Perfumer's Notes - Rose

As a British Fragrance house, we simply can’t talk about perfume notes without of course covering a classic, rose - a flower that has been celebrated for centuries for its inimitable scent and beauty.

Whilst rose perfumes are commonly thought to be feminine and often associated with floral, powdery scents, there are in fact thousands of varieties and species of this iconic flower, each with unique scents, meaning they feature in fragrances across the board.

Like most flowers, roses have to be harvested in the early morning when the scent is most potent and before the oil is tainted by the sun’s rays. Turkish Rose Oil is something of a specialty of our perfumer’s at Robertet. Renowned for their work with naturals, Robertet employ around 60 families in Turkey, to harvest and grow rose oil and take a very strong ecological stance when it comes to rose oil production.

Rich with character and hints of honey and fruit, it is Rose Damascense Absolute that brings a body of spicy rose to our oriental floral, La Fumée Alexandrie. A creation of perfumer, Mathieu Nardin, La Fumée Alexandrie is a hymn of rose and oud. Conjuring up visions of majestic ancient Egypt for whom scent was both sacred and seductive, La Fumée Alexandrie is an ode to the legendary Cleopatra who’s sandalwood ship was said to have silken sails drenched in precious rose oil.

One of Mathieu’s richer works for Miller Harris, this sensual rose perfume is darkly-romantic, with fruity characters of both lychee and mandarin, twisted around the dry heat of sandalwood and wrapped in a spicy blend of cinnamon, cumin and oud.

Showing the more subtle side of rose perfumes is Rose Silence. Where La Fumée Alexandrie brings the drama, Rose Silence is quiet and gentle - much like night and day.

"My idea for Rose Silence was to create a very different kind of rose scent for the market. A modern rose scent that was sort of artisanal but definitely wearable." - Mathieu Nardin.

A rose perfume reimagined for the modern age, Rose Silence sits well away from the predictably English translation of roses around a cottage door, or vintage china patterns or a heavy ‘old school’ - dressing table seduction. Instead, the scent offers a contemporary viewpoint on this most classic of flowers. The delicate sensation of cashmere merges with a pure blossom of fresh petals whilst sandalwood and musks create an impression of warm skin and a playful twist of tangy blackcurrant and juicy mandarin lifts the scent. Like Many Miller Harris fragrances, Rose Silence re-interprets a classic idea in an unexpected way and often rose haters find themselves drawn to it.

Continue your scent discovery and learn about tomato leaf perfumes on our Perfumer's Notes blog.