Many people associate roses with beauty and romance.

But me? Roses make me think of my grandfather. Specifically his nose.

You see, my grandfather’s honker was a bit bulbous, and my dad had this joke: “Before Pop-Pop was born, God asked him what type of nose he wanted, but he thought God said ‘rose’ so he asked for a big red one.” Good one, Dad.

But let’s get back to the whole “beauty” association…

(Though Pop Pop, your nose was glorious.)

Roses have wonderful skin benefits.

These fragrant flowers are antibacterial, ant-inflammatory, and rich in vitamin C, a potent antioxidant. They are also a natural astringent, helping to tighten pores, while the flowers’ nourishing oils moisturize.

Combine these properties with witch hazel — a super effective natural astringent — and you have yourself a fantastic facial toner.

So let’s get to it!

DIY All-Natural Pore-Perfecting Rose Facial Toner

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dried red rose petals, pink rose petals or whole rose buds
• 1/3 cup organic witch hazel (since you won’t be able to get 100% of the witch hazel out of the soaked roses)
• A 2 oz. glass bottle or jar

Directions:

Combine the roses and witch hazel in a clean, sterile jar, and secure the lid. Give the jar a few little swirls to get rid of any air between the roses so they’ll effectively soak up the witch hazel.

Let the jar sit for 2 days, then strain the now rose-infused witch hazel using a clean piece of cloth or a coffee filter — squeeze the roses to get as much of the witch hazel out as possible. You’ll notice the roses have lost their pigment by this point and are white (like those to the right in the image below).

Lastly, simply bottle up the rose-infused witch hazel (again, in a clean, sterile bottle) and there you have it: your very own all-natural pore-perfecting rose facial toner.

I had never used a facial toner before this DIY…

I would simply wash and then apply my face oils.

But I love this simple recipe and will definitely continue to use it as part of my daily skincare routine. Because of roses’ unique astringent and moisturizing power combo, it has really helped to soothe my skin, which tends to get a little more irritated around the change of the seasons (it’s really very bratty).

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