Turkish Rose Absolute — Rosa damascena | Deep Honeyed Floral | Isparta, Turkey

Part of our Professional Perfumers Range — curated for the discerning natural perfumer seeking exceptional depth and rarity.

Turkish Rose Absolute — The Rose of Roses from Isparta

Turkey is one of the world's great rose-producing nations — the Isparta region in the southwestern Anatolian highlands has cultivated Rosa damascena for over a century, its cool nights, warm days, and mineral-rich soils producing flowers of exceptional aromatic quality that rival the celebrated roses of Bulgaria's Kazanlak valley. Turkish rose absolute is a material of extraordinary richness and character — a dark red, deeply poured liquid of concentrated complexity that has earned its place among the most prized floral materials in natural perfumery.

The rose harvest in Isparta is a brief and intense affair — the flowers must be picked by hand in the early morning hours before the sun rises and drives off their precious volatile constituents, processed immediately, and extracted while still fresh. The yield is extraordinarily low: thousands of hand-picked blooms for every gram of finished absolute. The result is one of the most concentrated and most complex natural materials available — a rose absolute of deep, honeyed, animalic richness that rewards every serious natural perfumer who works with it.

Known as "gül" in Turkish — a word that carries centuries of cultural weight across Ottoman tradition, where rose water was offered to guests as the highest gesture of hospitality — the Damask rose is woven into the fabric of Turkish culture and craftsmanship in a way that gives this material a provenance story as rich as its aromatic character.

Scent Profile

The opening is immediate, deep, and unmistakably rose — a rich, honeyed floral character of extraordinary warmth and complexity, with the distinctive dark red, slightly animalic quality that distinguishes Turkish rose absolute from its Bulgarian counterpart. Where Bulgarian rose tends toward dewy freshness and crystalline clarity, Turkish rose absolute is warmer, deeper, and more richly honeyed — a slightly darker, more sensual rose character with subtle green undertones and a quietly animalic depth that speaks of genuine botanical complexity. The drydown is long, warm, and velvet-soft — a honeyed rose trace of great tenacity that reveals new facets over many hours and evolves beautifully as it develops.

Perfumery Applications

Turkish Rose Absolute is foundational in virtually every fragrance family — in feminine florals it is the centrepiece of unrivalled authority; in chypres it provides the floral heart that balances citrus top notes against mossy-resinous bases; in orientals it adds honeyed warmth and complexity; in masculine structures it functions as a softening, humanising element. Even at concentrations too low to identify consciously, it adds a quality of naturalness and warmth that transforms compositions. The classic rose-jasmine pairing remains one of the great accords in all of natural perfumery.

Turkish rose absolute pairs beautifully alongside our Bulgarian Rose Absolute for a multi-origin rose accord of extraordinary depth — the Turkish material's warmth and honeyed richness complementing the Bulgarian's dewy freshness into something greater than either alone.

Blending Suggestions

Classic partners include jasmine absolute, Bulgarian rose absolute, violet leaf, orange blossom, neroli, ylang ylang, geranium, bergamot, clary sage, sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, labdanum, vetiver, oud, frankincense, orris, tonka bean, and natural musks. The pairing with violet leaf produces one of the most refined accords in natural perfumery — the cool green of the leaf tempering the rose's rich warmth into something of exceptional elegance.

Technical Details

• Botanical Name: Rosa × damascena Mill.
• Common Name: Turkish Damask Rose / Gül
• Botanical Family: Rosaceae
• INCI Name: Rosa Damascena Flower Extract
• CAS Number: 8007-01-0
• Origin: Isparta region, Turkey
• Plant Part: Flowers — hand harvested at dawn
• Extraction Method: Solvent extraction (absolute)
• Classification: Heart to base note
• Appearance: Dark red liquid — rich and deeply coloured
• Odour Family: Floral / Honeyed / Warm / Animalic / Green
• Natural: Yes — 100% pure natural absolute

Packaging

1ml sample supplied in a 5ml clear flint glass bottle. 5ml and 10ml supplied in amber glass bottles — all with inbuilt droppers and tamper evident caps.

Safety Information

For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes and sensitive areas. Not suitable for use on babies, children, pets or broken skin. Avoid use during pregnancy or whilst nursing. Always dilute properly and perform a patch test before first use.

Sample Policy

We recommend purchasing a 1ml sample first before committing to larger quantities. Please note that no refunds can be offered on opened items.

Photo images are for illustrative purposes only.