RSSBulgarian Rose Oil
November 17, 2008
I do not have cancer. I now have to wait till tomorrow for the IUD to be placed. I’m secretly hoping that angelic intervention whispers to do nothing, and everything will go back to normal. But it won’t. It will all happen again within 6 months. This, I know.
Health and shopping update
Still taking 1 High-Dose Pill a day. And still bleeding by the way, but manageably. Considering the many responses and conversations I’ve had about all this, and how bored my GYN is with news of profuse bleeding for a month straight, I’ve realized this must be very commonplace among women approaching menopause.
Who knew? Does anyone remember their mother going through this?? I really do not. My mother did not discuss these matters in public or in private. Nowadays, we publish the news on our websites. People once worried so much about privacy. Now, there is a generation who barely knows what it is, or why anyone would care. They attach no value to it, to which facebook attests. This why they envy celebrities while I feel pity for them.
Photo byluis perez
My GYN has the meanest dragon of a secretary, unless you cry in which case, I’m told she turns nice. I so dislike women who become unpleasant when they feel the slightest frisson of authority. I have an aversion to that boring and unoriginal power play. I object to that eminence up there on the self-important high horse. Funny she’d have gotten away with it for this long. By the time women are at the GYN’s office, they are in no mood to be trifled with. Dragons are the least of our worries.
In the meantime, the bleeding and broccoli eating must continue. So must the internet shopping. I bought several products made of pure organic Rose Oil from Bulgaria this week. Oh, gosh, I may have lost my mind.
Happiness smells like roses
I have an emotional attachment to the scent of rose because PEI, where my heart and soul reside and always will, is covered with wild roses.
Rose fragrance can go from prissy to cool in a heartbeat. Variations include soapy (Bulgari Rose Essentielle perfume), prickly (Chloe’s latest scent, so I’ve read and am badly wanting to test), musky (Rush 2), unrecognizable (Chanel 5), and single note/slightly boring (Stella).
I had a massage with rose oil 3 years ago and have never forgotten it. The sense of comfort and well-being was unbelievable, and this was an RMT I had seen many times. I’ve asked for it with other RMT’s but was told that it’s a very expensive oil, and only aromatherapists would carry it. I felt I NEEDED it again now, for therapeutic reasons. I found it at Alteya, The Bulgarian Rose Oil Experts.
The fragrant oil of rose petals is said to have a psychological effect, reducing irritability and PMS symptoms, calming grief and anger, and easing tension and stress. So you now know why I’m using it. It is supposedly good for many skin problems too, especially for mature or sensitive skin.
What I bought
Back: Rose Water, Mid: Hand Butter, Rose Absolute Essential Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, Front:Lavender Lip Balm
1. Rose Water – This is made from the steam distillation of fresh rose blossoms. I cannot describe how amazing this smells. It is divine but very potent, to the point of being heady. You get a big jug (500 ml) to use as toner, as a scalp massage, or in the bath. You even get recipes of how to use it in food, such as to make Rose Water Syrup. I only use a tiny bit in the bath or mixed with another cream.
2. Rose Oil Hand and Foot Butter – a smaller jar, but very rich and dense. It looks like beeswax or paraffin, rather than cream or lotion. The smell of this product, like the essential oils themselves, is less of the traditional canned rose scent you think of. It smells greener, fresher, like wild roses rather than cultivated roses. A tiny amount goes a long way. It’s softening and a tiny bit greasy, but much less oily than olive or coconut oil applied directly to the skin. I mix it in my Paula’s Choice Hydrating Treatment Mask which is my Hand and Foot cream of choice. It’s like being at the spa every night.
3. Rose Absolute Oil – again, this does not smell like cultivated roses. The aroma is of wild roses, but greener (like the leaves), and earthier (like you can smell a little of the dirt). I put a little on my pillow. I’ve actually been trying it as perfume too and nobody has been standing further away than usual.
In the same way that roasted garlic provides a beautiful background to the raw garlic and other flavors in a Caesar salad, I’ve been wearing this oil along with Bulgari Rose Essentielle, a favorite day scent. It’s tremendous if I say so myself. The scents are similar enough to work well together but there’s a gorgeous depth that the Bulgari alone can’t provide. This discovery opens up a whole new world of mixing perfumes with complementary oils to create new and individual scents. Uh-oh.
4. Rose Otto - did I need both the Otto and the Absolute? No, but I was having a fit. Bulgarian Rose Otto is the highest quality Rose Essential Oil in the world. It comes in a wax-sealed little bottle with a certificate of purity.
Rose Otto and Rose Absolute are extracted from rose petals by different chemical processes. Because of the high heat used to produce Rose Otto, it smells less like fresh roses than the Absolute.
It takes 60,000 roses to produce 1 oz. of Rose Otto. Think of it.
5. Organic Lavender Lip Balm was included as a free gift! The Alteya group deal in lavender as well as rose. The balm is lovely. I don’t like flowery tastes as a rule, but this is fine and feels good.
6. Rosehip Seed Oil - that actually came from a different store that I’ll tell you about below. Turns out Rosehip Oil is very interesting.
Photo bymalfet
Rose hip tea is believed to aid digestion and boost immunity. Since rosehips have anti-inflammatory activity, people have used them in various forms for the pain of sore joints and in coping with allergies. The oil of the rosehips contains a form of retinoic acid and certain fatty acid substances. Is it the same form of retinoic acid as in Renova or Retinol? Does it need to be converted in some way, and does the body carry out that conversion? I don’t know, but the worst it can do is probably nothing. It’s been used particularly to help aging skin with age spots and wrinkles – it’s clear that I really couldn’t go another day without the stuff, and why have I waited so long?
I was beyond happy to see that the Paula’s Choice page on Natural Ingredients includes Rosehip Oil in its list of beneficial ingredients for skin.
While I was having this fit and certain that I couldn’t be complete without Rosehip Seed Oil. I found it here, at Mountain Rose Herbs. Look at this nice store. I like their Sustainability page. Here are the wiki page for Rosehip Seed Oil and the Mountain Rose info page.
This oil disappears into the skin very quickly, surprisingly quickly. You can almost see it being absorbed. I begin to understand the point of view of women who buy organic products that are safe enough to eat. It smells nothing like roses. To me, it smells like a mixture of olive oil and coffee. I’m using it as a serum, on face, arms, neck, and upper chest at night, before moisturizer. You could use it in the daytime too, but maybe not on your face because it has a golden tinge.
It would be worth buying without the drama.
Because it feels good
When you feel rough, it’s important to do what feels good. Stress destroys you quite literally by squeezing hard on your adrenal glands and flooding you with cortisol. Somehow, you have to separate the crap from the real peaceful steady you. Once it’s assimilated and has become part of you, it’s awfully hard to dislodge.
You could decide that, “This bad thing is happening right now, but I don’t need it for anything. I’ll keep it at a distance, deal with it when I need to, and ignore it the rest of the time. Eventually, I’ll look back at it”. My rose cocoon places a screen between myself and my issues.
If rose oil is soothing and reassuring, then it’s doing something. Ease and serenity bring peace of mind without calories, and an atmosphere where healing can take place. You can feel a harmonious vibration all around you. All matter is vibration of subatomic particles, including ourselves. All thought is vibration of the magnetic field produced when current flows down a wire, whether that wire be made of copper or nerve. What we need is to line up all these vibrations, or use them to our benefit.
As I sit here surrounded by the litter of 8 packages of Peanut M&M’s, I am obviously not completely on track. I’m not all adrift either : it’s got to be less fattening to eat 8 packages of chocolates in 1 day rather than 2 packages a day for a week.
Comments
8 Responses to “Bulgarian Rose Oil”
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A Greener Tea
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Please tell your doctor about his/her secretary. As the daughter, sister and sister-in-law of docs (one an ob/gyn) and the recipient of this kind of behaviour from my OB/GYN, I was advised by all three to TELL HER! Docs often don’t know how their patients are being treated by staff.
Best wishes with getting your symptoms under control.
This is such an interesting topic and so timely. We just had a Sephora store open in Tucson. There hasn’t been one before - it was so much fun - like a giant candy store for women!! I took home a sample of perfume that has had such a calming effect - I don’t know that I love the fragrance (It’s Fracas) but it makes me feel at ease. Now I’m going to search for it’s ingredients and see it there’s any rose in it!
Love your emails - they are always uplifting even when you are having problems. Menopause is a nasty time for some of us. It does get better, though!
I’m so glad you are going to be OK. Hopefully soon you won’t have to wear black pants all the time( for the bleeding if there is someone who doesn’t understand.) I figured out I have hypoglycemia a few years ago so I eat mostly very good with very little sugar or white flour or white rice. When I started the diet—I burned scented candles all the time—–but not the ones that smell like cookies!!! Now I buy flowers at the grocery store every week. My husband gets them for me a few times a year—this isn’t enough. Plus—I don’t spend money on cookies—this is instead. so your Rose perfume experience makes perfect sense to me.
OKay where have I been? How did the miss the blog that told of your dilemma? I have searched through the archives but have noticed lately when I am at work when I check “10 most recent” I go back to September. Engine trouble on my end perhaps but I am completely out of the loop either way.
Now I too ,a year or so ago, bled for an entire month, more like 6 weeks, fairly heavily (sometimes profuse sometimes not but always bleeding) and felt like I was dragging my uterus behind me. Like telling people to watch where they stepped as “Excuse me. You are standing on my uterus.” Saw the OBGYN who did the usual internal and scraping (whose secretary is grand, by the way and thank you jazuz, as I concur completely that she would possibly be not among the living if I had to deal with a dragon at that point). Results came back that I may have polyps …meh…. and that this was common …the bleeding….. for a woman of my age. I am just that much older than you so stop mirroring my life already girlie
Nothing abnormal to report other than my estrogen is at the level of a pre adolescent …now what is that all about?
Things slowed down with no hormone therapy or anything at all invasive other than me deciding that this was my stage and I would deal with it. My mom went through the same thing as did many women I work with and all of them were either told, or it was strongly suggested, that they have a hysterectomy. My mother did at the age of 50. Yikes that would be me soon. Thinking I will avoid surgery if at all possible.
It has been about every two weeks since then but …wait for it ..I actually went from September 9 until November 13th with no period. First time ever. It is heavy when it comes but only lasts about 4 days… a far cry from a year ago. I sleep on a towel as my mother suggested and keep things by my bedside in case of a flood. The clots are crazy but I eat lots of spinach and broccoli and run (thank god my knees are holding up). Life has continued and all is well…well as good as can be expected for a pre menopausal woman
So you are having an IUD in? Tell me which blog entry I have missed so I can get caught up please.
Hope this helps in some small way. You are not alone.
Janet,
I was going to tell him, I really was.
Actually, I was going to tell her first because I think people should always be given the chance to fix themselves before the topic brings in 3rd parties - but I had to drum up the courage, not because I’m timid in these situations but because I don’t want to be looking for another GYN, I really like this guy, and she controls all his time. Still, bitchiness is not acceptable.
I went in yesterday for the IUD and she was incredibly nice. Couldn’t have been kinder. The IUD itself was nothing but a great experience and a tremendous relief. I left there in such a good humor, instead of doubled over in pain as I expected, that I just couldn’t say anything bad.
As a general rule, in any job that involves human contact, it’s amazing how much snottiness people get away with. I don’t want to ruin my own day by making a comment but I often regret it after.
Julie,
Ease is exactly the word. It is very comforting and strengthening at the same time. More of an ” I will cope with this ” rather than “I’m having a hot bath and hiding till it’s over”.
The oil mixes incredibly well with other scents. It is costly but you can buy minute amounts and you use it so slowly. One drop in a whole bathtub is plenty.
Taji,
I AGREE! Fresh flowers are so uplifting. Even when they dye them bizarre colors, they’re fabulous. It’ s not just the scent. I find the feel of the petals almost hypnotic, like a kid who has a particular texture of bear or blanket they need to feel to fall asleep.
I had a little break from black pants but I’ll be stopping the pills in 2 days which will release a (hopefully controlled) period. If not, it’s back to Value Village, god love them.
Gina,
Hey, dude! Good to hear from you. I hope 10 Most Recent isn’t screwy; I’ll go look at it today.
Thanks so much for your message. I just know all of us live this dream in some form or other. The reason we think our mothers all sailed through it is that they never talked about it.
Interesting that they tested your hormone levels. It wasn’t mentioned to me. Your estrogen is probably low because your ovaries are making less and less and you have no body fat to make it. I’m kind of the same, but with more fat : )
In Ontario, hysterectomy is a last resort. I wrote 2 articles, let met think here, The Pill or Mirena was the first. Then was What Is A Mirena IUD. Let me know if you can’t find them. Type Mirena in the Search box and they should come up.
Listen. Think about this IUD. I had it in yesterday. Gina, what can I say here? Your experience may be different but honestly, taking a sip of tea that’s too hot hurts more. A flu shot hurts more and for longer. A bee sting hurts 50 times more for 50 times longer.
I feel embarrassed about the links to the horror stories in the What’s A Mirena IUD? post - not to minimize those womens’ experiences one bit, but I’m certain that 22 and 48 is different. I know how unreliable the internet often is for veterinary truths and I should have known the same is true for us.
That’s not to say the thing will work. I’ll do an article on how it went yesterday that I’ll put up today or tomorrow, and maybe how the next 6 mos go.
But even without the IUD option, have you tried Alesse, or another very low dose Pill? It might take 2-3 months, but things should regulate. I’m sure you don’t need to live as you are, though I’ve done it with the towel thing, the clots, the waking up in a puddle of blood, and it is temporary. Eventually, it’s got to freakin stop!
Or what about endometrial ablation? I put it in that first article as it was explained to me. Hmm, I’m thinking we haven’t talked in way too long…
YES! It has been way too long, since we spoke!
Been checking this site every few minutes to see what I missed now I am so frantic
Thanks for responding.
I am off to dance class (hey it was either that or a dessert theatre hmmm let’s see yeah dance class wins)
Will read through the blogs once I am back this evening with an adrenaline high as opposed to sugar. More to come.
Responded to the other article that I completely missed. The home computer allows me access readily to ‘10 most recent ‘ so I think it is my work comp that is screwy. I had been reading the blogs there when I had a break and must have missed that whole week. argh.
When I did try a low dose BCP it made me so nauseated that I could barely function but as I never had morinng sickness I am reaaaaly not good with that ugh feeling. And that was about ten years ago. Crazy how time flies.
speak soon
Gina,
So I missed that whole chapter of your life too.
Iron? Quinoa!! The white organic kind (as opposed to red) has BIG iron. I’m working my way through these recipes:
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/grains
Why didn’t they do a D&C to scape the polyps? Isn’t that what is done? How could the heaviness and irregularity be controlled till they’re gone?
It does rather sound like this Mirena thing might be a good thing for you. If you ever find out why they didn’t bring it up with you, please let me know. Perhaps there was a reason though I can’t think what it would be.
We’ll talk.