Beauty DIY: Rosewater and jasmine face mist

Here’s the backstory for this post, in a nutshell: there’s a $70 facial mist that I adore, and I wanted to know if I could create my own version so as not to, well, not spend $70 on a facial mist. It’s taken some trial and error, but I’ve gotten pretty close.

Okay, more context. Remember when I reviewed May Lindstrom’s The Jasmine Garden? I really meant what I wrote — it’s so amazing and smells incredible. I luuurve it. Two repurchases later, summer was about to hit and I found myself in a budget conscious moment as we saved extra money for an autumn vacation and some fun projects around the house. I stopped using The Jasmine Garden, and I noticed a negative difference within a week. Ugh, disaster!

When I wrote the post last year, I’d done some research on the product’s ingredients, and then promptly committed none of it to memory (this brain only has so much room, you guys). So there I was, earlier this summer, wondering what magical elixir was in the stuff that resulted in such improved skin texture, clarity, and small pores (not to mention that complex, delicious fragrance). Once I reacquainted myself, there was good news to be had: a lot of the ingredients were things I was not only familiar with, but were pretty easy to obtain at my local Whole Foods.

Here’s the ingredient list:

PURE WATER (AQUA), HAMAMELIS VIRGINIANA (WITCH HAZEL), JASMINE (JASMINE) GRANDIFLORUM ABSOLUTE, JASMINUM OFFICINALE (JASMINE) EXTRACT, ROSA DAMASCENA (ROSE) OIL, CANANGA ODORATA (YLANG-YLANG) OIL, VANILLA PLANIFOLIA (VANILLA) CO2 TOTAL ESSENTIAL OIL, THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) OIL, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE (CARRIER FOR JASMINE EXTRACT) ), ARGENTUM METALLICUM (SILVER).

A lightbulb went off: witch hazel, of course! It does wonders for shrinking pores, fighting irritation, and calming the skin. I credit it with The Jasmine Garden’s most noticeable effect: that of super smooth, nearly poreless skin. And all the oils and extracts (jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, and cacao) were certainly accounting for the mist’s fragrance. It seemed making my own version wouldn’t be that hard.

Here’s my recipe:

2 oz rosewater (I use this brand; it’s available at Whole Foods too)
2 oz rose petal witch hazel (this brand)
.5 mL colloidal silver (I used this)
.25 mL jasmine oil (I got this one at Whole Foods, which has jojoba oil as the base)

Mix all ingredients in a disinfected, clean glass measuring cup. Using a funnel, pour into the spray dispenser of your choice. Shake before using, then mist all over your skin!

Why I used these ingredients

The Rosewater / I’d already been experimenting with using rosewater as an occasional face mist and perfume, because it just smells so damn good! Rosewater has the ability to calm inflamed, red skin, balance your skin’s pH levels, prevent acne, and maintain surface level hydration throughout the day. Think about how many luxury skincare products tout the inclusion of rosewater or rose petals — sure it smells great and seems fancy, but it has healing properties as well!

The Witch Hazel / As mentioned, this stuff really shrinks your pores down and for me, evens out skin texture wonderfully. I have a friend whose dermatologist has instructed her to use witch hazel as a toner for years. Her derm maintains it helps reduce the appearance large pores and prevents pimples. Looking around online, Thayer’s has great reviews because it does not use alcohol as a base, which other witch hazels do. I bought it with rose petal distillate included, to amp up the rose scent. This version also has aloe vera juice in it, which is another soothing, moisturizing ingredient for skin.

The Colloidal Silver / You’re probably like, “What is THAT?” This ingredient is the dupe for the Argentum Metallicum. Last year, I had no idea why silver would’ve been in the original spray, but after some research, I found that colloidal silver has antibacterial properties. When I used The Jasmine Garden, I noticed it was extremely rare to get a zit. I think the silver is what really helps — having a little bit atop the skin zaps any bacteria that you might come into contact with on accident (touching your face while at your desk; holding your phone to your cheek). I’ve been so pleasantly surprised with colloidal silver’s other uses, and it was absolutely worth adding to my recipe. You can buy it in a small amount here.

The Jasmine Oil / After all that rose scent, I had to add jasmine! I bought a small vial of jasmine essential oil from Whole Foods. A tiny dab will do ya. Doubles as a quick perfume on your wrists, too!

The Results

Okay, so the fragrance is not exactly like May Lindstrom’s The Jasmine Garden, because the cacao and vanilla really add the tropical vibe to hers. I’m okay without them! My mist isn’t as heavily scented, but the fragrance of rose and jasmine are unmistakeable. So I still get all the sensory benefits (read: the ahhhhhh) when spraying it on.

Because of the ingredients used, I find my mist is pretty moisturizing, and a little heavier than hers. It’s a little too heavy to wear as a toner, before serum and moisturizer, so instead I use it as a finishing spray. Once I’ve moisturized, I’ll spritz it on; I’ll also use it to set makeup. I think mine is heavier because the witch hazel I use has a little bit of glycerin in it, which is very moisturizing — more on that below. I’m guessing this winter, when it gets cooler and drier here, it’ll work fine as a pre-serum toner.

All in all, I’ve been so happy with my dupe, and really enjoyed using it over the last 6 weeks. I’m definitely going to keep making it!

Total cost to make 4 oz:

$4.87 for the eyedropper
$1.81 for the witch hazel
$2.25 for the rosewater
$.13 for the colloidal silver
$.25 for the jasmine oil
Total: $9.31

Uhhhh. Even if the fragrance and texture isn’t a perfect replica, that’s pretty damn good compared to $70. And the best part is, I’ve barely used up any of the individual ingredients, so I could make many, many more batches. The eyedropper is a sunk cost for the first batch, so if you remove that with future batches, the cost is even cheaper. Crazy, huh?

Try my recipe if…

+ Your skin is pretty balanced already, and not oily. I tend to have slightly combination skin, with my cheeks always drier and my forehead “normal,” though on occasion oily. I don’t tend to get cysts too often, but if I do, they’re usually on my chin (probably due to stress and hormones!).

+ You like a slight sheen or glow in your face mist. In other words, you will NOT look matte when you spray this on. I mean, you won’t look like an oil slick or anything either, but because of the ingredients, your skin will have that dewy effect.

If you have extremely oily skin, I’d shy away from this one! However, if you seem to have dry skin but also suffer from acne, it might be helpful for you. Sometimes people get acne because they’re drying out the skin TOO much in an effort to get rid of the cysts and inflammation. Using moisturizing products can actually help put the skin on the proper oil production cycle again.

I mentioned that there was some trial and error with my recipe. I’ll cop to it: the first batch broke me out. But I figured out why!

The first time I made it, I used a rosewater that also had a lot of glycerin in it. On my face, glycerin tends to feel very heavy and it makes me break out. Once I switched to a pure rosewater, I didn’t have any problems. The witch hazel I’m using has some glycerin in it, but not enough to break me out. In a perfect world, I’d find a rose witch hazel with no glycerin, though.

The other thing is I added too much oil the first time around. I had doubled the amount of jasmine (which uses jojoba as its carrier oil), and had also put in some squalane oil for extra moisture. Turns out, you really don’t need either. The fragrance is there even with less essential oil, and the other ingredients are so moisturizing that the squalane was not needed.

But all that being said, here are some ways you could customize my recipe to make it your own!

Want a dupe for MAC’s Prep+Prime Fix+ spray? Buy the rosewater with glycerin in it. Despite making me break out, it really does give an extra bit of glow to your skin and is also very moisturizing. Years ago, I was convinced to buy a bottle of MAC’s Fix+ spray to set makeup and give that ultimate, dewy look (this was in my pre-natural beauty days). It does that in spades…but it made me break out, too. I promise, it’s the glycerin in it that provides the dewy effect. So if you’re not sensitive to glycerin and like that look, this is your secret to making your own Fix+ spray at home.

Are you bad about touching your face or sleeping in makeup? For shame! However, I wonder if adding a little more of the colloidal silver will help. Its antibacterial properties really are amazing…beyond using it on skin, I’ve recently tried taking it orally to help kick an oncoming UTI (sorry, TMI?). But you know what? It worked. Either way, just know it is great for keeping bacteria at bay on your face.

Another option is to try just a drop or two of tea tree oil. I haven’t experimented with this personally, and I’d make a small batch and test it first to make sure that a) you can stand the smell and b) it doesn’t irritate your skin. Tea tree oil is wonderful stuff that can zap zits, get rid of dandruff, and remove excess oil from your skin, but it is STRONG.

Play around with the fragrance! I like the jasmine oil in my spray, as the fragrance of rose and jasmine together is intoxicating to me. If you like bright, citrusy things, grapefruit essential oil could be wonderful, or even something like mint in the summer to make it really invigorating. Or, make it soothing with lavender! Just a few drops of your favorite essential oil will do.

Treat sensitive, inflamed, or acne prone skin. Try using aloe vera juice in addition to or in place of the witch hazel. I haven’t tried this combo myself, but I use an “After Sun” spray from Herbivore, which uses aloe water as its main ingredient. It feels so wonderful on the skin! Anyone who’s ever gotten a sunburn knows that aloe is hydrating and very soothing. If you suffer from red, inflamed skin despite staying indoors, give it a try.

So there you have it! My first foray into making my own facial mist. Have you ever tried anything similar? If you could duplicate one beauty product in your arsenal on your own, what would it be? I wonder if making our own homemade versions of our faves is actually a lot easier than we realize!