Fans of Jane Austen (who spent the last years of her life in Hampshire, incidentally) may be interested to know that she and her sister Cassandra were devotees of lavender water, which was widely used for its scent and cleansing properties in the early 19th century. The author even mentions it in her novel Sense and Sensibility: [The child] was seated in her mother’s lap, covered with kisses, her wound bathed with lavender-water, by one of the Miss Steeles... and her mouth stuffed with sugar-plums by the other. A cookery book used by Jane includes a recipe for lavender water by mixing together one quart of the best rectified spirits of wine, 3/4 oz of essence of lavender and 1/2 scruple of ambergris. You can make your own by combining 500ml of distilled water with 16 drops of lavender essential oil and 2 tablespoons of witch hazel (or vodka, if you prefer!) - then shake well.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 09:30:01 +0000