Rose de mai concrète

#### Rose Concrète, Centifolia. Known as "rose de mai concrète", this material is obtained by volatile solvent extraction of the fresh flowers of **Rosa**** ****Centifolia**. The plant is cultivated for perfume oil production in Morocco, France, Italy, Tunisia, Yugoslavia, China, etc. Morocco is by far the largest producer of centifolia rose concrète today. Moroccan production of this material is estimated to exceed 2000 kilos per year. At the time of the author's last visit to Morocco (June 1960) he could confirm that one of the larger producers of rose concrète and distilled rose oil had just completed the processing of 1000 metric tons of rose flowers from the 1960-crop. This amount of flowers would yield about 2400 to 2500 kilos of concrète if it were all extracted for that purpose. A certain amount of rose flowers are distilled to yield Moroccan rose oil (see **Rose Oil,**** ****Moroccan**). Extraction is usually carried out with highly refined petroleum ether which leaves little or no perceptible odor in the finished extract (concrète). Mainly due to the good yield from centifolia flowers, partly due to the old and well-established reputation of the Bulgarian damascena concrète, the former is much less expensive than the Bulgarian concrète. **Rosa Centifolia Concrète **is a dark yellow or orange-yellow to olive-greenish or brownish-yellow colored, waxy mass which melts at about 45 to 52°C. Its odor is warm, deep-floral, slightly woody-sweet, but the spicy or honeylike notes are less pronounced than those of damascena concrète. Centifolia concrète is used mainly for further processing into absolute (see monograph: **Rose**** ****Absolute,**** ****Centifolia**). However, in certain high-class soap perfumes, the Moroccan rose concrète can be used with very interesting results and unusual effect. In cosmetic preparations, where poor solubility in alcohol is of little importance, the concrète finds some application, e. g. in cold cream perfumes, lipstick perfumes, powder perfumes, rouges, bath oils, etc. The concrète will lend a natural body and depth, an inimitable richness to such perfumes, so that the comparatively high cost of rose de mai concrète is easily compensated (present cost, about U. S. $ 200.- to 350.- per kilo in 1960). A special application of rose concrète (Moroccan) and certain other concrètes is that of perfuming the "solid perfume waxes" which are sold in fancy little containers of wood, china or the like, in egg shape, jar shape or figurines, etc. It is also useful in the perfuming of printed matter (advertising matter, wrappings, postcards, etc.); the rose concrète can be used directly in an unctuous mass with other perfume materials, binders, etc. for a printing paste on the blank paper before the second printing with inscriptions, etc. This is one place where the "spent" waxes from extraction of rose concrète with alcohol (absolute production) is very useful. Unfortunately, the "spent waxes" are frequently used to "cut" good rose concrètes. A test-run on the content of alcohol-soluble matter in the sample of concrète will reveal such fraud.