In Bloom: Your Face

Aline, a friend and contributor, moved to NYC from Switzerland for a few months for an internship. Upon arrival, there were a few things she needed to pick up for her stay, and the two things she asked me to help her locate were Orange Blossom Water, to use as a toner, and Evian Mineral Water Spray, presumably because the city tap water is a little different than what she gets back home among the Alps.

Me in Aline's parent's yard. (Seriously? Seriously.)

Using orange blossom water as a toner was a new idea to me, and Aline’s skin is gorgeous, so I was eager to try it. I actually had a small bottle of orange blossom water sitting in my kitchen cabinet. My friend, Jen, bought it for me because she thought I might be able to do something interesting with it, and because the bottle was pretty. Putting it on my face qualified as something interesting.

At first, I applied some using a cotton pad, which was nice enough, but it got even better after I poured the liquid into a 3oz spray bottle. The spray felt very fresh and even more fragrant. Orange blossom water smells amazing.

I went to Sahadi’s (a middle-eastern grocery in Brooklyn) to try to find a bottle for Aline, but they didn’t have the small blue bottles, only larger, more grocery-looking bottles. I bought one anyway, because it was $3.

It worked out great for Aline, though she explained she uses it less than usual here because her skin is dryer in NY. From what she told me, and from my own research, orange blossom water is better for oily or combination skin, while rose water is better for dry or sensitive skin. (Alternately, according to some sites, rose water is good for all skin types.) Rose water is about the same price, and is sold right next to orange water in grocery and specialty stores.

Both rose water and orange blossom water have natural astringent properties, which are much more gentle than any of the alchol-based toners you normally see (and pay more for.) However, if you’d like some alcohol with your toner, you can try using orange blossom water in your cocktails. (It’s a thing!)

I’ve continued to use my orange flower spray off and on over the past few months. While it’s really nice, I didn’t see any lasting improvements to my skin. (Unsurprisingly, an item from the grocery store did not give me the skin of a 25 year old.) But orange flower water does work nicely as a gentle toner. I’d say it works just as well as the Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist I use occasionally. The main difference is the one from Jurlique cost $31.

Last week I wrote about three really great new lip products, much to the dismay of some reader’s budgets. This week I’m going to try to write about things that are free or cheap!