Rose Essence - A right-from-scratch method to prepare your own

It's been a long, long break from the blog. Despite my fervent promises, I totally orphaned it for a few months, and got carried away with mundane chores. Since I also had a few writing projects and book reviews coming on, I think I have a legit reason for this delay.
So yes, I thought I should stay true to the reason behind the creation of the blog - lead a life closer to nature, resist buying any kinds of bottled products - edible or otherwise.
Now we all know rose water is an excellent toner, even more excellent flavour-enhancer to desserts. We had a festive occasion during fall, so kind of overindulged in roses. What was left was a mound of nice-smelling fresh roses and I didn't have the heart to dump them.
I checked with Dr.Google, and no surprises there, I came upon a lot of homemade rosewater methods. This one is kind of a mix of many methods, so I couldn't offer credit to each one of them. But this is to all those innovators who have tried rose essence extracting. I'm just a plain copycat.
Here it goes:

Pull out a large pan and add half-a-cup of water. Sprinkle rose petals all over it. (Do not hesitate to overcrowd it. The more the better.)

Place a stone or a slab or any raised platform that is flat enough to hold a vessel in the center.

And a tiny, little bowl that could hold the essence.

Flip the lid upside down and close it over (Reason: Upside down provides a nice smooth convex surface for the rose essence droplets to slide down right into the bowl.). Simmer it for 30 minutes. Check the water in the base after 15 minutes, add a quarter cup, if need be.

And bam! here is your purest form of essence that has a heady fragrance(that totally depends on the type of rose you use, like Incense Rose or Fragrant Plum.)
Just if you are wondering what to do with the left-over mushy roses and water, squeeze the petals and collect the pink water in a bottle. It is the best and most effective toner you could ever get. Take my word for it since my skin on face is soft bordering on loose and this, I really really think, has helped tone it to a great extent.
Like I said, the essence could be used for to enhance flavor in desserts or a toner as well. Don't worry if your rose petals didn't quit give you the fragrance. Nonetheless, it's a pro in toning job.
Happy Extracting!