My relationship with Halloween has shifted over the years, mostly drifting along the periphery of mainstream activities. I wasn’t allowed to go trick-or-treating as a child, so my first memory of being involved in any way was as a preteen—I sketched and cut my own paper mask and doled out candy to the young trick-or-treaters who came to the house of the relatives with whom I was staying at the time. Later, I went through a period of avoiding the holiday altogether. When I got over that phase, my approach to participation was still very DIY and relatively minimal—a bit of hair braiding across the face here, orange tights with black clothing there… always leaning toward quirky rather than scary.

My other half got me a subscription to flowers as a thoughtful present earlier this year, and when it came time to pick out this month’s bouquet, I couldn’t resist one called “Nevermore,” a dozen red roses dyed black around the edges. It arrived 10 days ago and I’ve been photographing it obsessively to preserve the roses’ memory.

Peak bloom was 2 to 3 days after arrival. The outer petals were not as black as we’d expected, though certainly darker than the inner ones. While most of the roses were brilliant red in the center, a couple of them had some purple interspersed within.

The dye helped to hide the inevitable signs of withering after about a week, and in this case, I could smell it happening before I saw it. The petals emanated a sour aroma as their appearance became more textured. They also became more brightly purple with a silky sheen.

I’d been looking for ideas for my next perfumery project, and these roses gave me literal inspiration.

Naturally, the star material was rose essential oil that I’d bought in Bulgaria. The roses in my bouquet were quite mild in fragrance, and I wanted to enhance the rose note with a fruity aspect, so I added osmanthus absolute, cassis base 345B, and bitter yuzu absolute. Davana essential oil was included to represent the sourness of withering. The bright green aroma of Stemone contrasted this with the vitality of stems and leaves clinging to freshness.

For the powdery sheen on some of the purpler petals, I chose Orris Givco, and to bridge to the dark edges, roasted cocoa extract. To portray the black edges, I started with a tiny amount of birch tar and cade essential oils, but these dominated way too strongly in a charred barbecue way, so I quickly switched to isobutyl quinoline (IBQ), a dry, smoky leather note.

As this is meant to be perfume, I thought it was fair to incorporate my favorite woody-amber aromachemical so far (and I say this because I don’t like most screechy, ubiquitous woody ambers), Ysamber K. In the past, I always used this material at full strength because it seemed hard to smell. However, now that I’ve diluted it, I’m discovering its potency—like a pod that lets out all its secrets only after its shell has been cracked open. It took over one of my mods and I had to dial it back down.

I may still work on this some more, but so far it’s pretty harmonious and I wanted to write about it in time for a “Halloween” post.

• The bouquet: Rose EO, osmanthus absolute, bitter yuzu absolute, davana EO, Sampaquita Givco, Orris Givco, cassis base 345B, aldehyde C12 MNA
• The greenery: Stemone
• The black edges: IBQ, roasted cocoa extract
• Musks etc.: Orbitone, Ysamber K, Edenolide, ambergris tincture

At the moment, the pungent aroma of transformation from silky, youthful petals to crumbly potpourri is depressing me, but digital imagery and the abstractions of perfumery seal the status of…

Immortal Rose

Happy Halloween to those who take part in it!