Bad Labs: Roses passed their prime?

I have several shrub roses that brighten up the landscape, but they never last long enough! I just could not let all those pretty petals go to waste, so I decided to make a nice rose-petal facial scrub.

I picked the petals that were about to go brown; you can tell that they are the right ones to pick, as they come away easily from the stem. You will want to get a nice bowlful, and then lay them out and pick out the foreign objects and allow the insects to escape (you will find small aphids and their friends living in the flowers; they are not part of this recipe as who wants critters in their scrub?), then wash the petals in cool water.

I like a scrub with brown sugar, milk, egg whites, honey, dried oranges and oats. You can use whatever you like, but be sure you do not use anything too harsh. When I have almond milk I often use that instead of regular milk, and have been known to add some fresh aloe juice if it is available. DO NOT add anything you are not sure about; you can give yourself one heck of a rash if you get a little too creative with the botanicals. Just because it is natural does not mean it is your skin's friend! Also , some fruits and berries can stain skin; you do not want to end up looking like Violet Beaureguarde, now do you?

I pop all the ingredients into the food processor and give them a whirl until they are as smooth. You should refrigerate your mix, as it can go bad and you do not want to put funky scrub on your skin!

Before you try the scrub, I ALWAYS recommend you put a little dollop on the inside of your forearm and leave it on for a few minutes to see if you react less than nicely to your scrub. Better a little welt on your arm than a face full of them! Use the scrub within a few days of making it.