After harvesting a large number of daisies and some medicinal herbs, Wei Wei began making essential oils as soon as she returned to the castle in the afternoon after the picnic.
Besides the distillation method, there is another very simple way to make essential oils—the infusion method.
The petals of the picked daisies were washed with clean water and left to dry in a ventilated area. Once dried, the petals were placed in a pot with just enough olive oil to cover them and simmered over low heat for more than six hours. After simmering, the mixture was filtered through gauze to remove the petals, leaving behind the essential oil.
The purity of essential oils made this way is naturally not as high as those made through distillation, but if a higher concentration is needed, the filtered oil can be reheated with fresh petals and simmered again. Repeating this process two or three times will yield a relatively high-purity essential oil.
Another simpler but longer method is to place the petals and warm olive oil in a glass jar, leave it in direct sunlight for a week, then move it to a cool, ventilated area to sit for another week. Finally, the petals are filtered out, leaving behind the essential oil.
It's important to note that neither method should involve mixing water with the flowers or oil, as this can cause the essential oil to spoil.
Wei Wei divided the harvested daisies into two parts. One part was used to make essential oil through simmering, while the other was placed in glass jars for sun exposure. The glass jars had been custom-made earlier with the help of Butler Barton. They came in both dark and clear varieties, and unlike modern glass jars, these were made with thick walls to prevent breakage. Although both dark and clear jars contained some impurities, they were still functional.
Since rubber was not yet available at this time, the glass jars couldn't be sealed with airtight lids. Instead, they used cork stoppers similar to those used for wine bottles. As a result, the jars were designed with a wide body and a narrow neck, resembling small wine bottles, especially the dark-colored ones.
The sun exposure method took much longer, requiring two weeks or more to see results. However, the simmering method yielded essential oil within six hours of adding the dried petals to the pot.
Wei Wei handled the initial steps of drying the petals and starting the simmering process herself, but the task of maintaining the fire for six hours was a bit too much for her.
So, Penny volunteered to help simmer the essential oil.
Compared to Qin, the ambitious and literate maid, Penny's abilities seemed somewhat mediocre. If Felix hadn't chosen her at the time, Butler Barton, who found Penny a bit reckless and talkative, would never have allowed her to become Wei Wei's maid.
Penny was somewhat aware of this, especially since Wei Wei, though not overtly, clearly favored Qin.
After Qin was nominated by Wei Wei to take on accounting work, Penny couldn't help but feel envious. However, she also knew she didn't have the skills for such a role and began to feel a sense of urgency.
She was worried that Wei Wei might replace her.
So, Penny decided to grow a little, striving to control her tongue and learn from Qin. Even if she wasn't as capable, she wanted to be a maid who actively helped her mistress.
Wei Wei wasn't aware of Penny's determination, but she gladly entrusted the simmering task to her.
It must be said that while Penny wasn't particularly clever and had a tendency to be a bit reckless and talkative, she was very meticulous in her work. When Wei Wei said to simmer for six hours, Penny stood by the stove the entire time, never leaving. Once the time was up, she immediately turned off the heat, let the mixture cool slightly, and carefully filtered it several times to remove all the petals. She then brought a jar containing about 500 milliliters of the finished oil to Wei Wei for inspection.
Wei Wei, who had been working in Felix's study, had also been keeping track of the time. Just as she was about to go check on the kitchen, Penny arrived.
The essential oil made from olive oil was naturally yellow. Since daisies have a very light fragrance, the resulting essential oil also had only a faint scent, but it was pleasant and elegant.
Wei Wei could tell at once that no other substances had been mixed in. Her innate medical instincts told her that this essential oil was safe and non-toxic.
Felix and Dolores also came over to take a look. "Is this the essential oil you were making?" It didn't look much different from regular olive oil.
"Yes," Wei Wei nodded, then opened the glass jar and held it under their noses, fanning the air with her hand. "What do you think of the scent?"
Felix, who wasn't particularly sensitive to fragrances and didn't care much for the scent of daisies, gave a lukewarm response. Dolores, however, said she loved the delicate aroma.
She even asked eagerly, "How do you use it? Do you just rub it on your skin like olive oil?"
"This one has a low concentration, so it can be used directly. But we need to make sure it's safe for the skin first," Wei Wei explained. She dipped her fingertip into the oil and applied a small amount to the inside of her palm. Since the oil had only been simmered once and was diluted with a large amount of olive oil, it didn't need further dilution and could be used directly. Applying it to her hand was to test for any allergic reactions.
Seeing the sparkle in Dolores's eyes, she also dabbed a bit on the young girl's wrist. "If you feel any discomfort, let me know right away."
Dolores smiled, lifting her wrist to sniff the scent. "It smells so nice, even better than bathing with flower petals."
Wei Wei chuckled. "I'll make you something even more fragrant in the future."
Daisies have a very light scent, and there are many flowers with stronger fragrances. Wei Wei knew that among the flowers Dolores liked, several were suitable for making essential oils.
The young girl was delighted and hugged Wei Wei. The longer they spent together, the closer their relationship became, and they often shared hugs and other affectionate gestures. Wei Wei had adapted well to this.
Felix suddenly spoke up. "Is it really that fragrant? Can I smell it too?"
Wei Wei nodded. "Of course."
She thought Felix meant to smell the oil in the jar, but instead, he took the hand she had applied the oil to, bent down, and brought it close to his nose, almost as if he were about to kiss it.
Wei Wei quickly pulled her hand back, hiding it behind her.
Felix, who hadn't been holding on tightly, showed a slightly regretful but mischievous smile. "It does smell nice."
Wei Wei glared at him. Ever since their conversation, he had become increasingly shameless.
Felix knew when to stop and retreated to continue his work. This kind of feminine topic wasn't suitable for him.
Afterward, Wei Wei also applied some oil to Penny and went next door to test it on Qin and the others who were working.
After about half an hour, when no one showed any signs of an allergic reaction, Wei Wei breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. The essential oil was ready for the next stage of testing.
Wei Wei divided the jar of essential oil into smaller bottles, each holding about 30 milliliters. Over the next few days, she added a few drops to her face wash and bath, occasionally mixing it into homemade face masks. After using it herself for a while and confirming that there were no adverse effects and that her skin felt slightly improved, she gave a bottle to Dolores. It wasn't that she was stingy, but the essential oil had a shelf life of only a few months, and giving too much would just lead to waste.
As for Qin and Penny, she asked them to use the essential oil daily for washing their faces and hands, under the guise of helping with her research.
Unlike Wei Wei and Dolores, who didn't engage in manual labor and whose hands were soft and fair, Qin and Penny had worked in the fields before coming to the castle. Years of labor had left their skin rough, dry, and darkened by the sun, with many freckles. Although working in the castle had allowed their skin to lighten slightly, they still didn't look as fair as Dolores, who had milky-white skin, or even Wei Wei, who was naturally fair.
After starting to use the essential oil, the effects became very noticeable on their previously uncared-for skin.
Their skin became smoother day by day, their pores visibly smaller, and their complexion noticeably brighter in a short time. The calluses on their hands from manual labor also began to soften, and the dry, tight feeling they used to have after washing their faces was almost gone.
This wasn't just their observation. Others who saw them recently couldn't help but ask what they had been using, as they seemed to have become more beautiful.
The desire for beauty is innate in women. Realizing that they had become more attractive, the two maids enthusiastically spread the word about the benefits of essential oil. Of course, Penny, who had learned to control her tongue to avoid losing her job, made sure to ask Wei Wei for permission before speaking about it. She also never mentioned how the oil was made, acting as if she hadn't been involved in the process, even though Wei Wei hadn't asked her to keep it a secret.
While waiting to confirm the effectiveness of the daisy essential oil, Wei Wei continued to research and make other essential oils.
The castle garden was home to a wide variety of flowers, reportedly because the previous Countess had loved flowers. She didn't favor just one type but enjoyed the beauty and fragrance of a百花齐放 (a hundred flowers blooming together). To please his beloved wife, the previous Earl, Felix's father, had sent people to collect flower seeds from various places, creating the current castle garden.
From April onward, many flowers suitable for essential oil production were in bloom. The garden was filled with flowers that could be used to make essential oils, and even many of the spices in the kitchen could be used for this purpose.
This was a boon for Wei Wei. Many of the flowers were not only beautiful but also served as ingredients for her herbal teas. Now, they were also being used to make essential oils.
However, unlike the daisies she had picked from the wild, Wei Wei was more sparing with the flowers in the garden. Each type of essential oil only yielded about 500 milliliters, with most of the content being olive oil. The amount of petals and plants needed was minimal.
For example, just five to ten petals from edible roses were enough to infuse 500 milliliters of low-concentration essential oil.
Of course, this rose essential oil couldn't compare to the most expensive rose essential oils of later times, but in this era when essential oils didn't exist, it was still quite impressive.
By the time the architect Pierre finally completed the design drawings and presented them to Wei Wei for review, she had already made essential oils from marigolds, chamomile, violets, roses, and rosemary using the sun exposure method. Each type had different effects and brought significant benefits to the maids in the castle, as Wei Wei had different maids test each of the first five essential oils she made.
Although she said that participation in the testing was voluntary, seeing the changes in Qin and the others, the maids were more than willing to take part. However, since the first batch of test products was limited in quantity—with Wei Wei keeping only about 30 milliliters each for herself and Dolores—there wasn't enough for all the maids to try. This led to some competition among them, and it was even rumored that some who didn't get along well had come to blows over it.
It's worth mentioning that Wei Wei also gave a bottle of chamomile essential oil to Butler Barton's wife, Nancy, specifically reminding her not to use too much, especially when caring for Caroline. Chamomile essential oil could improve sleep and have a calming effect, but Caroline's delicate health made Wei Wei hesitant to use such a "homemade" product on her. Instead, she had Nancy use it, hoping the subtle fragrance might help improve the child's sleep.
According to Nancy's later feedback, Caroline seemed to like the scent, and her frequent night time crying had lessened significantly.