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It is understandable that as the enchanting scent of the rose became widely known,
many attempts were made to preserve it. From the Roman era to the present, all kinds
of efforts have been made to exude the fragrance of the rose.
The initial attempt was to make a rose-scented preparation by steeping rose petals
in water so as to transfer the scent.
Sometime during this process, perhaps accidentally exposed to sunlight, the temperature
of the bottle went up more than usual.
To everyone's surprise, heat precipitated its oil content and made some of it come
up to the surface. This was the birth of rose oil, which gave much stronger and longer-lasting
scent compared to rose water.
Perfume-making techniques improved drastically through the invention and employment
of alcohol.
In 12th century monasteries, alcohol was made by distilling wine. People discovered
that highly pure essential oil could be obtained from flowers by exuding it with alcohol.
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