May Rose or Rose Centifolia, Damask Rose or Rose Damascena. These are names as poetic as they are enigmatic. And they have been part of the secrets of human beauty and youth since the dawn of time! Revered in many cultures for its incomparable beauty, refined scent, and also for its cruel thorns, the rose has established itself as a universal symbol of beauty and love. Today, the rose’s beauty feeds the imagination of Sillages Paris.
Depending on the species, it is prized for its powerful and intoxicating (even animal) scent or its sweetness and powdery facets. And two species are favoured in perfumery: The Damask Rose and the May Rose. But how do you differentiate them? Read on, and we will explain everything you need to know to become a rose perfume expert!
The Damask Rose or Rose Damascena
Contrary to what its name suggests, the Damask rose is believed to have originated in India. It was then from Persia that it was brought to Europe in the middle of the 13th century by the knight Robert de Brie on his return from the Crusades. It was first cultivated in Bulgaria in the 17th century during the Ottoman Empire. Ever since, the Damask Rose has never ceased to fascinate. Recognizable by its sweet and suave fragrance, it is widely used in cosmetics and perfumery.
Kazanlak, in Bulgaria, capital of the famous “Valley of the Roses”, remains a major producer of this rose to this day. Lovers of the beautiful flower can visit the unique Rose Museum there! But Kazanlak is now facing competition from Isparta, the capital of the Turkish Rose. In Isparta, 320 tonnes of roses are produced every day!
The Damask Rose is particularly appreciated by the people of the Mediterranean. It has been used for over a hundred years as an eau de toilette, in skincare, as well as in pastries and drinks.
What does the Damask Rose smell like? Its scent is very flowery and slightly sweet. It is the rose we use for the most feminine perfumes, which smell like makeup powder and clean linen. Depending on the soil, it can be lemony, spicy, or fruity.
The May Rose or Rose Centifolia
At the beginning of the 19th century, Grasse established itself as one of the world centres of perfumery. Its emblematic rose is the May Rose, also known as the Rose Centifolia (“Hundred-leaves” in Latin refers to the large number of petals of the flower). The May Rose reached its peak in Grasse in the first half of the 20th century. At that time, 700 hectares were dedicated to its production, compared to only about fifty today.
But why such a decline? Its fragility, hand harvesting, and low yield make it a plant poorly adapted to industrial-scale production. The May rose is particularly capricious and only flowers once a year in May. Delicate and precious, it can only be used if it is harvested on the same day it blooms!
What does the May Rose smell like? The rose blends honeyed and floral notes that give an unparalleled subtlety to perfumes. Sometimes it can adopt animal facets and reveal leathery sides that are very elegant.
An exceptional product
From Grasse to Kazanlak, the picking of the rose is done by hand according to age-old expertise. Once the flower opens and the pistil is visible, the sun’s rays and the morning heat quickly bring out its delicate scent.
The pickers get up at dawn to pick the flowers that have bloomed each day before nine o’clock in the morning! The hand gesture is repetitive but precise. You must not be abrupt so that you don’t mishandle the rose. The rose is grasped by the peduncle, then turned and slightly tugged with the wrist, taking care not to break the buds around it. A plant jewel, the rose dazzles again and again by its beauty.
May Rose and Damask Rose extraction processes
Some perfume houses use synthetic roses for reasons of affordability and when they only use certain components of the rose scent. In its natural state, the scent extracted from May Roses and Damask Roses is rich with many subtleties. The secrets of making a perfume include many methods for capturing all these subtleties. There are two techniques used today for extracting natural rose oils, and it’s the extraction process that determines its intensity.
Steam distillation requires 3 to 5 tons of petals to produce just 1 kg of essential oil, which makes it extremely precious. The result is a fresh, fussy rose essence. Volatile solvent extraction is the other technique that yields a much more opulent rose absolute. Using this technique, 400 kg of petals are needed to produce 1 kg of rose absolute.
Like all flowers, the rose is categorized as a heart note: those that develop on your skin for many hours after the first olfactory “encounter”.
Worn by both women and men for its elegant and opulent fragrance, the rose is destined to reign in the world of perfumes for many centuries to come.
So, would you like to be part of its history?
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