Fragrance

Rose, orange blossom, and what Morocco distils

Two harvests define Moroccan perfumery. Roses come from the Dadès valley around Kelaat M'Gouna, picked by hand over a few weeks each spring; bitter orange blossom is distilled into neroli and into the orange flower water that sits in Moroccan kitchens as often as in perfumers' cupboards.

Both are among the most expensive materials in perfumery by weight, and both are widely imitated. A synthetic rose is not a fault — most fine fragrance uses one — but it belongs on the label, and on these products it is.