What does Rose Absolute smell like?
Rose absolute smells like burying your nose in a bouquet. Petals, honey, a little red wine and a green stem. It is fleshier than distilled rose oil and less lemony. Neat it can feel heavy, almost jammy. In a perfume it adds body and depth. On skin it lasts well and warms towards honey and spice.
Origin and production
The roses come mainly from Turkey, Bulgaria, Morocco and Grasse. Fresh petals are treated with a solvent to give a waxy concrete, which is then washed with alcohol to yield the absolute. This keeps phenylethyl alcohol, which is lost to the water during distillation. That is why the absolute smells more like the flower than the oil does. A kilo takes a vast amount of petals.
How perfumers use it
Rose absolute loves oud, patchouli and spice, and stands up to heavy materials. Tom Ford Noir Extrême wraps it in cardamom and kulfi in a spiced oriental. Dior Midnight Poison sets it against patchouli in a dark style. Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Black Perfecto blends it with cherry. Emporio Armani Because It's You, calmer, pairs it with raspberry.
How to wear it
Rose absolute is an evening note from autumn to spring. Midnight Poison and Noir Extrême call for restraint: one or two sprays at most.