Meet the Chihuahuas – Petals

Hello Petals

My pretty Petals attracts a lot of attention because she really is a cutie pie.  This little pup, however, is not fond of strangers and often disappears when we have visitors.  The good news is that once she’s got used to you she’s full of admiration.  It’s well worth spending the time to win Petals over as she uses her big brown eyes to flirt and flatter her human friends.  It’s impossible not to be won over.

Shy Petals

Pretty Petals

Big brown eyes

Petals loves playing with toys and her favourite pastime is to pinch the other Chihuahua’s treats, but she easily gets distracted and walks away from her stash only to find it’s disappeared on her return.

Petals eating a toy

Lou Lou cuddling Petals

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in Behind the scenes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Bright Eyes

Eyebright Gel

Our fabulous Eyebright Gel is superb at relieving tired eyes and helps them look sparkly fresh.  Our gel is packed with euphrasia, a plant also called Eyebright as its benefits are legendary.  I keep my Eyebright in the fridge as the coolness of the gel aids puffiness and feels fantastic first thing in the morning to help you start the day feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed, but you can also just use it as part of your daily skincare routine.

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in Our products, Top tips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Meet The Chihuahuas – Jasmine

Jasmine loves climbing into handbags

I love animals and have my very own tribe of excitable Chihuahuas.  I’ve met so many people who’ve been thrilled to bump into them in the Haworth apothecary, so I thought I’d introduce you to them.

Jasmine in a make up bag

This is Jasmine who loves jumping into bags only a little more than she adores getting dressed up in gorgeous jumpers.  Her favourite food is digestive biscuits.  Never leave a cup of tea unguarded as you’ll only discover Jasmine’s finished it off for you.

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in Behind the scenes | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Saint Valentine’s Day

Here we are on 14th February and an annual event that divides the world into those who love or hate it.

Did you know that it was Chaucer who invented Valentine’s Day?  He wrote Parlement of Foules in 1382 for the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia and declared:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his mate
[For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate]

Whilst you would assume Chaucer was writing of Saint Valentine’s Day as a well known celebration of love, it simply didn’t exist.

Of course, Saint Valentine actually existed.  In fact, there are three Saints with the name Valentine, but none of them have any romantic links and they weren’t popular until Chaucer’s poem.  Chaucer invented a romantic custom for the purposes of enhancing his poem, and unwittingly handed us a holiday that we now use to declare love and reveal secret crushes.

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in History lessons | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Luscious Lips

Want to get a natural look?

Top tip from Rose & Co. HQ:

Spring is nearly upon us, no really, it is.  If you’re looking to lighten your make up after a winter of red lipstick, I have the answer.

It’s really easy to create your own tinted lip salve by taking a pea sized amount of Rose Petal Salve, Strawberry Crush or Cherry Kiss, loading a lip brush with your favourite lipstick, mixing the two together on your hand and applying to your lips.  You’ll benefit from all the moisturising qualities of the salve whilst looking wonderfully fresh faced with a natural look.

Strawberry Crush

Cherry Kiss

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in Our products, Top tips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spring Fair

Rose & Co. at the Spring Fair

We’re just back from the Spring Fair at Birimingham NEC, speaking to retailers and buyers from all over the country.  The selection of Rose & Co. goodies on display included Patisserie de Bain, Rose Water, Jasmine Green Tea, Rose & Patchouli, and Dr. Rose collections as well as our top selling balms and salves.  I hope all this hard work means our fans will be able to find their favourite Rose & Co. product in more shops across the UK.

Dr. Rose Collection

Jasmine Green Tea Collection

Rose Water Collection

Rose & Patchouli Collection

Patisserie de Bain

Balms & Salves

Cherry Kiss

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in Behind the scenes, News, Our products | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rose Petal Salve

Our celebrated Rose Petal Salve is Rose & Co.’s signature product and rumour has it that Kate Winslet and Paris Hilton both swear by it. Not only does it have the most delightful rose scent, but I created this preparation as an excellent all-rounder, so it can

  • Aid dry patches and rough skin
  • Act as a delicious lip balm
  • Tame eyebrows
  • Create a barrier against cold and windy weather
  • Condition and strengthen eye lashes

I designed an elegant tin for this must have beauty balm, so you’ll be happy to keep it on your dressing table or grab it from your bag and show it off when you need to use it.

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in Our products | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Original Rose & Co. Apothecary

Rose & Co. Apothecary was created in 1987 when my Mum and I bought the original druggist’s house and shop in the village of Haworth, Yorkshire. The desire to incorporate the history of the building combined with a love of all things vintage inspired us to restore it back to its Victorian splendour and a charming beauty apothecary was born.

Haworth is renowned the World over as the location where the Bronte sisters; Charlotte, Emily and Anne, wrote the majority of their novels which include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey whilst their brother, Branwell Bronte was infamous for his bad behaviour. The pharmacist in our shop at the time was Betty Hardacre, and it was she who dispensed laudanum, an opium derived drug to Branwell in the years leading up to his death in September 1848, aged 31.

After all these years our Haworth shop goes from strength to strength with visitors returning time and time again for the Rose & Co. experience: an apothecary warmly lit by glass globes, fragranced with exotic oils, and packed floor to ceiling with rich mahogany and glass display cases.

Old enamelled signs advertise products from a bygone age, huge grocery bins display aromatic bath mixtures and bowed glass counters house extensive collections of antique chemist bottles evoking a feeling of stepping back in time and entering a Victorian dispensary.


Look closer and discover that many of the old-world remedies and household products that have long since disappeared from our homes are still available here, with many of the ointments, mixtures, and embrocations manufactured to original formulations.


In March, our new Ladies Outfitters department will open, stocking beautiful vintage-styled dresses, vintage compacts and accessories to the discerning fashionista.

If you’ve never visited our original shop, I promise you it’s well worth the visit.  Haworth is a perfect destination to enjoy the beauty of an historic Victorian village and to discover the life stories of the talented Bronte sisters.

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in History lessons, Inspiration, Our products, Our shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mustard Bath

Rose & Co. Mustard Bath

It looks as though winter is finally descending, even if it’s only for a few days. But it means there’s no better time for me to tell you about the benefits of a mustard bath.  If you’ve only ever used mustard on your roast beef, you might be thinking I’ve gone round the bend; but believe me it’s an amazing, traditional English therapeutic remedy.

The ancient Greeks and Romans used mustard in a hot bath for muscular pain, colds, and fevers as it was thought to draw out toxins whilst warming the muscles, blood, and body.  It was used throughout England as standard medical practice for a great number of years.  If you’ve ever had a mustard bath you’ll know how much it can perk you up when you’re feeling lacklustre.

Mustard plant

We’ve made an improvement to the basic mustard bath by adding eucalyptus, pine, thyme and rosemary to really ease the troubles of anyone feeling cold, tired or need of a little comfort.  We sell packets and jars of the Rose & Co. Mustard Bath in the apothecary to athletes, gardeners, hard workers and shoppers.  Not to mention those (like me) who keep a packet safe in their bathroom cabinet just in case they catch a cold.

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in History lessons, Our products, Our shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Melt My Heart

Does the thought of Valentine’s Day fill you with excitement or dread?  Either way, I say treat yourself to a gift this year, and why not make it our limited edition Valentine Box filled with three signature rose bath melts? The box features our pretty vintage fawns in their red bows for Valentine’s Day and is pretty enough to store treasures and keepsakes in long after the melts have been enjoyed.

Whether you’re planning a relaxing evening in or a romantic night out, by yourself or with your sweetheart, add one of these melts to a warm bath first and luxuriate in the pure shea and cocoa butters and sweet almond oil to leave your skin soft, delicately scented and very kissable.  I’d say that was perfect, wouldn’t you?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Caroline | Posted in News, Our products | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment