Girly, vintage inspired salve (Rose & Co. Apothecary Rose Petal Salve)

Member Name: glitter_princess

Product:	Rose & Co. Apothecary Rose Petal Salve
Date:	05/05/09 (243 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great moisturising effect, fantastic smell, cute packaging, girly, vintage

Disadvantages: None

When it comes to beauty products, a good dose of nostalgia goes a long way and any rose scented product instantly reminds me of being a little girl playing perfume shops, making up perfumes in jam jars made from crushed rose petals in water. While the scent of these was sadly undeniably revolting (and the iffy brown colour pretty nasty too) there is something fabulously nostalgic about a rose fragrance, bringing to mind all things girly and vintage.

Rose & Co is a product line created by Caroline Rose, an aromatherapist whose aim is to use traditional recipes using natural, old-apothecary ingredients. The Rose Petal Salve was the first product Caroline created and was made by hand on the Aga in her kitchen, so not so far removed from my childhood perfume making after all!

Rose & Co have capitalised on the vintage feel of their products with their Rose Petal Salve, which comes in an adorable antique style baby pink metal tub, just like vaseline but so much more girly! Essentially this is a scented petrolium jelly, so when it comes down to it, it is posh vaseline, retailing at £4.85 for a 20g tub from Boots (or you can buy it from other online beauty stores though they tend to charge a little more)

The lid of the tub comes off nice and easily, far more easily than vaseline tubs, revealing the pink salve inside. Well, it had to be pink, didn't it? As soon as you have the lid off you are hit by the most wonderful sweet floral scent, reminiscent of Turkish Delight - this is definitely one for the girls only! It uses a rose essential oil blend as perfume and the rose smell is really gorgeous, not at all weak smelling as so many rose scents can be. I love wearing this, it makes me feel instantly girly, romantic and fabulous and so pretty! It's a smell that lasts nicely too without being overpowering - still noticeable up to about a hour later and a smell that other people will notice on you too as I've had some nice comments on the smell.

I mainly use this on my lips and I have to say it works fabulously to keep them smooth and in good condition. Saying earlier this is just posh vaseline is slightly misleading, as it feels not at all greasy and so much smoother and silkier than vaseline on the lips and its moisturising properties are far more intensive. I also often find that vaseline seems to sit on top of the lips, just acting as a barrier, while this actually feels that it is really moisturising, as well as protecting from the elements.

Looking at the ingredients list there are a couple of nice things in there that account for its great moisturising qualities: sweet almond oil and beeswax are included, both known for their nourishing and moisturising properties.

Like vaseline, it's a multi-use product - I also use this to tame my eyebrows, soothe patches of dry skin in winter, and I always smooth the excess after apply to my lips to my cuticles to keep them soft and conditioned. It is lovely and soothing on my skin and works really well to leave it moisturised and is absorbed far quicker than vaseline.

Rose & Co's Rose Petal Salve is a celeb favourite and can count Kate Winslet and Paris Hilton as fans, hence it's appearance on asos.com. While £5 is quite pricey for a lip balm, it's not extortionate (I've seen lip balms priced at 4 times this much!) and I think is well worth the money - it's a multi-use product that is great to carry around in your handbag. A must for all girly girls!

Summary: Taking me back to my childhood...