French Milk of Roses, 1865

FRENCH MILK OF ROSES 

To half a pint of rose water, add half a gill of rosemary water. Add tincture of storax and tincture of benzoin, each half an ounce. Also add a quarter of an ounce, or even half the quantity will do, of essence of roses. This wash will be found very useful in the case of freckles.  --The Handbook for Ladies' Maids (1865) 

French Milk of Roses. Less milky, but plenty of rose.

I attempted this one on a quarter scale: 2 oz rosewater, 1/2 oz rosemary water, 1 Tbsp tincture of benzoin, 3/4 tsp rose essence. I opted for the lesser amount of rose essence. The storax/styrax was omitted--there seem to be a number of similar resins from completely different plants that currently are sold under the name, and I couldn't determine which is most appropriate to the original recipe.

The milk of roses is slightly white and cloudy, but much less opaque and milky-looking than the similar recipes I've tried. It smells strongly of roses, though when applied I do smell the rosemary, too. I've not noticed any effects on the skin, but it leaves a subtle perfume.