Lait de Roses by Guerlain c1910

Lait de Roses ("Milk of Roses") 

This 1880s-1910 period skincare product was contained inside of a clear pressed glass bottle, created by Pochet et du Courval. The bottle was fitted with a cork covered with a black wax seal and held skin care "milks" or lotions such as Lait Virginal, Lait de Roses or Lait de Concombres. Notice the baroque label shown below. The bottle was available in two sizes:

• Mould # 3755 held 5 ounces (approx. 153cc)
• Mould # 6002 held 3 ounces (approx. 91cc)

 

A recipe from an 1848 formulary book is as follows:

Lait de rose dit Anglais:

You take:

• 1 pound sweet almonds and
• 4 lot (grams) of bitter almonds,

put both in a linen cloth and shake it around to dry them; Then take them to a mill, or if you don't have a mill, crush them in a stone mortar. When they are half crushed, let them melt in a glazed earthenware crucible in the Marienbad or over a gentle fire:

• 2 Loth (grams) Walrath
• 2 loths (grams) of maiden wax

While both substances are in the process of melting, add:

• 2 lots of white soap cut into pieces.

After all three substances have properly melted together, leave a small portion of the ground almonds in the mortar, pour some of the melted mass over them and continue rubbing vigorously in order to completely combine the two. While rubbing, you then gradually add the remaining almonds and the remaining melted mass and continue rubbing until you see neither the almonds nor the spermaceti, but until everything has become completely one.

Then pour together into a bottle:

• 2 measures of well water
• 1/2 measure of strong rose water
• 1/2 measure of strong wine spirit or rose spirit.

Mix all three liquids well together, gradually pour the mixture into the almond paste while stirring continuously and keep only a small amount of it for a use that will soon be specified. The diluted almond milk is then poured through a piece of pure and fine linen, but only in small portions, and the ground scrap is put aside for a while. When the straining is complete, put the ground mixture back into the mortar, rub it again and then dilute it with the teaspoon of water that you had reserved. Here you also squeeze the liquid through the linen wall and pour the milk to the other one.

Once this has been done, put a piece of muslin in four folds, give it the shape of a dute and put it in a funnel; Then strain the milk again through this muslin and it is ready.

 

The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Handbook, 1872: