Rose in perfume smells rich, velvety and floral, but it is not one smell: depending on the variety, the extraction and the materials around it, a rose note can be fresh and lemony, honeyed and jammy, peppery and green, or dark and wine-like. Natural rose materials come mainly from two species — the damask rose, Rosa damascena, grown in Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran among other places, and the cabbage rose, Rosa × centifolia, grown notably around Grasse and in Morocco — and are among the most precious in perfumery. Most rose notes combine natural rose with other materials.

What rose smells like

Words often used: velvety, fresh, dewy, lemony, honeyed, jammy, spicy, green, powdery, wine-like. A real rose smells different in the morning and in the afternoon, as a bud and as a full bloom; perfumers draw on all of these.

Rose oil and rose absolute

Two main natural materials are made from rose petals:

  • Rose oil (rose otto) — obtained by steam distillation. Bright, fresh, slightly spicy and lemony. A very large weight of petals is needed for a small amount of oil, which is why it is so costly.
  • Rose absolute — obtained by solvent extraction. Deeper, richer, honeyed and closer to the smell of the living flower.

Rose water, a by-product of distillation, has been used in cooking, ritual and hospitality for centuries, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. See How Perfume Ingredients Are Extracted and Perfume Culture in the Middle East.

How rose notes are built

Natural rose is used at a level the cost and the formula allow, and it is surrounded by aroma molecules that are themselves found in roses — some fresh and lemony, some soft and honeyed, some green. A perfumer can therefore shape a rose towards whichever character the composition needs, and can build a rose impression with little or no natural rose at all. See Are Perfume Notes Real Ingredients?.

There is no single rose. There is the rose a perfumer has decided you should meet.

The kinds of rose in perfume

  • Fresh rose — dewy, lemony, green; often with citrus and light musk.
  • Jammy or fruity rose — honeyed, with berries, plum or lychee.
  • Spicy rose — with pink pepper, clove or saffron.
  • Dark rose — with oud, incense, patchouli or leather; deep and wine-like. The rose-and-oud pairing is especially well loved; see Oud, and the Many Lives of a Material.
  • Powdery rose — with iris and violet; soft and cosmetic. See What Does Powdery Mean in Perfume?.
  • Green or tea rose — light, crisp and slightly bitter.

Is rose old-fashioned?

Rose has been used in perfume for as long as perfume has existed, and it has gone in and out of fashion many times. Modern rose fragrances range widely — transparent and woody, dark and smoky, fresh and almost citrus — and many are presented as unisex. If you associate rose with one particular old soap or perfume, try a different style before deciding. See Floral Fragrances.

What rose pairs with

Common questions

Why is real rose oil so expensive?

Because a very large quantity of hand-picked petals yields a small amount of oil, and the harvest happens over a few weeks a year.

Do rose perfumes contain real rose?

Many contain some; many rely partly or wholly on aroma molecules. Descriptions rarely specify.

What is the difference between rose oil and rose water?

Rose oil is the concentrated aromatic oil; rose water is the fragrant water left after distillation, much gentler and mostly used in cooking and skincare.

Further reading

Rose is introduced alongside other materials in What Is Perfume Made Of?. For perfumers, RUŌOD Lab explains the construction of a rose note step by step in How to Make a Rose Accord.