Rose

What it is

Two flowers, not one. Damask rose from Bulgaria and Turkey is jammy and deep, Centifolia from Grasse is greener and honeyed. Both need thousands of flowers per bottle of oil, so nearly every rose in perfumery is partly reconstructed.

What it smells like

It shifts more than any other flower depending on what surrounds it: with oud it goes dark and wine-like, with pepper it goes sharp, with vanilla it goes soapy. Its reputation for smelling dated comes from soap and talc rather than from perfume.

Where it sits

Which layer of the pyramid it is listed in, across every fragrance here that carries it. A base note is one you smell for hours; a top note is usually gone within the first.

What it turns up with

How much more often than the catalogue average. 1.0x would be chance, so these are the things that genuinely travel with it rather than the things that are simply common.

When it is worn

Against the average fragrance here. The line marks that average, so a bar past it means this is worn in that season or setting more than most.

Houses that use it most

Counted across the fragrances here, which reflects what we cover as much as what a house makes.

Lancome (28), Montale (25), Guerlain (22), Mancera (21), Rasasi (19), Xerjoff (19).