Bulgarian Damask Rose Essential Oil

Description

Energetic Properties: Profoundly heart centered and emotionally restorative. Damask Rose has traditionally been associated with love, grief, intimacy, beauty, and the capacity to open again after emotional loss. Sensual and deeply feminine, yet with a strength and depth quite different from the delicacy of May Rose. Supports emotional vulnerability, self acceptance, and connection. Particularly suited to periods of transition, grief, heartbreak, and the rediscovery of sensuality and pleasure. Grounding to the heart while uplifting to the spirit.

Physical Properties: Traditionally valued for mature, dry, sensitive, and environmentally stressed skin. Its soothing and toning qualities make it particularly suited to facial preparations and regenerative skincare. Damask Rose is also traditionally used for nervous tension, emotional exhaustion, restlessness, and sleep support. Its affinity with the female reproductive cycle has made Rose an important aromatic throughout menstruation, sexuality, reproductive transitions, and menopause.

Smell: Deep, voluptuous, and unmistakably Damask Rose. This Bulgarian distillation opens with an unusual musky, almost animalic depth that gradually gives way to an intensely floral heart of sweet Rose petals, honey, soft spice, and subtle green nuances. Compared with May Rose, it is richer, warmer, more tenacious, and considerably more complex. What particularly distinguished this batch for us was its remarkable clarity. The floral character is vivid and dimensional, without the heavy, cooked “still note” we encounter in many Rose oils.

Perfumery Note: Heart note with considerable diffusion and persistence. Damask Rose is one of the foundational materials of classical and contemporary fine perfumery. It can function as the floral heart of a composition or, in minute amounts, bring warmth, diffusion, sensuality, and natural complexity to other florals, woods, ambers, and chypres.

Main Chemical Constituents: Geraniol (22.35%), Citronellol (19.89%), Nonadecane (12.38%), Nerol (9.37%), Heneicosane (5.62%), and 9 Nonadecene (3.15%), with smaller amounts of Eugenol, Linalool, Rose oxides, and trace β Damascenone. The combination of Geraniol, Citronellol, and Nerol alone represents 51.61% of this particular oil, while extremely potent trace aromatics such as Rose oxides and β Damascenone contribute disproportionately to its characteristic Damask Rose aroma.

Adulteration and Quality: True Bulgarian Damask Rose is among the most precious materials in aromatics and fine perfumery. Its high cost also makes Rose essential oil particularly vulnerable to adulteration with isolated aroma chemicals, reconstructed Rose compositions, or less costly natural materials.

This limited batch comes directly from Enio Bonchev, a historic Bulgarian Rose producer whose distilling tradition dates to 1909. We selected it after evaluating numerous Rose oils because of its exceptional aromatic clarity, complexity, and absence of the pronounced cooked or heavy distillation character we so often encounter.

Independent laboratory analysis found that the chromatographic profile of this batch conforms to ISO 9842:2024 specifications for Bulgarian Rosa damascena. Its specific gravity, refractive index, and optical rotation also conform to the standard.

When cooled, this Rose develops beautiful natural crystals. Its analysis shows a substantial characteristic long chain hydrocarbon fraction, including 12.38% Nonadecane, 5.62% Heneicosane, and 3.15% 9 Nonadecene, compounds associated with the stearoptene fraction of Damask Rose oil. The crystals naturally disappear again as the oil warms.