Attar Of Roses, - How I Made The Absolute Of Rose...

Attar of roses has been known for thousands of years.  It was first noticed in ancient Persia when someone saw that the petals of rose canes hanging over a warm pool had dropped into the water.  Floating on the surface of the pool was an extremely fragrant oil, - attar of roses.

Here's how I made it at home: I picked the petals of my most fragrant roses, - my hybrid tea rose, Chrysler Imperial, which has a traditional damask rose scent and my Old World roses, - Madame Hardy, Tuscany, and others.  I placed the petals on trays of warm spring water in the hot, hot July sun.  The petals were there for hours and hours, - days.  Finally, I saw a bit of light yellow oil floating on the surface of the water in the trays, - Yippppeeee!!!...  I got a cotton ball and very gingerly soaked up the tiny bit of oil.  I repeated the process of the trays and rose petals many times. 

From all that time and all those rose petals I got only a couple of teaspoons of attar of roses! Then, I knew WHY attar of roses is so very rare and outrageously expensive!  BUT, the scent is like nothing you have EVER smelled!

I took my couple of teaspoons of attar of roses and cut them with unscented mineral oil.  The result I called The Absolute Of Rose.  I did this years ago and, today, that fabulous scent is as lively as ever, - good as the I made it. 

Yes, the most excellent French perfumes contain small amounts of attar of roses.  The very expensive perfume "Joy" does.