CaFleureBon: Roses in Perfumery + The Name of The Rose Draw

 

 

Most people complain that roses have thorns, I am only grateful that thorns have roses.  Alphonse Karr

 

Classic, elegant, evocative, and richly floral – it’s nearly impossible to describe the scent of a rose fresh from the garden and just as difficult to capture that scent.  They are representative of love, of passion and of elegance. 

 

Roses are an ancient flower, perhaps as much as 35 million years old and including up to 150 species mostly from the northern hemisphere.  They have been cultivated for perhaps 5000 years, beginning in China,(Confucious  included roses in his writing in 500 BC) and have been used as expressions of love, for enjoyment, for medicinal purposes, for confetti, and for decoration. The world’s oldest rose that is growing today is said to be a dog rose in Hanover, Germany growing up the side of a cathedral and dating from the 9th century.  The largest rose is perhaps a Lady Banksia in Tombstone, Arizona that covers 8,000 square feet, produces hundreds of small white flowers, and came from Scotland in 1885.   The Musk Rose (Rosa moschata) is an early, single bloomed species that may have been an ancestor to many of our modern roses. The French or Apothecary rose (Rosa gallica) once bloomed wild through Europe and Asia and can still be found there.  The damask rose (Rosa damascena) is one of the earliest roses, descended from Rosa gallica with perhaps some musk rose and Apothecary rose in the background.  White roses (Rosa alba) were famous during the War of the Roses and descended from early mixture of the older dog, damask and gallica roses.  Rosa centifolia or Rose de Mai is the cabbage rose with many petals. 

Pierre-Joseph Redouté-China blush tea rose

The Chinese rose is Rosa chinensis and gave rise to the Tea rose, providing important new characteristic to the European roses – repeat blooming and hardy evergreen foliage.  Nearly all modern roses derive from these China roses.

 

The scent of roses may be the heart of a perfume created to exhibit its rich lushness but rose extracts are also used as a modifier for roundness or smoothness. Main rose species used in essential oil production include damask rose, Apothecary’s or French rose, Rose de mai, white rose, China, and Musk rose. In producing the essential oil or otto, much care is taken to maintain the fullness of the scent. Flowers are picked early in the morning from pre-dawn until about 10:30 am and flowers that are fresh and in full bloom are chosen.  The flowers are taken to the distillery every morning and are chilled, then distilled as soon as possible.  One kg rose oil is obtained from 3000 to 4000 kg of damask rose petals, which are the highest yielding flowers.  Solvent extraction obtains about 10 times as much fragrant material making the absolute or concrete, both products of solvent extraction, less expensive than the distilled otto or rose oil.  The word rose attar can mean two different things, either the essential oil of rose or the process of distilling roses into sandalwood.  Attar of rose has a gorgeous scent with the floral, honey and buttery richness of roses and sandalwood intimately combined.

 

In perfumery there are two popular and readily available, though quite expensive, types of roses used.  Rosa centifolia or Rose de Mai is usually found as an absolute (alcohol wash of a solvent-extract) with a rich sweet, true and deep rose scent and an odor that is described as tenacious.  There are very slight hints of spice and honey.  It is generally cultivated in Morocco, France and other European and Asian countries and is available in limited quantities as an essential oil.   Rosa damascena  is the familiar rose from Bulgaria and Turkey that is also used to produce the ‘otto’ or essential oil of rose. It is the primary rose used for production of essential oil, obtained from distillation. Turkey has been producing ‘Turkish Rose Oil’ for over 120 years. The otto is generally a pale yellow or light green liquid with a tendency to form crystals at lower temperatures.  It has a warm, very deep and very rich fragrance, slightly spicy and honeylike.  It is a true representation of a red rose. The absolute from this rose is described as warm, rich, spicy –floral and also possessing hints of honey and is usually orange or orange-red in color.  When diluted it can be quite diffusive and may exhibit its odor best at low dilutions.

 

 Après de si ternes absences, parfumez le vent de mes nuits.”

("After such longing, perfume the winds of my nights")

 

The concretes (solvent extract) of damascena and centifolia are similar to the absolutes but may be slightly more true to the rose scent.  Musk rose (Rosa moschata) has an earthy, musky rose scent and is difficult to find. The rare Taif roses grow in Saudi Arabia and are likely a variety of damask rose.  They are delicately pink and highly perfumed.  Both rose oil and rose water are made from these roses and the yield is much lower than other damask roses.

 

Rose oils and absolutes are often extended or adulterated with other rose-smelling essential oils and extracts including rose geranium, an herb and palmarosa which is a grass.  Geranium, especially the bourbon or rose variety, provides a lovely, rosy scent that is also slightly herbal.  Palmarosa or palma rosa is commonly used in less expensive applications including soap making or skin products. 

 

 I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.-Eleanor Roosevelt

Elise Pearlstine, Monthly Contributor

Michelyn Camen, Art Director
   
 
 Writer's Note: Scent descriptions are modified from Steffen Arctander’s Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin. 1994 from Allured Publishing
Corporation, Illinois, USA.

 For our Draw we have gathered these beautiful nine roses

75 ml Keiko Mecheri Attar de Roses – Taif roses,sharif roses, rose anciennes www.keikomecheri.com

 two 10ml of Mohur by Bertrand Duchaufor for Neela Vermeire- Morrocan Rose, Turkish rose oil (11%  rose accords) http://www.neelavermeire.com/

 

  3.5 ml Anya McCoy Anya’s Garden: Amberess is lush and rich with two types of Musk Rose (rare, from Zambia). It contains the otto and the absolute.  www.anyasgarden.com

 

 Liz Cook One Seed: Freedom 5ml. Rose notes include Bulgarian rose otto, Moroccan rose absolute, palmarosa http://www.oneseedcompany.com/

 1 oz edp of Goddess by Ambrosia Jones Perfume by  Nature: The particular rose Maroc "is a deep, sweet almost confectionary kinda rose note….dark orange and just sumptuous" http://www.perfumebynature.com.au/goddess.htm

 


15ml Jane Cate A Wing and a Prayer: Filoli Rose, named after the legendary gardens in Northern California.(rose absolue, rose geranium) http://www.etsy.com/shop/wingandprayerperfume

 30ml Rose & Vines'  Rose en Bos (pink rose and rose geranium) http://www.roseenbos.com/rose-vines

 2ml sample vial Luscious Roses Parfum by JoAnne Bassett: There are six different rose oils from four different countries. There are pink – cabbage roses, red – Bulgarian damask, and white – rare Bulgarian Alba roses. Rose otto is a very treasured oil and is one of the most expensive. (36% fragrance strength in an organic base of golden jojoba oil) www.joannebassett.com

To be eligible for this draw name a rose that appeals to you in your comment and something you learned about roses. The draw is random, but feel free to mention the draw prize you would like to win by February 15, 2012

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

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92 comments

  • Thank you so much for mentioning Filoli Rose Perfume, part of my California Scent line. I love working with Rose EOs and happy to read that other perfumers do too. Great article, as always!! Well done.

  • My favorite rose is one I got a start from at my MIL home that she had gotten from her grandmother’s garden. Sort of a wild rose but with the most beautiful aroma. I love Rose Otto and have collected some from different years of harvest. I love how it ages so beautiful…Great article Elise..

  • Holy cow, Eleanor Roosevelt’s ribald sense of humor! “I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”

    Love that woman.

    Rose & Vines sounds nice as I like my roses to lean green and floral more than spicy. So far my favorite rose perfume is L’Ombre Dans L’Eau.

  • wow.. So many roses. I like Bulgarian roses.. I do have a bottle of a scent that is pretty much entirely Bulgarian rose and I have to be very cautious when I wear it.. I have to be in the right mood so that I wear it.. and it doesn’t wear me. I think a concreta/concrete would be a wise choice for me to add rose to a fragrance that’s a bit to citrus to give it depth or to take a more masculine scent and change it up .. LOVE this article well done!!

  • I grow a single petal rose (one layer) called 4th of July. It thrives on neglect, adobe like soil and no regular water. It is striped red and white. I wished it had more scent, but it compensates with many hardy thorns. I recently bought Lady Vengeance Extreme, a rose scent and felt like it and my plant should switch names it due to the abundant thorns.

  • I cannot name just one, for I love too many. In my garden, some of my favorites include Souvenir de la Malmaison, Sharifa Asama, and Heritage. All smell and look beautiful. My favorite rose perfume is AG Rose Absolue.

    Beautiful photographs!

  • My favorite rose would be Rosa nutkana, the Nootka Rose, it has a sweet, cinnamon odor and is native to northern west coast, very lovely. From the article I learned that the Rosa moschata is one I would love to smell, earthy musky rose sounds exquisite.
    I would love to win any of the above mentioned perfumes, but if I had to choose one, I would pick 75 ml Keiko Mecheri Attar de Roses, I have a sample of it and its wonderful.

  • I enjoyed learning about the Otto of the Turkish rose…the mention of a spicy rose scent caught my eye…I never thought I was a rose fan til I smelled Joy with it’s mix of rose and jasmine!!

  • My favorite rose is Madame Hardy; my bushes came from my grandmother. Nothing smells as good as this white rose. Now I’m curious about Rosa Moschata.

  • I would absolutely love to win some Mohur by Bertrand Duchaufor for Neela Vermeire. I got a chance to smell this at Elements and it is amazing!i liked all three scents by Neela!

  • I really love the floribunda rose that grows wild where i live, in the springtime it is all you can smell for miles…..

  • Thanks for a great sum-up! It is good to have one’s own mind effectively refreshed with the facts. 🙂
    My favorite rose is ‘Parfum de l’Hay’, which is a rosa rugosa with an extraordinarily rich and exquisite smell. Bulgarian rose essential oil from Primavera (expensive!) is a heavenly experience!
    Amberess from Anya’s Garden has really caught my attention. It sounds ‘wow’!

  • I don’t have “favorite” anything, since it all depends on context, but a rose I really love is the blue rose that grows in my garden. I don’t know its name, since the tag is long gone. The scent is very distinctive, almost candy-like. Of the perfumes in the giveaway, I think I would like to try Ambrosia Jones’s Goddess. Orange rose with a confectionary note sounds wonderful.

  • Not a Botanist says:

    I don’t have one rose that is my favorite, but I would say that the colorful roses my mother occasionally picks up at the market and puts in a stout glass vase have left their delightful trail in my memory. I would love to try any ofthe scents from the draw, but I am most intereted in Keiko Mecheri Attar de Roses.

  • OMG…what a gorgeous draw…I love all sorts of Roses, Damask roses are an ancient class of roses dating from biblical time and they are renowned for their fine fragrance. So this would be definitely a fitting Rose 🙂 I am eyeballing the Goddess by Ambrosia Jones Perfume by Nature which would be my choice, but i would be happy with any of them. Such beautiful pictures in this draw too.

  • How appropriae for Valentines day:) Personlly, I enjoy black magic roses for the way they look.
    That was funny what Elenor Roosevelt said about having a roose named for her. But truthfully, in the Hershy Hotel Rose Garden the former Mrs. Hershey’s personal garden. There is a rose named for her and it only is exclusively grown for her. Thats about as romantic as it gets in my opinion. I mean, how can that be topped?
    If I were your thankful winner I would choose Attar de Roses by Keiko Mecheri. Thanks Cafleurebon and to all nine of the donors to this very sweet and rosey draw:))
    Happy Valentines day!

  • They all sound absolutely gorgeous. The fragrance that appeals to me the most I suppose is the Keiko Mecheri Attar de Roses; the Goddess would be another choice.

    Got a laugh from the Eleanor Roosevelt quote!

  • I think I would like Attar de Roses best. I like many rose-based scents, e.g. Mile et un Rose by Lancome, Rose Oud by M. Micallef, Fleurs de Bulgarie, etc. I have heard that rose petals can be eaten and they taste pretty well. Also rose water is widely used for backing sweets. I am planning to try it in the near future.

  • I didn’t know that modern tea roses were descendants of Chinese roses! The varied vegetation that comes out of China is amazing.

    I think I am most interested in the Joanne Bassett roses, but I’d be happy to try any of these.

  • I really loved the opening and closing quotes! Thanks for an informative article and a lovely draw.

    I learned about distilling roses into sandalwood, which sounds divine, and all of the history was new to me. It would be amazing to see a rose growng that dated from the 9th century!

    Don’t really have a favorite rose; generally I enjoy more fragrant and smaller, often very light or very dark. I like the roses in a rose garden down the street–there are many different kinds, and having read this I think some are cabbage roses, some damask or french, they come in a rainbow of colors with nuanced distinctions in their scents…I would love to see and smell the Musk rose.

    I would love any of these! The most immediately appealing are Anya McCoy’s Amberess, Goddess by Ambrosia Jones Perfume by Nature, and Mohur.

  • An interesting read and a very great giveaway. Many thanks for both! I appreaciate rose as being something that reminds me of my childhood for where I lived it was full of roses. Quite a pleasure to see all that cromatic combination of red, yellow, pink, white. If I were to win, I would like to get Attar de Roses.

  • It was so interesting to read about the evolution of roses… natural materials are part of ourselves, as we too are living creatures.
    My favourite rose is the hybrid Tea Rose, because my grandma used to grow them.

  • Thank you for the informative article and great giveaway. Loved the quotes and reading about the evolution of roses! Mohur would be my pick, given the chance…

  • Roses…daring, caressing, tempting, taming…all kind of roses – I love them!
    I don’t know Rosa moschata and Taif roses – they sound so exotic and promising that I cannot help myself…I’d love to try them somehow!
    Attar de Roses and Goddess seem to challenge the sense, but maybe I am most curious about Luscious Roses!
    Thanks for the draw!
    Perfect timing for the rose topic!

  • The rugosa roses are my favourite rose variety and this article has inspired a lot of curiosity to try out different rose oils to differentiate them. I adore having roses around the house..thank you for such an informative and comprehensive article.
    I would love to try any of these amazing creations
    yash

  • A lot of information on rose that I did not know before. Really valuable for me as I keep dear everything that helps me improving my culture.
    If I were to win, I would like to win Attar de Roses.
    Thanks!

  • You have wonderful perfumes in this give-away.

    I most love about roses when they are dark red with deep green leaves – they are at the same time beautiful, seductive and dangerous.
    I didn’t know about Eleanor R. rose but I love her statement. 🙂

  • Beautiful article! I am a passionate grower of roses and I am profoundly grateful when I meet people sharing the same passion
    Congratulations, I loved every word! Thank you!

  • What a lovely article. I adore roses (in life and in perfume) so this was an interesting read for me. The Eleanor Roosevelt statement was so funny. Thank you for the draw.

  • I learned a lot from this article, thanks! I didn’t know that most modern day roses have China as their origin. The different types of rose oils and their extraction processes were very interesting. My favorite rose is Rosa Mundi (Rosa gallica versicolor) which I saw in a traditional English garden. It’s striped and smells very spicy. Thanks for the article and giveaway!

  • Love love love rose! I really enjoyed the history of rose, learning where they may have originated from.

    My mother has planted a large area of roses around her new home, some are the most fragrant I’ve ever known, such a beautiful experience being there when all is in bloom.

    I’d love to smell the Musk Rose!

    I’m rather partial to natural perfumes – if I was lucky enough to be a winner, I’d love one of those!

    My thanks for this wonderful drawer.
    HollyJae

  • i love the eleanor roosevelt quote. what a brilliant woman. i would be thrilled to try the joanne basset fragrance, i love her work.

  • I always loved the scent of a deep ottoman rose, but that was until I smelled an unknown rose in my garden; it has an antique pink/lilac colour and the scent is of a lemony rose. I just want to bury my nose in its velvet petals.

    Sophia

  • I forgot to tell you about my preferences in case of winning… I love all rose fragrances, but it would interesting to smell the musk rose in a perfume, so Anya’s Amberess would be my choice. Thank you!

  • I have learnt that the rose that I love must be the Taif rose, because I like the soft, fresh or powdery side of the rose (like in rose water), but not the strong winey scent which some other rose scents develop.

    My favorite rose scents are Paul Smith La Rose and The Different Company Rose Poivrée.

  • Roses are something I love and appreciate; but I was never really a fan of (in perfumes), until I discovered some wonderful naturals, Rose 31 and Les Parfums Rosine *sighs*

    I personally love the light purple rose myself; but hybrids and roses cultivated for their color tend to have less aromatic properties. (My blue rose in my garden smells nice, but not like the red ones!). Of the ones listed in the article I find the Arabian rose (taif) and musk rose to sound the most exciting.

    I love how one flower can have so many varied types and cultivars and contain so many wonderful scent aspects and nuances. I was amazed to read that roses have been cultivated for 5,000 years and they are mentioned by the wise Confucius in his writings!

    So many lovely perfumes! Thanks for the chance to win one…Attar de Roses and Luscious Roses Parfum sound the most intriguing to me!

  • Rose is the deadliest of hunters. Rose waits for us all, stalking kings and queens at regal birth and spectacular dreams of deathbeds, Rose hovers, urging history’s truest lovers to swoon, for maidens to dance and to tempt all lovelorn gents to pace and to pass into shadows of regret, wistfully romancing the days of all time.

    Rose waxes feral, fey, oozing a single, glistening, jewelled bead of tempestuous, primordial sweat from deep within the rapacious heart of savage Rose.

    Companion upon misery’s most daunting road, we are welcomed and foresworn by such bouquets as Rose would grace. Rose shatters the airs with such heavy expectation, pouncing upon the hand, the nose, the eye, the lips of each unwary traveller, bending to honour the hunter upon the bush.

    Rose’s petal skin is so heavy and ponderous and so human that my hand, trapped, fondles the damp weight of such cool and cruel yearning, I am trapped in hungry suffering, caught in the spiral game that Rose has laid for me and won.

    I am captive, captured, caught.

    Rose is wan, drifting in such melancholic triumph, she plumply sags and wistful, I mourn her passing, never certain just how much of my soul, this heart, all wonder of the world is taken as she falls.

  • Wonderful history of roses…The artwork was magnificient…I love to look at beautiful roses;and these were a sight to behold!

  • What i’ve learned about roses is how diverse they are! So many different variations and I’ve yet to discover my favourites. I know I love rose scents but have also come across ones that I really haven’t cared for. I need to start learning the variations and which I prefer!

  • I had no idea the rose flowers have to be collected before 10.30 am and chilled after that.
    I don’t have a fav rose. I am mesmerizing by all of them.
    Just looking at the flower … So beautiful.

    I would like to try Goddess by Ambrosia Jones Perfume by Nature, Mohur or Anya McCoy’s Amberess.

  • I have yet to obtain the essence of Musk Rose to smell, so this one appeals to me the most. Something I learned about roses: how about Phenyl Ethyl alcohol. I had not heard of this, but then I noticed it was in a lot of rose-based perfumes. I searched around and finally obtained a sample of it. In dilution it does indeed have a strong rose-like odour. In fact I think it makes up a significant percentage of the rose GC analysis.

    I read that one way you can tell if a rose otto or rose absolute has been adulterated is to simply look at the percentage of phenyl ethyl alcohol in the GC analysis. Apparently the phenyl ethyl alcohol content of each harvest is published, so this number can be compared to your analysis. If your analysis shows a higher number than the official number for that harvest year, then most likely the product has been adulterated with some extra phenyl ethyl alcohol. Also called phenethyl alcohol.

  • I love the artwork with the rose descriptions. I love roses, but my favorite is a bush I grow in my backyard. Here in Texas we have a Heritage Rose shop which started by “rustling roses” off the sides of the highways. These were original roses before being bred for beauty so they are still very fragrant. The roses on my bush a tiny, thumb sized, and lose their petals with a big breath of wind, but boy do they smell good.

    All the perfumes look SO tempting, but I would especially love to win the Attar of Roses by Keiko Mercheri. thanks to all the perfumers for an amazing draw!

  • My favorite rose is the American Beauty rose of the early 1900s. The rose sold now under that name is not the original, according to HelpMeFind.com and according to the description too. Apparently the original fell out of favor and was used as root stock. I got a cutting of an old ABR from my mother-in-law. It was a lovely pinkish red and oh the fragrance! Diamond Jim Brady is said to have given Lillian Russell American Beauty roses by the roomful. Lucky Lillian!

    Thanks for the lovely rose perfume page 🙂

  • I love cabbage roses- so lush and over the top, and i was amazed to read that roses have been cultivated for thousands of years. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that humans have always been inexorably drawn to these blooms. And the smell must have been so much stronger and more beautiful before modern strains were introduced. Anyway, the Keiko Mecheri sounds like something I’d love.

  • I did not know that roses go back approximately 35 million years! I love all roses as flowers and notes in perfume-and even the rose scents of palmarosa and geranium. I would love a chance to win Attar de Roses as I have been interested in this line for a while now. Thanks for the opportunity!

  • I am thinking that I would love to try Amberess. I have just a small rose garden with a large variety as I have told my children that rose bushes would be a wonderful Mother’s Day gift. so for the last several years, I am at their mercy and choices. But it is also fun to see the ones they have chosen start to bloom. I very much enjoyed the Eleanor Roosevelt quote.

  • Cristina Chirtes says:

    My favorite roses are the First Lady rose (pink) and also Hybrid Tea roses are gorgeous and smell amazing. I have a rose garden in the park near my house and love to spend summer evenings taking walks there or just sitting on a bench, enjoy the fragrant air and the beautiful view.

    An interesting fact about roses is that they serve as inspiration for a type of window that’s made of 5 or 10 segments (or even more, multiples of 5).

    I would actually LOVE so much if I could win Attar de Roses by Keiko Mecheri! I’ve smelled it once and it was the most amazing rose perfume I’ve ever encountered. So gorgeous. But of course, I would be very happy to win any of the perfumes in this draw 🙂

    Thank you, CaFleureBon for this draw!

  • Attar de Roses by Keiko Mecheri sounds awesome since my favorite rose is taif rose, but Luscious Roses Parfum by JoAnne Bassett sounds very interesting, i’m curious about rose otto and jojoba…so any of these options would make me happy!!
    I didn’t knew they that have been cultivated for 5000 years in China

    …35 million years?? Wow

  • I’ve grown quite a few roses; moss roses, the apothecary rose, Zephirine Drouhin, rugosa roses, an English rose(Mary Rose), etc. My favorites are; for scent: suprisingly, the Peace rose, which is a hybrid tea(I usually don’t care for hybrid teas, I prefer English or heritage roses). My former mother-in-law grew one in a bed in front of her townhouse-the scent carried all the way into the living room! Rugosa roses are just as good, there are hedges of them planted along the beaches of Lake Michigan on the north side of Chicago, and they too scent the air. For color; Ebb Tide, a floribunda rose with an incredible, rich, true purple color-georgeous! And it’s no lightweight when it comes to scent either, it has a spicy, clove or carnation-like fragrance that matches its rich color. For sentimental reasons; Mary Rose, an English rose(My favorite kinds) that I bought and planted for my mother(her name is Maryanne) on Mothers Day. It blooms in flushes all summer far into fall with full blooms of pink. The fragrance is light and sweet. Sadly the only person besides myself that I know that loves the smell of roses is her, so If I win the drawing, the scent is going to her!
    I didn’t know that there was such a huge rose growing in Tombstone, of all places. I’m trying to imagine how large that actually is.

  • Michelle hunt says:

    I was inerested to learn that the musk rose may be a forebearer to our modern roses, I have been wanting to try this absolute or eo! I love the yellow roses that grew in my backyard as a child, they bloomed so generously in size, petals curling back, with an almost fruity rose aroma. I’m not sure what variety they were, but I loved them.

  • Is that Eleanor Roosevelt quote for real?! That is too funny.

    There are many rose scents that I love. Of the ones here, Attar de Roses, Mohur and Goddess sound especially compelling.

  • I also enjoyed Eleanor Rosevelts comment like so many others, it was a true sign of how an inteligent woman can turn any bad comment into a compliment by the use of humor. Trully inspiring. Roses are one of my most beloved perfumes, we have a couple of rose trees in our vacation home garden that make every spring the most amazing deep red roses with velvety petals that smell heavenly. I have used these petals in many ways and last year I made a drink out of them using Vodka and sugar and it was magnificent! Will surely repeat that again.

  • I love turkish rose. And this article has me on the hunt for musk rose. Why is it musky? Is it animalic? OH… I love roses and would love to try all of the perfumes mentioned but my choice would be any of the naturals.

  • I was happy to learn that the world’s oldest rose (alive today) is a dog rose in Hanover, Germany growing up the side of a cathedral, dating from the 9th century. And Wow! The largest rose is a Lady Banksia in Arizona covering 8,000 square feet, originating from Scotland in 1885. I personally would love to experience Ambroia’s Goddess…

  • I have no funny quips to share
    nor clever stories to tell
    I just give thanks to the Universe
    that we have Roses to smell…….

  • My wife loves roses! She says her favorites are yellow roses with red stripes or marks. Lots of her perfumes are rose-based, from Tommy Girl to Paris.

  • I am a guy and I love rose based fragrances I have and love Amouage Lyric Men, C&S Dark Rose, Lutens Su Majeste la Rose and Le Labo Rose 31 in my wardrobe oh and I have a decant of Creed Rose du the Fleur Bulgare whic I ole too. The most interesting fact that I learned is that 4000 kg is required to make just 1kg of oil, wow!! we are talking about a lot of roses there!!!
    Thanks for another informative and interesting article and the amazing draw.

  • I never knew there were so many rose varieties going back so many millions of years! One of my favorite rose fragrances is Amouage’s Homage Attar, which is just gorgeous. Although all of the perfumes in the draw sound delightful, I’m most curious to try Mohur. Thanks for the great draw!

  • Hey, d3m0lici0n, been meaning to email you! (Still loving my Oud Immortel!) I think we talked a bit about rosy scents — I probably mentioned Cabaret by Gres, but my new love is Ta’if by Ormonde Jayne. And I am absolutely floored that the largest rose plant is in TOMBSTONE, of all places! I’m still looking for my own perfect, quintessential rose scent.

  • Rosa alba always appeals to me … bringing in the light of the universe.

    ‘…no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.’ i had no idea this was the description! HA! perfection.

    rose. it’s everything, right?

  • Roses always remind me of the garden in the home I grew up in. Thanks for the draw! Neela Vermeire would be my choice.

  • taffynfontana says:

    I love all roses they are so fragrant and beautiful to see.It is incredible to think they have been around for 35 million years or more. My favorites are the Bourbon Roses for their heady scent and those lovely petals. I would love to sample Keiko Mercheri’s Attar De Roses. Thanks.

  • I can’t tell you how many road trips I have taken where we traveled by or through Tombstone. I wish I knew of the rose earlier! The article is fascinating but I have to admit that Ms. Roosevelt’s comment is priceless and what I will remember most.
    I would love to sample Mohur for Neela Vermeire. This sounds stunning.

  • Roses are among my favourite notes in a perfume. Really glad that I had the opportunity to find out so many things about them. I would like to win Attar de Roses. Thanks for the giveaway!

  • Musk Rose and Taif Rose are both fascinating to me. I have yet to smell them individually. I know Musk Rose in Ambress by Anya McCoy is lovely.

    I didn’t realize that the musk rose was a common parent for most of the modern roses we have, that is pretty cool!

    All the drawing perfumes sound spesctacular, it would be hard to pick one. I guess that makes it lucky that the drawing is random, what a relief!

    Thanks!
    Michael

  • To wake up in the morning, the sun is on the sky, the weather is warm and calm, and you to smell the fantastic perfume of a rose bush. Oh, well, that is something I would love to do. I really envy people that grew up at house having the opportunity to smell rose bushes haha.
    They all seem perfect, therefore I would be glad to win any of those listed in the giveaway.
    Thanks and goodluck to everyone.

  • I’ve always had roses in my garden. My favorite was a gift and don’t know the variety. It was Deep red, tinted with black near the edges and the petals felt like velvet. It had a deep rosy smell underlined by the typical scent of water and highlighted with fruity notes. Not very difussive but rewarding type of smell. During a storm a tree fell on the bush and destroyed it and can’t find this rose again. Since then I always have a strange inpression that red velvet must naturally smell like that rose. Every time I smell a cushion in my living room I am reminded it doesn’t…

    Anyway, the article is one of the best I have read lately on cafleurebon. Very interested in the Taif rose as of now on. Need to investigate more. Up until now I thought it was a marketing name. I also had no idea that lower concentrations of rose absolute produce better results. Always thought of the contrary…

    Thank you for the article and the opportunity to win. Although I am a male I wish I would win the Keiko Mecheri Attar because I know a certain someone who would love to have it. And I would love her to have it also…

  • What a great article! Really did not know about these rose genus; I have heard about them but I was not aware that they are so different and yet so similar. Thanks for the precious information.
    From the perfumes, I suppose that Attar de Roses is the most appealing to me.

  • This is very timely, as I’ve just become obsessed with finding the perfect sweet, jammy, somewhat powdery rose! I really enjoyed reading about the different rose scents. I would be happy to sniff any of these, but the one that sounds most like the rose I am searching for is Goddess by Ambrosia Jones Perfume by Nature.

  • What a great posting! The quotes, the pictures! A wonderful read with coffee on valentines day! I especially love the picture of the lady in the rose hoopskirt!!! That got saved to my personal eye candy collection.

    The rose has such a long and fascinating history!

    Was also grateful to know more about the difference between rose and rose absolute. I never knew it was 10 times as effective at getting out oil, thats crazy! But I guess is part of what we have to thank for rose otto making such lovely leftovers (hydrosols).

    I have never tried any of the fragrances you mentioned, as am just delving into the world of natural perfumery, but am so in love with rose any of them sound great.

    Ambress, Freedom and Lucious Roses are all ones I have lusted over the descriptions before this post though 😛 Goddess, Attar de Roses and Mohur sound amazing as well (and might have inspired new shops to have weekly lusting over- rose are great at inspiring lust 😛 more proof)

    Thank you so much for offering us all a chance to try out these delicious sounding roses!

  • I adore roses and rose fragrances and would love to win any of the perfumes in the draw.
    Here in the UK there is a wonderful garden in the Cotswolds called Kiftsgate, which is home to the Kiftsgate rose (Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’). This is an extremely vigorous rambler which climbs through a huge beech tree in the garden and is spectacualr when in flower in the summer. In my own garden my favourite rose is Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’, which is a pink rose with the most glorious fragrance.
    What did i learn about roses? Could a dog rose in Hanover truly be the world’s oldest rose? I should like to see that.

  • Anna in Edinburgh says:

    A rose draw? Thank you, and thanks especially for not obliging the entrant to specify which rose perfume they’d want:-)

    I learned, again, how much I miss having a garden and growing my own roses, and how much I wish I had found the name of the perfect mauve-coloured lemon-scented rose when I saw it and held it and breathed in that heavenly fragrance ….

  • rose is my favorite floral note in perfumes.
    i have many.
    but strangely, not a one of the ones mentioned —
    and i would be happy to try any of them 😉

  • Rhavda Emison says:

    Awesome article on the history of roses. I enjoyed reading this article very much. However, I was surprised that not more was mentioned about the Bulgarian rose otto which is so beautiful. This information will be wonderful to use in a perfumery class someday.

  • Wow! Learning about the history of roses in perfumery here has satisfied the history geek in me! I didn’t realize the oldest known, still growing roses are found on a cathedral in Germany. I will have to look this up and read more about this 😀 I have to say, the amazing and lovely art and photos selected for this post are breathtaking. One of my favorite roses isn’t known for its lusty scent, which is slightly muted: the lavender tea rose. I had them in my wedding bouquet. They are so sweet looking, lightly scented, and I have a special place in my heart for them.

  • hotlanta linda says:

    Three Cheers for Eleanor Roosevelt!!! 🙂 I knew roses were ancient, but not just HOW much so!! Never met a rose I don`t LOVE! 🙂 Keiko`s Attar and Jane Cate`s sound like the first scents here that I need to try, but all sound swoon-able! Goutal`s Rose Absolue is my `quality`fave rose scent, but I STILL love Perfumer`s Workshop Tea Rose after all these decades!

  • Who knew Eleanor Roosevelt was so witty? I have to wonder if she even wore fragrance? What would it be? I can’t imagine she’d wear anything too sexy, but , hey, ya nevah know. I’d love any of these fragrances. Great article and thanks for the draw.

  • I think Taif roses are the best of all – rare and smell like heaven. I would like to win Attar de Roses, thank you for this draw!

  • What a beautiful and informative article. I love roses and love learning about the many varieties. The worlds largest rose and oldest rose are fun facts.
    All of these perfumes sound amazing…how to chose??
    I think I’d like to try Ambrosias blend…I have a notion she can do wonders with rose and I am leaning towards a natural.
    Many thanks Elise and Michelyn!!

  • Impressive images along with impressive information on roses. I love the second image, the painting. I would like to win that Attar. Thanks.

  • I’m obsessed with rose extractions and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of them. It’s amazing to learn that the oldest known rose plant dates back to the 9th century! I may have to plan a trip to see it. I’d also love to see the largest rose. I have several varieties in my garden, but don’t have my favorite, Rosa damascena yet. Hopefully someday. I’m drawn to Joann Bassett’s Luscious Roses Parfum. A 36% concentration of so many roses sounds heavenly!
    Thanks for offering.
    Maggie

  • Thank you som much for including my perfume, Filoli Rose. The perfume is almost as lovely as the gardens it was named for, but who can beat mother nature for beauty!!!!
    Thanks again.

  • i’m very impressed with the oldest rose story. had no idea they can live that long! amazing.

    Attar de Roses captured my heart, both description and the bottle.

  • Roses are red
    Violets are blue
    Cafleurbon is amazing
    And you know that too. 😀

    Thanks for the great article. Very informative. Many thanks for the giveaway too. I would be glad winning Attar de Roses.