With Valentine's Day in the air, what a great excuse to pamper yourself with roses.

If you're all loved up with someone special, wonderful! If you're flying solo, don't despair — here's a lovely Valentine's Day ritual that I'll be indulging in and thought you might like to as well.

Head to your local florist and treat yourself to a couple of bouquets of fresh roses. Place one bunch in a vase on your bedside table, coffee table or wherever else you'll be able to enjoy them.

Dim the lights of your bathroom, close the door and run a warm bath. One by one pick the petals of the other bunch of roses and place them in the bath. Slide in, lay back, relax for 15 to 30 minutes and enjoy the heavenly scent.

Yes, yes, it's a little indulgent, but don't you think you're worth it! Sometimes a little pampering is all that is required to help nurture the soul, and the scent of roses is the perfect choice.

The oil from rose petals (rose otto) is used in luxurious skincare products throughout the world and is regarded as one of the most precious and luxurious oils available. It takes approximately 4000kg of rose petals to produce 1kg of pure rose oil. Apart from the extensive labour component of picking the roses, along with the extraction method, the sheer number of flowers required should indicate just why this oil is so treasured, without even going in to the therapeutic qualities that this flower bears.

Rose otto is regarded as being a gentle aphrodisiac that helps to spiritualise sexual relationships and is reputed to help with refreshing a sad heart, and opening the doors to love and friendship. It is renowned as being the supreme oil of the heart chakra, which is the centre of love, whether that be love for one person or universal love.

Sounds like the perfect choice for a pampering session, don't you think?