CaFleureBon Perfumer’s Workshop: Creating A Rose Accord + A Rose By Any Other Name

by Lim Zhi Wei rainbow roses

Flower Art Rainbow Rose  Lim Zhi Wei 

"That which God said to the rose, and caused it to laugh in full-blown beauty, He said to my heart, and made it a hundred times more beautiful"-Rumi

Flower Art by Lim Zhi Wei roses

Four Roses (for our Four Artisan Perfumers)  Lim Zhi Wei 

A rose is a rose is a rose … or is it?

With approximately 100 species and thousands of hybrids, roses are found worldwide growing wild, as tame hybrids in the garden, or semi-wild like those lovely roses you may find in an old churchyard up against the wall. For this month's Perfumers Workshop we invited four artisan perfumers, known for their signature rose accords, to share why a rose by any other name can smell quite different. Whether it’s the precious rose de Mai or the ever lovely damask rose, our perfumers use their skill and experience to create the perfect rose with all its nuances and notes

Laurie erickson sonoma scent studio

Laurie Erickson

Laurie Erickson of Sonoma Scent Studio

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Winter Rose from Laurie's Garden

“Roses are some of my favorite garden flowers. I love to grow old garden roses as well as David Austin roses, but I could never pick a favorite because I love whichever one is currently under my nose! I’m also drawn to rose notes in perfume, and I find that a soft rose note can often improve even scents that are not centered on rose.

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Climbing Roses from Laurie Erickson's Garden

When I work on a rose accord, I first decide what type of rose is needed for the perfume as a whole; the ingredients in the rose accord will depend on whether I need a dark, rich, spicy rose, or a bright, citrus rose, or an ambery, sweet rose, or some other variation on the theme. Roses in nature have an amazing variety to their scents, yet most are readily identifiable as roses because of ingredients they have in common. Some important aroma chemicals found in natural rose oil are phenyl ethyl alcohol, beta-damascenone, rose oxide, citronellol, geraniol, eugenol, methyl eugenol, and beta ionone.

rose absolue  biolandes

Sonoma Scent Studio Rose Absolute (Laurie)

When we extract rose oil either by steam distillation (yielding an essential oil) or by solvent extraction (yielding an absolute), we don’t obtain a product that smells exactly like a fresh rose. If we want to achieve a closer rendition of a fresh-picked rose, we need to add other aroma chemicals or isolates to the rose extracts.  Some roses have accessory notes like citrus, peach, or myrrh, so it helps to add these types of notes as needed. In addition to natural rose oils, natural isolates, and synthetic aroma chemicals, perfumers can also make use of commercially available rose accords, called rose bases, created by companies like Givaudan. Be sure to try different styles of rose before deciding whether you like rose scents; some classic types to sample include rose chypres, fresh/citrus roses, patchouli roses, oud roses, amber roses, and gourmand roses.

wing and prayer jade and verde jane cate cafleuebon

Jane Cate of A Wing and A Prayer

Jane Cate Wing and a Prayer

I love to blend rose essential oils.  By far, I find rose one of the most intriguing oils to blend with, it is simple and yet a very complex essential oil or absolute.  Sometimes  the poor rose is over looked considered too old fashion for the modern taste. That in itself is a challenge for me as a perfumer, to create a rose perfume that suits the modern taste. When I begin to think of a rose fragrance, I usually begin with a memory of a time, person or place that stirs my imagination. The way some people think in color, I think in fragrance! I use different types of rose essential oils and absolutes when creating a rose fragrance. I have used Rose Maroc Absolute, Turkish Rose Absolute, and of course Wild Rose in my rose perfumes.   Which rose or combination I use, really depends on what type of rose fragrance I was trying to capture.  Although, I will say that Rose Damacena is my favorite. I love the richness it brings to a blend.

bette midler the rose

Bette Midler The Rose inspired Jane to create Wild Roses

“Wild Rose Perfume was an old Bette Midler song, called “The Rose”.  “Haight and Ashbury Perfume”, is a blend of Rose Damascena,  Rose Maroc, Wild Rose and of course Patchouli.  “Wild Rose Perfume”, is a modern take on rose florals and is definitely not a Victorian Rose fragrance!  Now, I am working on a Tobacco Rose Perfume, which is still in progress, and looking for the right combination to create a smokey rose fragrance.  The working name is “Provocative” and inspiration is based on a torch song by Cole Porter called “Love for Sale”.  When selecting a rose perfume look at the notes.  The notes are important and how the rose is used in the blend.  Is it used as a top note or middle note, and also what are the base notes in the mix.  How the rose is used depends on what a person is looking for in a rose floral perfume. Rose Perfumes are as individual as the person who wears them.

maggie mahboubian of la lun

Maggie Mahboubian of LaLun Naturals

Maggie Mahboubian Lalun Naturals

Creating a rose accord using naturals is actually quite challenging. One would imagine rose otto itself would be a complete composition, but in fact, it ends up being a part of the equation. This has to do with the discrepancy between the way a rose smells (the headspace) and the extractions themselves. Depending on extraction type, different chemical constituents will emerge.

different rose oils

Maggie's Rose Attars,Rose Otto, Rose de Egypt, Bulgarian Rose, Turkish Rose 

A rose otto (steam distilled essential oil of rose petals) tends to be lighter and brighter while the absolute extraction carries over muskier tones. A CO2 extraction is more complete in its odor profile since no heat is involved. Add to that different varieties of rose along with their terroir and wide odor variation will emerge from what seems to be a simple flower.

musk rose monsoon rose oils

Musk Rose and Monsoon Rose  (Maggie)

As a perfumer, one has to decide the direction to take with an accord. For Qajar Rose  I chose to represent the rose as a member of its genus which includes fruits such as apples, pomegranates and strawberries.

Safavid Textile remnant (S. Mahboubian collection)

Safavid Textile remnant (S. Mahboubian collection) Rersian Rose

I was seeking an opulent interpretation of rose that would have facets of fruit, flower and tonal lacquer representing the Qajar style of art which glorified the rose as a symbol of divine love in Persian culture. In order to round out the floral rose notes I included a few isolates. They helped boost the chemical constituents that already existed in the extractions and added dimension to my Persian “painting”.

I’ve also created rose accords for my skincare, focusing on different facets of the flower for each product in my WINTER ROSE seasonal set. The organic rose hydrosol used in the toner is closest to the scent of the flower itself. I then paired rose with patchouli for the moisturizer and added a touch of cardamom to spice up the cleansing oil made with infused rose buds.

So many ways to interpret the scent of a rose and each one is unique!

elise pearlstine tambela perfumes

Elise Pearlstine of Tambela Perfumes  and Sr Contributor to CaFleureBon

Elise Pearlstine Tambela Perfumes

french rose wild rose

French Rose, Wild Rose, Rose from Elise's Mom's Garden

Antique rose aficionados and perfumers both distinguish notes of lemon, spice, fruit, myrrh, green, and musk in the fragrance of a rose. Adding to the complexity are the variety of extractions from distilled ottos to solvent-extracted concretes and absolutes to fragrant hydrosols. Adding to the complexity is terroir which, like wine, includes terrain, weather, water, soil, and the skill of the distiller or extractor. Each year and each producer can give us a rose product that is subtly and beautifully different.

rose of cimmaron 2

You always remember your first, and mine was Rose of Cimarron. My vision was rose perfume worn with dusty skirts layered over a hint of musk and sweet tobacco. The rose and wild rose heart had a hint of pandanus which I layered on top of sandalwood, patchouli, ambrette musk, and tobacco absolute to complete the outlaw fragrance for The Natural Perfumer’s Internet project in 2011.

darkmoonrose art Jas

Original Art for Dark Moon Rose  created by Jasia Julia Nielson  

I especially love rose with amber. In working on Dark Moon Rose I created an amber base made rich and sweet with aged labdanum, spicy vanilla absolute, and sweet benzoin, and added a touch of chocolate because….who doesn’t love chocolate with roses? Green stems and leaves always come to mind when working with roses so I love to add a bit of green aromatic in the form of tarragon or galbanum.

IMG_3682roseottocrystals500px

Rose Otto Crystals (Elise)

The first step in blending a rose fragrance is the very enjoyable part of sniffing rose aromatics and selecting just the right type and extraction. I may blend 2 or 3 to get just the rose I am looking for and I especially love rose concrètes for their rounding effect. For a base there are many notes that are lovely with a rose heart whether it is the lemony aspect of frankincense, a musky base, or the beauty of a sandalwood/rose partnership. Like the opening of a rose, bright spicy or citrusy top notes enhance the scent. Cardamom and clove for spicy tones or lemon and bergamot for sparkling citrus notes make your rose a rose. Your rose, not anyone else’s.

-Elise Pearlstine, Sr Contributor and Perfumer for Tambela

For our Draw: There are 4 winners

parfums lalun quajar roselalun  winter rose skincare travel set

ALL NATURAL Worldwide: Reader’s Choice of 5ml of Qajar Rose  or The travel size set of Winter Rose Seasonal Skincare which contains all natural moisturizer, cleanser and toner

darkmoonrose750 tambela 

ALL NATURAL WORLDWIDE: Elise Pearlstine offers a 3 ounce mini-sprayer of both her rose fragrances, Rose of Cimarron (not pictured) and Dark Moon Rose.

sonomascents profilesinamerican perfumerycafleurebon

USA ONLY Sonoma Scent Studio: One 5 ml travel spray of the winner's choice Velvet Rose, Rose Volupte, Rose Musc, or Nostalgie. If you would prefer a sampler of all four please leave that in your comment

HAIGHT AND ASHBURY ROSEJCPerfume

 ALL NATURAL USA ONLY: A Wing & A Prayer: choose from ¼ oz of  Haight and Ashbury Perfume or Wild Rose.

To be eligible you must be a registered reader.  Please leave a comment with what you learned about building a rose accord, as many choices as you would like and are eligible to win and where you live. Draw closes January 30, 2015

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

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26 comments

  • MikasMinion says:

    I knew it had to be complicated, working with rose, because of the huge range of scents that are possible. Looks like it’s even more complex than I thought. I tend to go back and forth between thinking I don’t like rose perfumes and that I adore them, depending on the style I happen to be sampling.
    I already have a selection of Laurie’s beautiful roses, so I would be interested in trying Wild Rose or the Tambela roses. I’m in the US. Thanks!

  • I’m a rose fanatic, both the flower and as a note in perfumery. I learned from this article why my tinctures have been so disappointing! I also learned a lot more from all the perfumer’ contributions and found Maggie’s info very interesting. Thanks for a rose lover’s post and giveaway! I’d be delighted to win the Rose Qatar, the Sonoma Scent Studio sampler, and my first choice would be Elise Pearlstine’s Rose Cimarron Dark Moon Rose (’cause my other fave note is indeed Amber)! In the US.

  • Rose is one of my favourite notes, and I enjoyed reading the contributions by a couple of perfumers I’d love to try, particularly Maggie Mahboubian. I knew producing a rose perfume was more complex than just distilling the scent from a rose, but I hadn’t realised quite how complex.

    I’d love to win Qajar Rose or Elise Pearlstine’s perfumes, all of which sound lovely. I live in the UK.
    Thanks for the interesting article and generous draw.

  • Susan Lowry says:

    Thank you for this! I love rose but working with the various roses can be challenging. I’m a beginning natural perfumer, just 3 years so far. My first rose accord was made as an exercise using a formula shared by my teacher. It has some interesting ingredients. At first I didn’t get it, but after aging I was blown away at how smooth and rosy it turned out to be. I continue to work with various roses, hoping that I’ll eventually create something that is perfection. I would love to try Qajar Rose, and Haight and Ashbury Perfume intrigues me. I’m in the US.

  • Gosh, Rose accords are so dependent on many things – the type of rose, the process, the notes and the memories and olfactory experiences of the perfume maker. It seems to also be very dependent on the other constituents added to the mix – so many processes but with wonderous results, If i win i would like Qajar Rose and Elise Pearlstine’s scents.
    Thanks for the draw – in the UK.

  • I go to the rose garden in Portland OR, which is awesome. I have a new appreciation after reading this article. I didn’t realize roses could be so complex. The photos are gorgeous. Thank goodness we don’t have to wait for spring to enjoy a rose! I would love to win Elsie Pearlstine’s, Velvet Rose, Rose Volutes or the skincare. I recently tried Lush’s new rose fresh fade mask and it is awesome. I live in the U.S. Thanks.

  • I had assumed that the rose essential oil or the rose absolute smelled like the rose it came from. I was very surprised to find that this was not the case. I love roses in real life and in perfumes and am always looking wonderful rose fragrances.

    I would love to try Elise Pearlstine’s two rose perfumes and/or
    Qajar Rose. Live in the US.

  • fazalcheema says:

    As the article also confirms, I knew there are many varieties of roses and also many hybrids. Looking at the picture of that rainbow colored rose really made me wish someone creates a hybrid rose which exactly looks like the Rainbow Rose (or has someone already done that? ) I have learned the rose oil obtained through distillation doesn’t really smell like rose and aroma chemicals have to be added to achieve the desirable smell. In addition, there can be many different types available when creating a perfume such as a dark rose, spicy rose, citrus rose etc. this may explain why some people are late convert to rose notes in perfumes because they are always expecting that typical rose smell until they smell a rose note which is totally different yet seducing.

    My choices for this draw will be:

    Qajar Rose
    Elise Pearlstine Rose Samples
    Sonoma Scent Studio Rose Musc or Velvet Rose
    A Wing & A Prayer Wild Rose

    I am in the US

  • Excellent article! It’s interesting to learn about the rose co2 extract. Rose is one of my absolute favorite aromas.

    I would be delighted to win any of the natural rose perfumes and I live in the US. My choices are:

    Qajar Rose
    Dark Moon Rose
    A Wing and a Prayer

    Thank you!

  • A great reminder that no matter which rose you choose, the natural materials vary with nature, a merry ride indeed. These all sound nifty. I’m particularly interested in the Sonoma sample set. Thanks for the draw (US).

  • I love roses! I also learned so much from this article.

    From Laurie: I learned that when rose oil is extracted, it doesn’t smell exactly like a fresh rose! I never knew this. This makes the art of distillation even more complex. I learned that other aroma chemicals or isolates need to be added in order to achieve the fresh rose scent. I also learned that different roses have different scents. Truly fascinating!

    From Jane: I learned how challenging it is to find/create a rose scent that works for modern times. I agree, sadly, that many people turn away from rose scents due to their pigeonholing it as an old fashioned scent.

    From Maggie: I learned that there are wide variations of rose scents. I also learned from Maggie that different methods of extraction yield different types of rose scents – that steam distillation produces a lighter and brighter scent while an extract produces muskier tones.

    From Elise: I learned that, again, like the others have mentioned, it may take 2 or 3 blends just to get the perfect rose scent. I tend to sometimes think of rose as a linear scent, but never realized how complex it could be!

    This article has been extremely informative. I live in the USA and would like to win the following in order of preference:

    1. Elise Pearlstine Rose of Cimarron and Dark Moon Rose.

    2. A Wing & A Prayer Wild Rose

    3. Sonoma Scent Studio Rose Musc

    4. Qajar Rose

  • So beautiful, but so complex. More than once I’ve been told “so old-fashion”, however classic , simple, elegant I deem.

  • I love rose! It was interesting to hear how the different extraction methods affect the resulting absolute, and how that compares to the headspace of a fresh rose. I would love to win Elise Pearlstine’s Rose of Cimarron and Dark Moon Rose, Quajar Rose, and A Wing and A Prayer Wild Rose. I am in the US.

  • It was a very beautiful review. I always loved the roses. In my garden have some roses and in summer when they blooming in the whole garden have wonderful scent. I have learned a lot of nice things about building a rose accord, it is really complex.
    I would like to win:
    – Qajar Rose
    and
    – Rose of Cimarron and Dark Moon Rose.
    I live in Europe. Thank you for this fabulous draw!

  • I hadn’t realized that when rose oil is extracted, it doesn’t have a true rose scent to it. I would never have known that other ingredients/chemicals need to be added to get the final fragrance of that particular rose oil.

    I would love to win Elise Pearlstine Rose Samples or Sonoma Scent Studio Rose Musc or Velvet Rose

    I live in the U.S.

  • I found it interesting that roses are so distinctive in their smell, and depending on the method used to distill the essence, different characteristics come out. These are some very creative, artistic women! I would love to win :
    Elise Pearlstine” s two roses
    Sonoma Scent sampler
    Qajar Rose
    A Wing and a Prayer Wild Rose
    Thanks for the draw. USA

  • In building a rose accord I learned that, depending on extraction type, different aspects of a single rose can emerge. I live in the US and would love to wear Sonoma Scent Studio’s sampler, Tambela Perfumes rose fragrances, the travel set of Winter Rose Seasonal Skincare and A Wing and a Prayer’s Haight and Ashbury Perfume.

  • Wow I learned that there is so much that goes into making a rose accord. That one tiny change can make a completely different smell. My choices would be

    Qatar Rose
    Elise Pearlstine scents

    I’m a Canadian reader and thanks for the draw!

  • A very interesting review since I love roses and this review has given me a great deal of information since I have learned a great deal of things about building a rose accord, which is really complex. It really helped me understand how much precious is the making of a rose extract.
    I would love to win:
    Qajar Rose or
    Rose of Cimarron and Dark Moon Rose.
    I live in EU. Thank you for this lovely review and draw.

  • Rose breeding has always fascinated me, especially in how scents are passed down through the breeding lines. I also love mint with roses. Its freshness can cut through the sometimes overpowering sweetness. I can see building a rose accord is an art in itself. This, too, is fascinating!

    I would like the Sonoma Scents sampler should I in the drawing.

  • Iuno Feronia says:

    That roses are exquisit plants are known but that it is so much work to extract the wonderful scents was New to me. Thanks for this interesting article and also for the draw.
    I live in the EU and I would like to Win Qajar Rose or the Rose of Cimarron and Dark Moon Rose .

  • What a great read that was! I adore rose fragrances, and appreciate them even more after rendering that. I didn’t realize all the work it took to create certain accords. I would love to win Qatar Rose or Elise Pearlstone samples. I’m in Canada

  • It’s fascinating to think that rose is so important in perfumery that rose accords are commercially available and yet the perfumer can rely on so many notes to elevate the rose fragrance, including myrrh of all things. Amazing! I would love to try Qajar Rose, Rose of Cimarron and Dark Moon Rose, Velvet Rose, or Wild Rose. All most certainly are beautiful! I am in the US. Thank you for the fragrant lesson and for the draw.

  • Very interesting article! Natural perfume are growning in my concept. It’s very nice to learn about the diferents kinds of rose and I find it’s a little complex to extract the variation of scent. The rose accord is one of my favorite scents.

    I would be delighted to win any of the natural rose perfumes and I live in the US. My choices are:

    Qajar Rose
    Rose Musc
    Rose of Cimarron
    Dark Moon Rose
    A Wing and a Prayer

  • Roses are my favorite flower. Especially now after reading this. It makes me wanna go buy a rose fragrance!

    I will choose Qajar Rose or either of Elise Pearlstine fragrances.

    I’m international (Toronto)

  • Great share..

    I love rose smelly perfumes..
    Smoky plum rose is one of my favourite perfumes. I also love Calice Becker’s that includes rose petals as the main ingrdient. 🙂