Rose is by common consent the most beautiful essential oil. It has always been associated with the heart, and indeed its main action is on the emotions. It uplifts, soothes, engenders hamony, promotes love, forgiveness and well being, increases sexual desire, increases feelings of attractiveness, and eases anxiety. It is a wonderful oil for reducing stress, and although it has a special affinity for supporting the female reproductive system, should not be thought of only for women, as it can help to reduce feelings of anger and frustration in teenagers. The other outstanding use of Rose oil is in skin care. It has a special affinity with ageing and mature skin, and broken capillaries, where its toning effect can reduce the appearance of redness. Rose is also famous for being costly: it takes approximately 3 kilos of fresh rose petals to create 1ml - just 20 drops - of essential oil. The good news is that a very much less costly oil is produced by the method of extraction, known as Rose Absolute, as opposed to the distilled oil which is also known as Rose Otto. Rose Absolute is more intense, more straightforward, while the otto has a delicacy which is quite divine. Rose contains an extraordinary 400 different compounds, and blends beautifully with many oils, especially Jasmine, Neroli, Geranium, Lemon, Mandarin and Ylang Ylang.