Rose is undoubtedly one of the most famous and widely used and studied notes in perfumery. Rose is a many-sided radiant floral note that can be fresh and green, honeyed, fruity, or deep and spicy depending on which facets you build. Rose is sometimes used as the star and built around in all of its elegance; however it’s also popular as a modifier - trace amounts of rose can significantly transform a perfume, making it sweet, rounded and radiant. Rose is extractable, both as rose essential oil (otto) and rose absolute - both are beautiful, but they are extremely expensive, which is why most rose accords are built from reconstructions of synthetic perfumery materials rather than the natural alone. Rose Givco 217 is our go-to recommendation for a pre-made rose base which captures the silky and “yummy” side of rose - it’s easy to use and made by Givaudan’s perfumers (some of the best in the world).
To construct your own rose accord, a useful map is its constituent components: The core rose alcohols (phenylethyl alcohol, citronellol and geraniol) create the recognisable scaffold. For realism, add the trace odour principle constituents: Rose oxide for a green-metallic lift at the top, then beta-damascone and beta-ionone for the deep, fruity-juicy volouptuousness that makes the accord feel natural. These are only found in tiny amounts in nature and it follows that you only need to use traces of these high-impact materials for a successful rose base. There are many optional choices which can be used in rose. Ethyl safranate can be used to push the damascone-like character further when the IFRA limits for damascones become restrictive. Rosaphen can provide a transparent Turkish delight style rose backdrop, whilst peonile can be used to push a brighter fruity facet. Nerol is another natural constituent to add complexity to the core rose alcohol scaffold. There are countless more options when exploring rose to discover. We encourage you to do so: A rose base can be seen as a rite of passage for the aspiring perfumer. For a more complete guide to rose with an example formula, see our online course.
