Ingredient Guide
Perfumes were not known at the time of the Trojan War, nor had they ever been used in rites honoring the gods. Yet “rose oil,” together with olive oil, was already known in those days.
Pliny, Natural History
Although roses are said to have more than 25,000 varieties, the roses used in perfume can be broadly divided into two types: damascena (Rosadamascena, Damask rose) and centifolia (Rosa centifolia, centifolia rose). While Damask roses are cultivated around the world, centifolia roses are grown mainly in Grasse, and their cultivation methods are kept secret. Incidentally, rose scent consists of 200–400 components, but not all have yet been discovered, and it is said that what makes a rose smell like a rose remains unknown.
According to Robertet, 98% of women’s perfumes and 46% of men’s perfumes on the market contain some form of rose scent, whether natural or synthetic.
Rose is a flower that always breathes a great deal of life into perfume.
Christine Nagel
Damask Rose
What rose is to perfume is what the nude is to painting, or love to song. It is an academic subject that may seem insignificant, yet it opens up infinite possibilities.
Frédéric Malle
Overview
Commercial products from the Damask rose include rose oil (rose otto, rose absolute), rose concrete, and rose water. It is no longer found in the wild.
It originated in the Middle East, and its name comes from Damascus in Syria.
During the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Syria were colonies, so people could travel between them and commercial exchanges took place. This is how roses were brought from Syria to Bulgaria.
The largest producing regions are Bulgaria and Turkey, and the names Bulgarian rose and Turkish rose generally refer to this Damask rose. The flowers are picked by hand from mid-May to mid-June and processed by two methods: steam distillation and solvent extraction.
Its first cultivation in Turkey dates back to 1894, and today 1.7 tonnes of rose oil and 5 tonnes of rose concrete are extracted each year. Since the yield is 0.02% for rose oil and 0.13% for the absolute, this implies that tens of thousands of tonnes of flowers are harvested annually.
Rose oil is priced at €10,000 per kg (approximately ¥1.2 million, with a yield of 0.02%), while rose absolute is priced at €2,100 per kg (approximately ¥250,000, with a yield of 0.13%). In other words, genuine Damask rose absolute costs ¥2,500 per 10 g, so a perfume that uses a great deal of it cannot possibly be inexpensive. Yet the market is full of perfumes cleverly promoted as rose perfumes even though they contain only around 0.01%.
Damask roses release their finest aromatic vapor between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m., which is why they are often picked in the morning. One picker is said to be able to harvest 5 kg of flowers per hour.
Steam Distillation
Steam-distilling roses produces rose oil, known as Direct Oil, and rose water. This rose water is distilled again to obtain rose oil known as Indirect Oil and rose water known as Second Water. The two oils and the two waters are each combined to produce higher-purity products. Essentially, the blend of Direct Oil and Indirect Oil is called rose essential oil.
Its scent is fresh, with green and spicy aspects as well.
A study reporting on rose-oil production in Turkey describes keeping the condenser at 35°C to prevent paraffins in the oil from solidifying. This is not the temperature at which the distillation still is heated. (Başer et al., 2003, p. 36)
Solvent Extraction
For delicate flowers such as roses, a solvent-based method of extracting essential oil is also used. The flowers are washed with a solvent, and the scented solvent is heated to 60°C to remove it. The rose essence obtained this way is called rose concrete. Its yield is about 0.25% (1 kg of concrete from 400 kg of flowers). At this stage, it has a waxy consistency.
The resulting concrete is mixed with alcohol and dissolved in it. This removes the waxes to obtain an absolute. The yield of absolute from concrete is about 60%. Its scent has more jam-like sweetness and is not especially fresh.
Alcohol extraction is used to obtain an absolute from concrete, but molecular distillation can be used instead. Molecular distillation can produce an absolute with the color or allergenic substances (methyl eugenol) removed. Its scent is closer to the concrete, with a floral and oily quality and less of a jam-like character.
Compared with the essence, the absolute does not assert itself very strongly in the top notes. Rose essence, on the other hand, begins to shine immediately, right from the very opening of a formula.
Isabelle Doyen
Centifolia Rose
The centifolia rose is also called the Provence rose, cabbage rose (because its many petals resemble a cabbage), or Rose de Mai. This variety was developed by Dutch breeders between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. One theory holds that it was named centifolia to mean made up of a hundred petals, but no definitive records survive.
It is grown mainly in Grasse and Morocco and has a sweet, lightly honey-like scent.
It is mainly processed by solvent extraction to obtain a concrete, from which an absolute can be produced. Only 1.3 kg can be extracted from 1,000 kg of flowers. Because the yield from steam distillation is too low, centifolia is used in that process only to obtain rose water.
In honor of Rosa centifolia, the city of Grasse has held a rose exhibition, ExpoRose, every spring since 1971.
As its name suggests, Rose de Mai flowers in May (mai), and the workers harvest it during this single month to earn their living. As the sun rises, aromatic components evaporate from the roses, reducing the amount of scent that can be extracted, so the work must be done from early morning until the sun has fully risen. Pickers harvest 6 kg per hour.
Differences in Scent
• Bulgarian rose concrete: velvety, spicy-floral, full-bodied, and honey-sweet.
• Bulgarian rose absolute: bright and juicy, with a freshness like morning dew. Sweet and earthy facets gradually emerge.
• Turkish rose concrete: a damp rose scent with the sumptuous warmth of geranium.
• Turkish rose absolute: a honeyed scent and a deep, warm rose character.
• Rose de Mai absolute: a floral scent with warmth, depth, and honey-like sweetness. Green and heavy.
Famous Words About Rose from Perfumers and Industry Figures
I love all flowers. But I think rose is the note best suited to perfume. It is feminine, smells so much of petals, and is wonderfully youthful.
Sophia Grojsman
β-Phenylethyl alcohol, which occurs naturally in rose, has been used to evoke the smell of rose, but it is now also a material used to evoke the smell of sake and cooked rice.
Jean-Claude Ellena
Love should smell like freedom, and for me that is rose. Rose is my favorite, a material I love using in perfume. Love is at the heart of everything I create, and I believe that when you create something, you should feel good yourself. That is why rose is always present in my work.
Delphine Jelk
For me, rose is the flower that symbolizes perfumery, an indispensable raw material often called the “sugar” of perfume in the industry.
For the perfume “1876” (by Histoires de Parfums), I found a very beautiful rose from Moldova. But natural raw materials are expensive products, and unfortunately the budget is not always sufficient to use the finest quality. That, however, is why there is such a wide variety of rose materials.
Sylvie Jourdet
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
Rose in perfume encompasses different materials, including natural essential oils and absolutes, as well as substitute bases built around a rose profile. Rosa damascena essential oil has a classical rose character with spicy, fruity, and green-leaf facets, while the absolute from the same species layers fresh petals with green, spicy, delicately fruity, and honeyed nuances. Rosessence 80 is a substitute base for rose oil with a fresh, light, peppery and spicy rose character. Their textures differ, but each creates floral dimension, principally in the heart, and enriches the fragrance as a whole.
Choosing a fragrance with rose
Rose has many expressions, from fresh flowers and leaves to sweet petals or woody, spicy fragrances. Start with the image of a rose that most appeals to you.
- A fresh bouquet: Green, leafy or citrus notes suit a preference for dewy, freshly cut flowers.
- Sweet, full petals: Fruit or amber adds soft sweetness and richness.
- Woods and spices: Cedar, cumin or incense creates a warmth quite different from a bouquet of roses.
Representative Perfumes
The classifications are based mainly on Rose (Nez Éditions, 2020), with additions in some cases. I recommend this book if you would like more detail.
I hope this helps you discover which types of rose scent you enjoy.
Vegetal Green Rose
Tea Rose (Perfumer’s Workshop, 1971), Pleasures (Estée Lauder, 1995), Red Roses (Jo Malone, 1996), Sa Majesté la Rose (Serge Lutens, 2000), Rosabotanica (Balenciaga, 2013)
Among these, Red Roses accompanies rose with violet leaf and lemon. It suggests a freshly cut bouquet with green leaves and bright citrus.
Blackcurrant-Leaf Green Rose
L’Ombre dans l’Eau (Diptyque, 1983), In Love Again (Yves Saint Laurent, 1998), Rose Ikebana (Hermès, 2004), Le Jour Se Lève (Louis Vuitton, 2018)
Woody Rose
Voleur de Roses (L’Artisan Parfumeur, 1993), Rose 31 (Le Labo, 2006), Florabotanica (Balenciaga, 2012)
Rose 31 layers Centifolia rose with cumin, olibanum, cedar and amber, adding guaiac wood, cistus and musk. In contrast to Red Roses’ freshness, it evokes a rose blooming amid warm spices and woods.
Aquatic Rose
Escape (Calvin Klein, 1991), L’Eau d’Issey (Issey Miyake, 1992)
Aldehydic Rose
Madame Rochas (Rochas, 1960), Calandre (Paco Rabanne, 1969), White Linen (Estée Lauder, 1978)
Amber Rose
Stella EDP (Stella McCartney, 2003), The Coveted Duchess Rose (Duchess Rose, Penhaligon’s, 2016)
Spicy Rose
La Rose Jacqueminot (Coty, 1904), Eternity (Calvin Klein, 1988), Opôné (Diptyque, 2000), Rose Poivrée (The Different Company, 2000), Miracle (Lancôme, 2000), La Fille de Berlin (Serge Lutens, 2013)
Violet Rose
Paris (Yves Saint Laurent, 1983), Trésor (Lancôme, 1990), Misia (Chanel, 2015)
Fruity Rose
Nahema (Guerlain, 1979), Ce Soir ou Jamais (Goutal, 1999), Parisienne (Yves Saint Laurent, 2009)
Chypre Rose
Aromatics Elixir (Clinique, 1971), Rose de Nuit (Serge Lutens, 1993), Une Rose (Frédéric Malle, 2003), Rose Barbare (Guerlain, 2005), Portrait of a Lady (Frédéric Malle, 2010)
Powdery Oriental Rose
Rose (Caron, 1949), Flower by Kenzo (Kenzo, 2000)
Powdery Iris Rose
Chloé EDP (Chloé, 2008), À la Rose (Maison Francis Kurkdjian, 2015), Rose des Vents (Louis Vuitton, 2016)
Middle Eastern Rose
Rose d’Arabie (Armani Privé, 2010), Velvet Rose & Oud (Jo Malone, 2012), Majestic Rose (Yves Saint Laurent, 2013), Oud & Rose (Cartier, 2014)
Recommendations from Perfume Lovers Who Love Rose Fragrances
Rose-fragrance lovers have shared their recommended rose perfumes! These firsthand opinions are very helpful. If you are looking for a rose scent, please take a look. And if there is a perfume you would love to recommend to someone unsure which rose fragrance to choose, you are always welcome to reply to this tweet.
[Looking for Your Help]
— A Place to Learn About Fragrance ★ Le Chercheur de Parfum (@per_fume_as) November 6, 2022
Let’s share our perfume recommendations.
What is your favorite rose perfume?
Perfume lovers of all experience levels are apparently ready to answer 👼
If you are struggling to choose a rose perfume, please see the replies 🥰
• Perfume name & brand
• Anything you would like to add (who you recommend it to, what it smells like, etc.)
• Images and any length of reply are welcome!
Find your next fragrance
In Fragrance Finder, choose “Favorite fragrances & notes” on the home screen, then look for notes you enjoy under “Favorite notes”. Select from the available suggestions and press “Next”.
