Roses are red, definitely not blue, but where do they come from? We’re about to tell you!
Roses have been used in making fragrances for centuries, but they’re anything but old-fashioned. The flower is constantly being reinvented and contrasted with different notes to create new, unusual fragrances. It’s estimated that 50% of men’s fragrances (and 90% of women’s) contain some elements of rose, mixed with all types of other ingredients. Guys love flowers too!
We’re here to demystify the Queen of flowers, and give you the knowledge you never knew you needed on (probably) the most important ingredient in the world of fragrance.
Summary
Why are roses important?
Why the Queen of Flowers? Easy: because of their incredibly rich scent, roses have always been one of the most prized ingredients in fragrance. They represent love because Cupid spilled his glass of wine on one (according to legend). They’re also a symbol of freedom and success, and their beauty has seen them immortalized in art, poetry and film - as well as being the most requested tattoo design! Rose water has been used for centuries, originating in the Middle East, to brighten the complexion, to welcome people into your home, and (of course) in fragrance. It is thought that up to 90% of women’s fragrances and 50% of men’s contain an element of rose. La vie en rose, literally.
Which roses are used in perfumery?
There are hundreds of types of rose around the world, and new varieties are always being created and crossed. In terms of fragrance however, just 2 are usually used: rosa centifolia (May rose) and rosa damascena (Damascus rose). Damascus roses are a hybrid that’s derived from European, central Asian and northwestern Chinese species, making it hardy. It’s the most cultivated for perfume, because it reliably brings the best crops. It’s Damascus rose that you’ll find in Oud Rose. The best one, of course.
What does a rose smell like?
An age-old question. It’s been a thorny subject for poets, writers and thinkers since the dawn of time to try and describe the distinctive fragrance.
As flowers, Damascus roses have a classic scent, with a reputation for being plush, velvety and green. They have a high geraniol content, and are considered a great material for a perfumer to explore, offering lots of versatility in fragrance. May roses are grown in much, much smaller amounts, and the scent is fresher and brighter, with notes of honey and tea.
When it comes to the resulting oils, most agree on words like delicate and floral, but depending on the variety, how it’s distilled, its resulting concentration and what happens after, it can be anywhere between strong, green and artichoke-like and soft, gentle and very lightly floral. Finding a balance between extraction methods and strengths, as well as new methods that result in new scents, is a life’s work for perfumers. In short, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Thanks, Shakespeare!
Where do roses come from?
Yes, of course they come from seeds. But going a little further back, roses have been grown and distilled for the production of rosewater for centuries. The practice is thought to have originated in Persia, but spread across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and southern Europe. Today, roses of all varieties are also grown in China, Russia, north Africa and Eastern Europe too. When it comes to perfumery, damascus roses for fragrance were introduced to Turkey (or Ottoman Bulgaria back then) at the end of the 17th Century, and the country is now at the heart of rose cultivation. Top quality damascus roses are grown in the remote mountains of Turkey where wet winters and warm summers help them thrive.
How are roses grown and the scent extracted from the flowers?
Harvests of the pink and white rose petals happen in May-June every year, from 6am-10am - this is when roses are at their most fragrant. The roses are collected and transported for distillation ASAP. Flowers are only accepted between 8am-10am, never after noon! Here they usually undergo 1 of 2 methods of extraction.
For solvent extraction, 600kg of flowers are mixed with 2000 liters of solvent in a large drum that works in the same way as a washing machine. The solvent separates the scent from the petals. The petals are washed 3 times, and the sweet-smelling solvent liquid is heated and then vacuum-evaporated to separate the rose oils from the solvent itself.
The other process is steam distillation. For this, 500 kilos of flowers are heated with 1500 liters of water, and the resulting (delicious-smelling) steam is passed through a condenser, which separates the rose essential oils from the rose water. This process is repeated a few times to maximize the yield.
Finally, the different extracts are transported to perfumeries around the world, like ours in Grasse.
How is this transformed into a fragrance?
Rose extract is combined with other ingredients by a top perfumer. It takes years of training to become a perfumer (aka ‘nose’). Once you’ve honed your skills, you work to a brief provided by a brand or house, creating a unique blend of scents that fits the customer’s requirements. This is done using a perfume organ, which is a large, semi-circular table that has bottles of all the notes - including different versions of rose, of course.
Once the fragrance’s recipe has been discussed and agreed with the customer, it is then carefully mixed together by specialists, bottled and distributed all over the world!