PHOTOGRAPH: ALBERTO BOGO/STOCKSY. FOR STOCKISTS, SEE PAGE 127
While I ran a bath, my mother rocked my new daughter. I shut the door and poured a big glug of rose otto oil into the water, and the scent moved me to tears. The oil anointed my skin in a way that felt like kindness. The scent lingered, all day and all night. My little girl, a week old, tiny and sparrow-limbed, found her nook in my neck, and stilled.
In Ayurveda, rose is linked to the heart. The scent of rose essential oil is said to enable our heart chakra to open more widely, enabling us to better love ourselves, and others. Clinical studies also show the psychological and physiological relaxation benefits of this exquisite oil. Rose has three main qualities: soothing, cooling and moisturising, and rose facial water is a wonderful tonic.