May rose smells soft, honeyed and tea-like, with a green leafy lift and a quiet fruity undertone. It is the gentler French counterpart to Bulgarian and Turkish Damask rose and one of the signatures of classical French perfumery.
The flower is Rosa centifolia, also called rose de mai or cabbage rose, grown on a narrow strip of land around Grasse in southern Provence. Harvest lasts only three to four weeks in May, when petals are hand-picked at dawn and solvent-extracted on the same day to produce a fragrant concrete and then an absolute. Chanel has secured its own Grasse fields since the 1980s to protect supply for N°5. The Mul family has supplied the flower to fine perfumery for over a century.
May rose is a heart note. Perfumers use it as the soft classical face of rose, paired with aldehydes and jasmine in Chanel-style florals, with iris and violet in powdery compositions, and with oud for Middle Eastern lift.
May rose performs beautifully in spring, warm days and elegant daywear.
