This is a 100% pure rosewater made via steam distillation. The intention is preservation of:
- Smell (without the addition of an artificial fragrance)
- Beneficial chemical compounds and anti-oxidants that you associate with roses (I’ll write a blog on this shortly).
- Natural colour (without the need for a colorant)
What do I think?
At the outset, I’ll be supremely honest and inform you that I hate all rose toners/oils/rose anything that I have used in the past. I generally feel they are ineffective as a toner and stink. There are exceptions: a limited edition rose fragrance by Dolce & Gabbana.
However, after using this product for about 3 weeks, I love it.
Initially, I found the smell to be quite strong but not after a week – I did get used to it. I hated the gigantic brown ugly bottle but I appreciate its utility – you need a massive bottle for the spray mechanism to be effective.
Features that I like
- Spray mechanism produces very fine droplets that are quickly absorbed into the skin. As the skin is hygroscopic you would expect this. But my experience with other rose toners is that you have to push the product into your skin – not with this one
- Its non-irritating, unlike Clinique’s toner which has enough alcohol to disinfect a toilet brush
- Its calming and is anti-inflammatory. I recently tried it straight after I came from a long-walk in 35 C sunshine. It was immediately cooling. I felt as if the temperature of my skin had dropped a couple of degrees. This is great news, because the dropping of temperature, calms the redness of you skin and I hope, arrests the tanning process.
Comparison to other rose water toners?
I have tried two rose waters in the past year: IZIL’s rose water and Forest Essential’s rosewater. Both are simply inferior products to Kama Ayurveda’s pure rosewater.
Available for sale at Kama Ayurveda or Nykaa. Retail price at time of writing is INR 1,150 (US$ 16) for 200ml
Other blogs you may be interested in are
Product review – Kama Ayurveda Rose Face cleanser
Product review: Forest Essentials final 240 day product review