Rose de Mai

Rose de Mai is one of perfume’s most storied ingredients. Originally developed by rose breeders in eighteenth-century Holland, Rosa x centifolia is now most closely associated with Provence where it is grown for Chanel No. 5 - but it is in Morocco that it’s grown in its greatest numbers. Its Latin name centifolia means ‘hundred leaved’, and this abundance also gives it the rather less exalted name of cabbage rose. The scent of Rose de Mai is remarkably rich and honeyed, the very essence of an imagined rose. Traditionally picked only in the month of May, the petals undergo solvent extraction immediately, to produce a dark, fragrant wax that can be further processed into an absolute or oil. The colour is removed using activated charcoal.