Trying to Recreate the True Scent of a Fresh Rose – Advice Needed
I've been experimenting with exceptionally high-quality, genuine rose oils, including Bulgarian Rosa damascena Otto, Bulgarian White Rose (Rosa alba) Otto, and Turkish Isparta Rosa damascena Otto.
My challenge is that none of these oils smell anywhere near an actual fresh rose flower on their own. I get green, citrusy and sometimes slightly medicinal notes rather than that beautiful, sweet, natural rose-petal aroma.
To my nose, they don't even capture 30% of the scent of an actual fresh rose, if that makes sense. Perhaps this is simply how all rose ottos smell, regardless of their origin or quality?
I normally blend them with pure Mysore sandalwood, but the results remain much the same.
I have absolutely no doubts about the quality or authenticity of these oils. They are superb. I'm simply trying to understand how to work with them properly and haven't managed to achieve the results I'm looking for.
What could I do with these particular oils to achieve the exact scent, or something very close to, a freshly opened natural rose? Is there a particular blending technique or natural ingredient that could help bring out that beautiful, true rose fragrance?
The particular nature of the water-steam distillation of roses - that produces 'otto' essences has a couple of critical issues that changes the composition of the resulting essences - even when done at the utmost presicion and care; and overcoming these issues is what your quest seeks to achieve:
1. is the high temperature of the process - which inevitably changes the most subtle and ethereal molecules of the flower's volatile essence - even though roses endure this steamy assault with relative dignity - unlike many other flowers that simply get cooked and completely ruined;
2. Second issue is the water itself and its power of solubility - in the process of distillation, certain key materils are simply get dissolved in the steam that gets condensed in what becomes a hydrolat - Rose water, full of lovely fragrance - leeched out of the final essence;
the best example of the lost key chemical is
Phenethyl alcohol (β-phenylethanol) - easily water-soluble molecule that is responsible for both the 'honey' note and the major contribution to the 'fresh petality' suave impression of the real blooming flower. Steam distillation removes this aroma-chemical from the final essence almost completely - from over 78% in the live composition of certain damascenas' scent - to the measly 1-3% in all the hydrodistilled ottos; and on the way shifting up the percentages of citronellol and geraniol - all resulting in the essence that does not smell like the real flower anymore.
The Solution is to complement your Rose work with the
Absolutes (cold solvent extracts) - which process does not involve neither heat nor water, and keeps the precentages intact - both of the Phenylethanol and of the ratios of other key components. Important to know, that the quality of the Absolutes made major leaps up in my lifetime - due to the modern technological improvements - they are much more pure and close to nature than even 40 years ago (while hydrodistillation remans the same for the last 800 years - limited by the built-in specifications of the process itself).
While not 100% identical to the freshly opened living flower (since the scent-changing fermentation begins instantly at the very moment the flower is picked), the Absolutes provide much higher fidelity to the real Rose - objectively and beyond any folkloristic sentiments and prejudices - which are very common still.
There is a wide variety of different Absolutes for you to consider, for the recreation of the freshly blooming Rose bush' impression -
of Damascenas from Turkey, Morocco, France, India, Bulgaria;
of Centifolias from Morocco and France;
a very interesting, intriguing variety is the Absolute of Bourbon Rose (bourboniana or indica hybrid) - coming mostly from India, but on rare occasions - also from France and Italy - with overall darker, more wild and sensual impression - with musty-musky undertones that increase the depth and the tenacity of the scent.
Another captivating and rare Absolute comes from the climbing Chinese variety (Rosa cymosa) - carrying intensely gourmand, spicy-fiery edge, making its opening smell like wild Carnation- very tenacious; some people who love gourmand-spicy vibe go crazy with this Absolute.
Another rarer variety of Absolutes is the original Apothecary Rose - Rosa gallica, that comes anywhere in-between Moldova, Ukraine, Caucasus region (Georgia and Azerbaijan), Italy, even Bulgaria - there as Gallica's subspecies 'Raduga'); Gallica's absolutes are lush, creamy-velvety, sometimes sweeter, sometimes liquor-like, sometimes delicately-fruity - I love them for their 'vintage elegance' luxurious feel.
Another very rare (but surprisingly the cheapest of them all) Absolute with its own unique character is 'Rose & Leaf' Absolute from the Bulgarian damascena - this essence is made from spent flowers, leaves and stalks, and it posesses the feel of the whole plant - with herbal, earthy, humid vibe evoking the ambience of the Rose Garden in its entirety - absolutely wonderful to add dimensions of evocative realism to any Rose composition.
Lastly, the most recent addition to the Rose palette is also the most true-to-nature:
CO2 (Super-Critical-Fluid) Select Extracts - I've encountered so far only Southern-French 'Rose-de-Mai' centifolia CO2 - very rare, expensive - and utterly glorious in its natural veracity.
