IncenseInTheWind The Incense Hunter: April 2015

Flowers are a popular source for perfume and incense, and rose, with its rich, heady scent, is a very common choice. Gulab is the name in Persian and Hindi for rose. Rose scent, such as rose petals in water, and rose scented sweets, such as Turkish delight, have long been popular in countries associated with the Persian Empire.  Most rose scents are based on the damask rose, which is the main rose distilled for attars and essential oils. An area of Bulgaria, known as the "Valley of Roses", produces rose oil known as "Bulgarian rose". Some incense houses have a "Belgian Rose" incense; this may refer to a song "My Belgian Rose", though it may also be a misheard reference to "Bulgarian rose". A rose absolute (obtained by solvent extraction) is generally regarded as being closer to the fragrance of rose than rose essential oil (obtained by steam distillation). Both synthetic and natural rose scents combine several ingredients in order to replicate the complex fragrance of the damask rose. Geranium is sometimes used to create a rose scent as it is cheaper, though also when a more masculine scent is wanted.

Natural roses vary in their fragrance, though are generally sweet, heady, and floral, sometimes with musky undertones. The damask rose tends to exemplify the sweet, heady, and floral fragrance - sometimes with fresh, green, and spicy notes, and sometimes with the musky undertone, and sometimes with both. Howver, almost all rose incense will be synthetic using ingredients such as PEA,  citronellol, and geraniol, along with vanilla/benzoin for sweet heart notes, and a woody base. Some decent quality incenses (masala type) may also use geranium oil, but most will be mainly or entirely synthetic as regards the rose element of the fragrance.

Conclusion: I'm not a fan of single scents, nor of floral scents, and while I like the scent of a fresh, natural rose, it's not my favourite scent. I like it in moderation - catching the fragrance in passing, but after a while I find it too cloying. For me there is a lack of depth and contrast in a rose accord - there is a lack of interesting things to discover. And if the scent is not fresh and natural, and caught outdoors, then it has too many poor associations for me. It's a scent I very much associate with older women - grannies mostly. And it comes with a scent association of granny pee. I find it an old fashioned scent. And too often, a smothering scent, rather than a lively, uplifting experience, which some florals can have. My favourite rose incense is Queen of Roses, first known to me via the Happy Hari brand, and continued via Absolute Bliss Queen Of Roses - which I liked though felt it a little softer and less interesting than Paul's (Happy Hari) version, and then  Padma Store Happy Hari Queen of Roses, which didn't work for us, though that may be due to a poor sample. Queen of Roses is notable to me as not being very rose like. It is more varied and interesting. The New Moon Black Rose, which I have reviewed recently, I thoroughly enjoyed as, while having some rose notes, is actually quite complex with lots of wood. It is uncertain who makes New Moon incense, with Haria, Nandita, and Fair Trade, all being suggested and possible. Goloka Nature's Rose is another one I liked, and - as with the others - contains more woody and herbal scent notes than rose.