I am not sure I can adequately describe how utterly incredible this silky smooth, soft intoxicating rose salve smells, but I will try. It’s rose-like, yes, but it’s more than that. Deep and sweet, but not cloying… more of a rich sweetness. There’s also something really complex and warm going on; something a bit bewitching that will have you going for whiffs of your hands whenever you can. I’ve been finding I’ll get distracted by it—I’ll catch a whiff of it while I’m working on something else, and the scent will completely pull me out of whatever I’m doing for a sort of “what is that… oh yeahhh…” kind of moment. It’s awesome, and you should make some.
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This lovely rose salve is a further experiment with cera bellina, a super cool modified beeswax that creates oil gels. I blended it with three light, fast-absorbing oils to create a soft, gel-like salve that leaves skin soft, but not greasy. The bulk of the salve is fractionated coconut oil, which is coconut oil that’s been modified to remove some of the fatty acids, creating an oil that’s liquid and even lighter than coconut oil. It doesn’t smell anything like coconuts (or anything, really), either, which is great in this salve as it really lets the rose and essential oils shine.
I added some dry-touch mango butter and lightweight pomegranate oil to round out the oil base; pomegranate oil is great for helping soothe skin and promote regeneration—all good things! If you don’t have pomegranate oil you could just use more fractionated coconut oil, or you could try another fancier type oil like argan or meadowfoam seed.
Hmm, looks like I need more rose wax!
The awesome rose scent in this salve comes from rose wax, which is easily my favourite way to add a delightful rose scent without dropping a small fortune on rose essential oil. Rose wax is a soft wax, with a consistency similar to shea butter, and it is crazy potent in the scent department—for those reasons, it makes an utterly rubbish alternative for other waxes (a substitution I’m often asked about), but it makes a great alternative to rose essential oil!
I rounded of the rose scent with some sweet, vanilla-like benzoin and some rich, intoxicating labdanum. When it comes to labdanum, there are no alternatives; it is the most unique, beguiling essential oil I’ve ever come across. Looking for an alternative to it is like looking for an alternative to the sensation of sunshine on your face on a summer day at the beach… nothing I’ve ever tried even compares! If you don’t have it, benzoin (vanilla) and rose is lovely on its own, and you can also brainstorm up some other scents you enjoy with rose. A sun-safe citrus scent (like litsea cubeba) would be a good choice.
The salve as it starts to thicken up.
I decided to try out a wee paperboard container from Saffire Blue for this project.
And last but not least—a touch of pink. This part is obviously totally optional as it’s pure aesthetics, but I quite like it. I used two drops of liquid carmine dye, but you could use a wee bit of powdered carmine or a pink mica instead. You’ll stir that in towards the end, and once the salve has thickened up, you’re done! Definitely give this one a go if you’re a rose lover—this Intoxicating Rose Salve definitely lives up to its name 😉
The paperboard container right after filling—I got a bit of salve on the outside of it, and as you can see it left a very noticeable oil stain.
The Saffire Blue paperboard container after a day or two. Booooo. It has since soaked through all the way to (and across) the bottom, and is now leeching through the lid. Not recommended, especially at the price!
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Intoxicating Rose Salve
5g | 0.17oz cera bellina (USA | Canada)
4g | 0.14oz mango butter (USA / Canada)
14g | 0.49oz fractionated coconut oil (USA / Canada)
5g | 0.17oz pomegranate oil
1g | 0.03oz rose wax
1 drop Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)2 drops liquid carmine dye or 1/64 tsp carmine or 1/32 tsp pink mica (optional)
1–2 “blobs“ benzoin essential oil
1–2 “blobs” labdanum essential oilPrepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the cera bellina, mango butter, fractionated coconut oil, pomegranate oil, rose wax, and vitamin E oil into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through (this will take 20–30 minutes).
Once everything has melted, remove the measuring cup from the heat and dry the outside of it off with a dish towel. Set the measuring cup on a towel or hot pad to insulate it from the counter and stir the mixture to combine everything.
Stir in the essential oils and pink colourant (carmine/mica). Remove the insulating towel and continue stirring the salve somewhat frequently as it cools—check out the video to see what I did. At the start you’ll be able to leave it for five minutes or so between stirs, but as it starts to noticeable thicken, stir it more frequently. This will give us that lovely thick, creamy, gel-like consistency we want.
Once the salve has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to a tin—something around 45mL/1.5 ounces would be a good choice. Enjoy!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this salve is 100% oil based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.
Can’t wait to try this but I don’t have labdanum. I can’t find it on Canadian online stores (soap/lotion makers. Can you tell me where you buy it Marie ? Amazon.ca ??? Thanks.
PS LOVE, LOVE your book DIY- Make It Up :o)
This isn’t the first time Marie has gushed about Labdanum and Rose Wax (though not necessarily together). I decide that this is the day to do something about it. A quick search on both ingredients at all of her preferred Canadian suppliers revealed that they aren’t as common as I thought they’d be.
Rose Wax: Saffire Blue ($10.92/20grams)
Labdanum: Abby Homeopathy & Herbal ($3.00/5mL)
Too bad I can’t get both from the same place. Sigh. i guess that means more ingredients for my crafting space. 🙂
Wonderful! Thank you so much, Esther. I will buy the Labdanum resin from Abby ~ it’s in my cart now. I have the rose wax from Saffire and it is incredible.
Thanks, Esther! I got my last batch of rose wax on Amazon.ca from Dr Adorable and it’s lovely—and the shipping is cheaper than from SB (even though it comes from the USA) and there’s no minimum order. So, perhaps consider that as well 🙂
Awesome! Good to know. I was hesitant to order that rose wax from Dr. Adorable as I was uncertain about the strength of the scent. I’m happy to hear it is lovely and will order it. Thanks so much. I’m just looking at Abby’s Rose Absolutes. Any recommendations for a rose absolute? I do have the one from ND and it is great but since I am placing an order with Abby I thought I would check. I love your new book.
I’m afraid I haven’t actually ordered from Abby yet, but I know a local perfumer here in AB who recommends them 🙂 Perhaps ask their customer service?
I found it on Abby—I used to get it from NDA but they stopped carrying it 🙁
I’ve found two more Canadian sources for Labdanum: The Apothecary in Inglewood: https://www.the-apothecary.ca/mobile/Cistus-Absolute-Labdanum-wildcrafted_p_656.html and
Botanic Planet: https://www.botanicplanet.ca/labdanum-absolute-oil-3836
Thank you! 😀
This sounds like a wonderful recipe! I really need to get some rose wax. It just sounds so lovely! I love it when a scent makes you stop and sniff your hand like that!
Doooooo it. You will want rose wax in everything 😀
Done! In my Amazon cart now! Along with a few other things..
Congrats on your new puppy, Lottie! They are a lot of work in the beginning (the chewing on stuff….grrrrr!!) but so worth it! Can’t wait to see more pictures!
Thank you! I gotta say… that “worth it” time can show up any day now lol. There are definitely worth it moments… but I would like a few months of it now, thank you! 😛
Hi — this looks amazing! I actually splurged and bought some rose absolute — is there a way to incorporate that into this? Most recipes I am finding only give a substitute for it — can I use it in this?
Thanks!
For sure! Replace the missing weight of the rose wax with more mango butter and then add rose absolute to “taste” (of your nose, that is). I suspect a drop or two will be more than enough 🙂
This is exactly what I did… but then felt that rose absolute was not enough and I couldn’t wait that long for labdanum to arrive…. So I added strawberry scent which I got for my daughter 🙂 oh well, the rose / strawberry salve is amazing. I thought you intended that for lips, but I guess not. It feels amazing on the face though! I think I will use it as a base for my successful knock-off of Darphin purifying balm 😉
Marie, this is a wonderful recipe, thank you very much!
YUM!!! 😀
I also live in Canada and am having a hard time finding Labdanum and would be interested to know where you buy yours from, Marie. I ordered it on Amazon in January but it has not yet arrived although it was to be delivered by Feb. 3rd so I’m not super confident I will receive it. Thanks for another great recipe, Marie. I can’t wait to try it. The rose wax is wonderful.
I was getting mine from New Directions, but they stopped carrying it 🙁 I haven’t needed to replace it yet, but Abby is the only place I’ve found it in Canada. Sadly it is much more expensive than it was from NDA 🙁 Booo.
Thanks Marie. I hadn’t heard of Abby so appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.
Good luck/I’m sorry haha. Their catalogue is amazing!
Edens Garden has cistus essential oil (cistus ladanifer). $15.95 for 5 ml. Looks like Abby is less expensive. Bulk Apothecary is also a good place to check for reasonably priced oils.
Another fabulous recipe, thank you Marie! Loving your book, thank you for all your time and effort! Congrats on Lottie, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without her! Wishing you long life and good health! Huzzah!
Thanks so much, Terry! Right about now I’m wondering how I’ll live WITH her lol… she’s being a bit of a crazy demon today!
Just watched your video of this. Actually I’m watching a boatload of your videos today, as I’m bedridden.
First, Marie what blush were you wearing in this video? It’s so pink and so pretty. Was it Elle Woods perhaps? And you have the prettiest cheekbones btw, not too pronounced and not invisible.
So you have me terribly curious about the scent of this salve. I’ve come to love labdanum since your love of it makes us all want to use it, so I bought it some time ago. Would make it today if I wasn’t bedridden. Waaaaa me.
Who am I kidding. I don’t have Cera Bellina yet, either. I’d have to make a regular salve. And I would if I wasn’t BEDRIDDEN.
Hmmm…. *goes back and re-watches video* Err. Definitely a cream blush. Might’ve been Elle Woods. Could’ve been a variation on deep coral I’ve been loving lately. Sorry I can’t be of more help! Thanks for the cheekbones props, though 😛 I’ve been told they make me look like a singer!
I hope the bedridden bit has passed!
Hi Marie,
Ok, you have convinced me into splurging on some rose wax and as it’s one of my favourite flowers,jasmine wax(I have just received a bottle of absolute I purchased last week) plus some orange wax, but I nearly cried when I saw the cost of shipping I can’t find cera bellina anywhere though,so yet another great sounding recipe I won’t be able to try out If I ever do find any,and wanted to swap the rose out for jasmine,what EO’s would you suggest please Marie?
Cera Bellina is available at Windy Point and Saffire Blue. Windy Point is a bit more expensive per gram, but has smaller packages with lower price points. : )And, their shipping is very reasonable with no minimum order -especially if you live in or around Calgary.
Thank you Esther, unfortunately I live in the UK and my search has come up with zilch so far Is there anything I can use instead until I find some?
I loooove aroma-zone.fr – I get pretty much everything from there. Very high quality products, quite enviromentally concious (I think..?), a LOT of organic / wild harvested / everything natural.. My absolute favorite place to drop waaaay too much of my money!
They carry cera bellina and rose wax (and pretty much everything else) but sadly not orange wax.. (Or 5 / 10 fold orange e.o. for my soaping 🙁 anyone know of a good/cheap source in Europe??)
I LOVE your blog Marie!! You are wonderful <3 Thank you for all that you do and for so kindly sharing your endavours. I going to make this right away..!
Thank you! 😀
Forgot to say- I’ve simply set my Google Chrome to automatically translate from french to english. And sometimes it ‘sounds’ like french people speaking english. LOL
Thank you Rosa, I have just had a look at Aroma zone, and they have what I need (no orange wax tho) So I will see what my funds are like after my expensive shop at Dr adorable and get an 9rder in. Yay! I will be able to make this and some other recipes Thanks again Rosa.
Gracefruit sells Cera Bellina in the UK. They have got really good products and delivery to UPS pick-up points is only £2.75!
Pauline, Mystic moments stock labdanum in the UK. Rose wax (rosenwachs)and cera bellina (sold under the brand ceralan) ae available at dragon spice in Germany.
Thank you Natasha,
I found the Labdanum EO ( I don’t know how I missed it, I buy quite a lot from Mystic Moments, their delivery is great) I will have a look at the German Spice site too. Thanks for your help
I’m really no lover of jasmine, so I would not take jasmine blending advice from me if I were you haha 😛
Oh ok lol thanks Marie I guess it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea I just thought you might have a couple of suggestions (other than ditching it lol) I will have to play around a little
I’m sure you can find some other people on the internet who like it and have some suggestions 🙂
but what do you use it for?
That’s exactly what I was wondering too!
I imagine that since it is an oil-based salve, it would be magnificent for locking in moisture after doing the dishes or having a bath.
It is! And then for smelling your hands all day afterwards 🙂
Put it on your skin? 😛 Think of it as a balm or body butter, they’re all fairly interchangeable!
With pomegranate oil and fco it is perfect for face. I applied it early evening on the train (having previously used it on the lips). It is perfect, silky, and goes into the skin quickly without leaving the oily residue! Love and now thinking if thinning out further with coco caprylate / caprate will make it soaked in any faster 🙂
Oooh, beautiful! I do know that the cera bellina will make pretty much anything heavier/greasier, so you might want to consider using less of it in the future if you are aiming for a lighter product 🙂
This looks & sounds wonderful! Can you tell me where you get your jars? I’d like to use them for a healing cream I make, as well as an muscle/joint cream that I’m about to market. Haven’t been able to find anything of that size & shape so far.
I really appreciate and enjoy your website. Thanks for all the work that you do to make it what it is!
This little one is from YellowBee here in Calgary 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie, had a snow day yesterday (2+ ft.) so used it to play. Made five Humblebee recipes! First I made this lovely Intoxicating Rose Salve – it’s so pretty and I love the consistency with the cera bellina wax and it smells divine; replenished the Soothing Oat Bath & Body Oil for my gym bag; made 2 more recipes from your book – the Snow White lip gloss & the Matte Anti-Shine setting powder; and topped it all off with Homemade White Tiger Balm to use after all the shoveling we did.
Thanks for sharing all these wonderful things with us!
Hey Kelly! That sounds like an awesome day 😀 Good luck with all that snow—we’re in the middle of a big melt right now, which is a rather messy relief haha.
Looking forward to make this, sounds devine
How do you store all your EO’s? I have close to 70 and am running out of ideas.
I’ve got a not-so-wee cupboard that holds them all—though there’s no real organization to it haha.
I just bought a small fridge because my household is dangerously overflowing with EOs and I don’t want them to oxidise too quickly. Every time Marie posts a recipe, I go EOs shopping 😉
Now, the smell inside that fridge is magical… EOs having a party 🙂
I have a mini fridge for all my carrier oils, butters and bee products, no room for EOs, LOL! Mine are in a couple of storage containers, a wooden box and other small storage boxes. I have small labels on the lids and try to alphabetize them to find them easier. Found a gorgeous wall mounted storage shelf but don’t have a wall to put it on near my DIY corner.
I’m so envious! I just have a small, dark cupboard.
Marie,
First of all thank you so much! I’m making this for sure. I noticed in the video that the vitamin E you used had a viscous quality? Or was I mistaken? I was curious about where you may have purchased it from. Thanks again,
Carmen
Hey Carmen! My vitamin E oil is very viscous—it’s from New Directions Aromatics 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to respond, I’ll check it out.
Carmen
Is this rose salve safe for the lips?
Safe, yes, but it tastes appalling 😛
Hi Marie
Not sure if you’ll know the answer to this one, but worth a shot!(God, that just auto corrected to S**t! whoops!)
I’m intrigued by the cera bellina and it’s gel like properties. Do you know of a food safe alternative? As I’m assuming it can’t be edible! I’ll get to the point in a minute! Ha ha
I’ve made a teething Tincture/Glycerite with camomile and whole cloves for my nephew . As it needs to be applied to his gums, to make using it a lot more practical i want to thicken it to make it more gel like. Possibly xantham gum??
Any ideas will be very much appreciated xx
Hmm. I’m afraid I don’t, funky food really isn’t my jam. Sorry! I am fairly certain you can purchase food grade xantham and guar gums, but both are water soluble and wouldn’t make an oil gel.
Xanthan, guar gum, and agar agar would all work with your tincture, but you would have to do some experimenting with the amounts so you don’t end up with jello 😉 The package directions of those products might give you some clue. HTH
Hi Marie,
Is Pomegranate Seed Oil the Same as Pomegranate Oil?
Thanks!
Yup!
One more comment (sorry I am totally obsessed with this homemade skincare now)… Labdanum… it is weird. It arrived after I already made 2 versions of this rose salve recipe (the second one halved cera bellina and I used castor and almond oils for lips. But that’s a bit too thin and wears off quickly. The original works better even for lips).
Anyway, going back to labdanum. I added this to a cleanser recipe as 20 d plus 20 d benzoin, and was not impressed… So I fixed it with another 20 d Norwegian spruce. And suddenly the pine got a solid, grounded fragrance. There is so much discovery in combining EOs… thanks for your experiments Marie!
I still huff labdanum straight from the bottle whenever I can—it sort of seems like a nice salt with the magic it can work with other scents. SWOON. Also, now I want to find some Norweigan spruce EO haha—is it noticeably different from other spruce EOs?
Not really, I just added what I had. Black spruce will work too 🙂
Mmmm, spruce
My rose wax arrived today and I’m pretty excited to make this! Woo!
Woohoo! Enjoy that rose wax, I can’t get enough of the stuff 😀
Hi Marie,
Can I add green tea matcha powder to the melted wax and butter, oils mix? Will there be solubility problems?
It won’t dissolve; whether or not you find that to be a deal breaker is up to you. If the powder is very fine you may not notice.
Geez, swoon is right when talking about this salve! Beautiful recipe, thanks Marie! Need some help with the labdanum tho. Of course it’s uber viscous.. I tried heating the EO in a water bath to try and get some oil out…but when it finally got into my concoction I had little brown blobs everywhere. I tried to smoosh them throughout the mixing period but still have some in the final product. Any help? If I try adding the labdanum at the very end of the heat cycle would we get into problems with flashpoint or wrecking the EO? Cheers!
Hmm—your labdanum might be diluted with something different than mine is, which could explain the difference. I’d refer to the documentation from your supplier and see what the listed flash point is 🙂
Hi Marie, what would be a good substitution for the cera bellina (beeswax? candellilla? how much?) and the pomegranate oil?
I’m afraid I do not have a great alternative for cera bellina; it’s quite unique in the end product it produces. You could try beeswax, but that will not offer the same gel finish.
Give this a read for more information on carrier oil substitutions 🙂
Hi Marie!
I have made this several times now with awesome results-I love it and all of my giftees do too. I have one friend who pretty much hates scented products- I usually decant her portions of recipes before adding the eo- but she loves this! Score!
However, the last two times I made it, I ended up with tiny crystals of something in the gel. They must be fat based since they melt out during the application of the salve but they detract from the luxurious feel of the earlier efforts. Any idea what’s happening?
Thanks for all the awesome work you do.
Hmm—I’d suspect that’s the mango butter going a bit grainy, though the cera bellina should be working to counter that, and mango isn’t particularly grain-prone. Have you tried bringing it to “trace” as I do in my more recent butter formulas? That should help.
And I am so glad you and your friends are loving this! I can’t get enough of this scent blend either 🙂
I was lucky I thought to get some floral waxes, I have rose, mimosa, tuberose violet, jasmine (sambac) and finally got them in bought some online thru ebay amazon etc, but I have to admit im a little disspointed because what I imagined vs what I got was different. The rose wax for example yes its chunks of wax with some orange/beige color to it smells not 100% rose. It is strong but not as strong as I imagined. I pick up a rose type of scent in the background light but there but strong I smell a tangy tart herbal smell if I can describe it my way. Some look dark online my rose isn’t. The other waxes get a bit more weird than my rose. Maybe its just me and expecting it to smell more like geranium bourbon which is my most favorite essential oil.
I’m sorry you aren’t happy with your purchase. It’s hard for me to comment beyond that, though. Natural products do and will vary in strength of scent, but if yours are very weak I would start to wonder if maybe they are old? It is also possible they aren’t genuine. The rose wax I have is unmistakeable once the jar has been opened, while my mimosa wax was pretty “meh”.