The Beauty Of The Arabian Rose

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Jo Malone London's Global Head Of Fragrance Céline Roux and perfumer Marie Salamagne talk about the limited-edition fragrance, Taif Rose Cologne Intense.

What is the Taif rose and why did you decide to create a fragrance around it?

Céline:
Taif rose takes its name from the city of Taif in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the centre of the country’s rose trade. Marie and I were actually on a trip in Saudi Arabia in spring 2023 and everywhere we went, people kept saying that we had to visit Taif and see the city’s amazing roses. It was obvious that this flower was a point of pride for Saudi people, that it is a revered ingredient with special cultural significance. I knew that we had to come back to Taif, the city in the mountains. So, we did just that, two months after our first visit.

Why did you want to work together with Marie on this project?

Céline:
We had shared this experience together on our development trip to Saudi Arabia, so it felt only right to bring the scent to life together. To remain authentic and keep all the facets of this special flower, the fragrance house where Marie works captured a headspace extraction for Taif rose using technology that allows us to obtain ingredients that are not naturally available or too fragile. To capture Taif rose’s headspace, the flower was placed in a glass bowl, isolating the aroma present in the air to preserve the olfactive molecules – like taking a photograph of the scent. The air is then analysed by technical perfumers who recreate the natural scented moment. Marie was then able to start playing with some ideas before we returned, which was really helpful, because we could share samples with our Saudi colleagues to get their input. This helped us create a fragrance that felt authentic and relevant to the Middle East, which was an important goal for us because the flower is so revered there.

Tell us about your adventures with Céline on this development.

Marie:
Neither of us had visited Saudi Arabia before this year, and it’s fair to say we really fell in love with the place. On our first visit, everyone was telling us about Taif rose so we felt we had to come back to discover it properly.

What was Taif city like?

Céline:
Taif has a very different feel from other cities. It’s perched in the mountains, where it’s quite a bit cooler than the rest of the country, making it a popular destination during the hot summer months. To get there, you have to drive up steep, winding roads. And when you’re there, there are roses everywhere: in the streets and markets as well as the fields, and you can find every type of rose product you can imagine: rose oil, rose water, infusions, creams, lipsticks – you name it.

What did you do when you were there?

Céline:
We made sure to time our visit with the height of the rose season. It’s a unique experience that overcomes your senses; the air becomes saturated with the scent of Taif rose and your eyeline is filled with colour. It is bold colour combined with an utterly unique rose scent and unlike anything else.

What is so special about the scent of this particular rose?

Marie:
It’s really fresh and luminous, with a touch of crispy greenness, but also has a kind of jammy, syrupy note that makes it really moreish. In perfumery, we are quite familiar with the different rose scents from around the world – some of which can be quite heavy and honeyed – but Taif rose is totally different, reflecting the landscape that it comes from.

Tell us about the olfactive profile of the fragrance.

Marie:
The fragrance opens with notes of rose infusion which brings a petally softness that’s reminiscent of Arabian rose water. A naturality and bright juiciness is provided by a wild berry note enfolding a subtle hint of orris. In the heart, Rose Damascena, another rose facet, adds luminous freshness that pushes the Taif rose even further forward in the composition. Coffee brings warm, woody facets to the base, with comforting notes of amber and white musk providing maximum diffusion without altering the unmistakable aroma of the Taif rose.

It’s really fresh and luminous, with a touch of crispy greenness, but also has a kind of jammy, syrupy note that makes it really moreish.

How would you describe the fragrance in just a few words?

Céline:
Luminous, warm and completely moreish.

Marie:
Rose, rose and more rose – an abundance of Taif rose!

You mentioned sharing the fragrance development during your trip, tell us about how these were received by the people there.

Céline:
Just about everyone who smelled the fragrance development connected it right away with the Taif rose, which was really encouraging. Seeing their reaction to the samples also made us aware of just how far we could push our key ingredient; had we not gone on this trip together, I don’t think we would have formulated it in the same way. Having said that, it’s not as if our Taif Rose is just a scent for the Middle East; I wore it all summer long in various locations around the world and have never been stopped so many times by strangers asking me what fragrance I was wearing.

Do you have any tips for pairing Taif Rose with other Jo Malone London scents and products?

Céline:
We were lucky enough to get an insight into Middle Eastern beauty rituals, which essentially revolve around layers of scenting. Everyone does it a bit differently, it can be scenting your body to your hair and your clothes, and the concept of scent layering is something that’s really important to us at Jo Malone London too. We recommend layering Taif Rose with Peony & Blush Suede in a cologne or body & hand lotion as part of your body care ritual to create a warm floral scent. It also layers beautifully with Jasmine Sambac & Marigold, creating a really rich floral fragrance.

How does Taif Rose fit into the Jo Malone London collection?

Céline:
We already have quite a few rose fragrances that reflect the many different facets of this versatile flower, whether it’s freshness, floralcy, powderiness or depth. We hadn’t planned to create another rose scent until we started hearing about Taif rose. When we experienced it for ourselves, there was no turning back; we were determined to capture it in fragrance. Taif Rose is different to all our other rose scents because it takes you to a different place: a place high in the mountains, where pink roses perfume the air to create a scent that’s majestic and completely unmistakable.

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