigerator, and the cool spritz feels even better.

I’ve read that you can also make your own rose water just by combining a couple drops of rose oil with water, but that seems a little too much like cooking for me. I’ll think I’ll stick with my $35 version!

Disclosure: All products were provided for review. No monetary compensation was received for this review. All opinions belong to the author.