Unlocking Fragrance Notes: A Beginner's Guide To Smelling Right

Smelling the notes in a fragrance is a skill that can be developed with practice. When you first apply a fragrance, you will smell the top notes. After 15-30 minutes, the middle notes will start to develop, and you will notice a shift in the scent profile. Eventually, the base notes will kick in to form the essence of the perfume. Some notes are easy to identify, such as cardamom or orange, while others are more suggestive and may not smell like you would expect.

Smelling fragrances at different stages of the dry down

When you meet a perfumer or a fragrance connoisseur, you will probably notice that they hold a few ‘smelling strips’ in their hand, like a fan, and repeatedly smell them while speaking with you. Notice that these smelling strips normally contain a code or name and that they do not touch the fragrant end of the strip with their nose or hands. Equally, a perfumer never allows the perfumed tips of the strip to touch to avoid any form of cross-contamination or ‘muddling’ of the perfumes.

The base notes are the scent that lasts the longest and is the one you remember most. These are the final notes to develop and can be identified by smelling the fragrance at different stages of the dry down. The longer you wait, the more the base notes will come through.

Some notes are easy to identify because they smell a lot like their natural counterparts, like cardamom or orange. Sometimes the notes might smell different, but still close enough to see a connection, like the violet notes in Grey Flannel, Green Irish Tweed, and Fahrenheit. Other times you'll start figuring out what a certain note is supposed to be, like oud or leather.

Using smelling strips

Smelling strips are a useful tool for anyone wanting to smell the notes in a fragrance. They are used by perfumers and fragrance connoisseurs, who hold a few strips in their hand like a fan and repeatedly smell them.

When using smelling strips, it is important not to touch the fragrant end of the strip with your nose or hands. This is to avoid contaminating the fragrance. Similarly, you should avoid letting the perfumed tips of the strips touch, as this can cause cross-contamination or 'muddling' of the perfumes.

Each smelling strip will normally contain a code or name, which can be used to identify the fragrance. This is particularly useful if you are smelling multiple fragrances at once, as it can be easy to get confused.

To get the full olfactory journey of the fragrance, you should smell the strip at different stages of the dry-down process. This is when the fragrance evaporates and develops on your skin. Initially, you will smell the top notes. As time passes, the strip will reveal the heart and eventually the base notes.

Identifying top, heart and base notes

One of the best ways to identify the different notes in a fragrance is to smell it at different stages of the dry down. The dry down is the process of the fragrance evaporating and developing on your skin. When you first apply a fragrance, focus on the initial scents and ingredients that you smell. These are the top notes. Are there any particular ones that you can pick up?

After about 15-30 minutes, the middle notes, or heart notes, will start to develop, and you’ll notice a shift in the scent profile. The heart notes form the essence of the perfume.

Finally, the base notes will emerge. These are the scents that last the longest and are the ones you remember most.

You can also try smelling individual ingredients, like spices, flowers, or tea, to train your nose to identify them in fragrances. You can also try singular note fragrances, or even buy some aromachemicals to test. You will get better with practice.

Recognising natural counterparts

When you're smelling a fragrance, sometimes the notes will smell exactly like their natural counterparts, so they're easy to identify. For example, cardamom or orange in Declaration. Other times, the notes might smell slightly different, but you'll still be able to detect a connection, like violet notes in Grey Flannel, Green Irish Tweed and Fahrenheit, or rose notes in Declaration d'Un Soir, Lyric Man, Noir de Noir and Black Aoud.

You can also identify perfume notes based on the time passed after application. Top notes are the ones you smell immediately after the perfume first touches your skin. After about 15-30 minutes, the middle or heart notes will start to develop, and you'll notice a shift in the scent profile. Finally, the base notes are the ones that last the longest and are the ones you remember the most.

To improve your ability to recognise notes, you can practice smelling individual ingredients, like spices, canisters of tea, or individual flowers. You can also try singular note fragrances, or even buy some aromachemicals to check out. With practice, you'll get better at discerning notes, but even then, you'll probably never be able to identify all the notes in a fragrance.

Practising smelling different things

Smelling the notes in a fragrance is a skill that can be developed with practice. One of the best ways to identify the different notes in a fragrance is to smell it at different stages of the dry-down process. The dry-down is the process of the fragrance evaporating and developing on your skin. When you first apply a fragrance, focus on the initial scents and ingredients that you smell. These are the top notes. After about 15-30 minutes, the middle notes will start to develop, and you’ll notice a shift in the scent profile. These are the heart notes, which form the essence of the perfume. Finally, the base notes will be revealed. These are the scents that last the longest and are the ones you remember most.

You can practice smelling different things to develop your sense of smell. Start with some easy ones, like spices, canisters of tea, and individual flowers at the grocery store. You can also check out singular note fragrances. If you want to take it to the next level, buy some aromachemicals and check them out. The more you practice, the better you will become at identifying different scents. However, even with practice, you may never be able to identify all the notes in a fragrance.

When you meet a perfumer or a fragrance connoisseur, you will probably notice that they hold a few ‘smelling strips’ in their hand, like a fan, and repeatedly smell them. Notice that these smelling strips normally contain a code or name, and that the perfumer never allows the perfumed tips of the strip to touch to avoid any form of cross-contamination or ‘muddling’ of the perfumes.

Sometimes, the notes in a fragrance will smell very similar to their natural counterparts, like cardamom or orange. Other times, they may smell different but still close enough to see a connection, like violet notes in certain fragrances or rose notes in others. With practice, you will start to figure out what a certain note is supposed to be, like oud or leather.

Frequently asked questions