#5 : Rose.
Rose is the symbol of Woman in some religions and, among other, in litterature. Widely used in perfume creation, it is often accompanied with violet to give floral, feminine and delicate smells.
This flower can give differents facets, according to its origine.
Produced in France (more precisely in Grasse), rose is called “Rose de Mai” or “Rose Centifolia”. Honey and waxy, it distinguish itself from the fruity scent of the Turkish one. More fresh and smelling like the litchee, it is called “Rose Damascena”.
Both are extracted by volatile solvent extraction, thus giving a concrete in a first time, and after a second extraction, an absolute. In contrary, the essential oil is obtained by vapour extraction.
An ancient technique is the “enfleurage” (fresh flowers put on animal waxes) but it is not used anymore.
Composed by 300 different chemical compounds, rose is probably the most hard scent to replicate.
Perfumes, made in France or not, always contains rose in more or less high quantities, most in feminine creations sur as “soliflores” or “floral bouquets” (Joy of Jean Patou, Paris of Yves Saint Laurent …)
(c) Laure BOYER, April 24th, 2012.