Don't throw those floral bouquets just yet

Received a bouquet or two of roses over the weekend and don't know what to do with it? While preserving them takes patience, we also might end up with tons of dried flowers we've kept over the years, leaving us with no space to store them. According to feng shui expert Patrick Fernandez, it's also not advisable to keep dried and fake flowers at home.

So here's what I've been doing the past year or so, I've been "cooking" roses before they're about to wilt. The end product is what we call floral water or hydrosol.

For newbies, you might be wondering what to do with it. Well, it has many uses! Use it as a toner to balance your skin after cleansing, as a mixer to your facial moisturizer or body oil to aid the oil in skin absorption, hydrate your skin as facial mist all throughout the day, and even help set your makeup.

If you love the floral scent, you can even use the hydrosol straight to your diffuser or even use it as a room spray. The possibilities are endless. Some even use it for cooking, but that's another story.

How to make hydrosol
It's so easy. All you need is a bit pot and its cover, two small glass bowls, filtered water, and ice packs or ice.

For my latest DIY, I used this beautiful Fig & Vine bouquet of Ecuadorian roses and peonies. I also made floral water out of these imported peonies. But for this homemade process, I will show you how to do it with these beautiful humongous roses.

1. Place one of the small bowls (upside down) in the center of the pot.
2. Take the petals out from the roses. Make sure only the petals are plucked out.
3. Put all the petals in the pot.
4. Stir in filtered water in the pot, just enough for the petals to be submerged.
5. Put another bowl on top of the flipped bowl. Both of them should be in the center of the pot.
6. Place the cover upside down. This is where our makeshift condensation happens.
7. For it to be more effective, place some ice or ice packs on top of the flipped cover.
8. Boil over medium heat until there's no more water.
9. Leave to cool.
10. Transfer floral water/hydrosol into a bottled container, preferrably with spray.

There you have it—your very own floral water. Enjoy!