Antonio Mcgowan
The art of making perfumes, or perfumery, has a rich history dating back to ancient civilizations. With the commercial synthesis of aroma compounds in the late 19th century, modern perfumery was born, offering a plethora of scents to tantalize our olfactory senses. But what exactly is it that gives each perfume its unique smell? This is where the language of fragrance comes into play, with its intricate combinations of notes and accords that create distinct aromatic profiles. From floral and oriental fragrances to the woody and fresh, each scent family offers a range of olfactory experiences, with top, middle, and base notes that evolve over time. Understanding this language of fragrance is key to navigating the complex world of perfumes and finding your signature scent.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Single word to describe the smell of perfume | Fragrance, aura, emanation, efflux, odor, scent, whiff, aroma, wake, slipstream, trail |
| Different types of perfume | Floral, Oriental, Woody, Fresh, Amber, Green, Citrus, Gourmand |
| Notes | Top, Middle/Heart, Base |
| Types of fragrance | Eau de Parfum (EDP), Eau de Toilette (EDT), Eau de Cologne, Eau Fraiche |
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What You'll Learn
- Notes: Top, middle, and base notes create the full body of a perfume
- Concentration: Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, and Eau Fraiche vary in strength
- Families: Floral, Oriental, Woody, and Fresh are the main scent families
- Ingredients: Flowers, resins, spices, and more are used in perfumery
- Diffusion: The French term 'sillage' describes how a fragrance diffuses around the wearer
Notes: Top, middle, and base notes create the full body of a perfume
The language of fragrance is often intentionally vague, with descriptions designed to stir the imagination. However, there is a precise language used to describe the different notes that make up a perfume. Notes are the individual scents that, when combined, create a unique fragrance. Top, middle, and base notes work together to create the full body of a perfume.
Top notes, also known as head notes, are the first impression of a fragrance. They are usually sharp and light and tend to evaporate quickly. Citrus and fruity scents are common top notes, as are green notes, which can include the smell of freshly mown grass or crushed leaves.
Middle notes, also called heart notes, emerge once the top notes evaporate. They are often rich, full scents that form the heart of the perfume. These notes are the "heart of the composition" and can be floral, spicy, or resinous. Floral middle notes can include rose, jasmine, peony, gardenia, freesia, lilies, tuberose, and magnolia. Spices can be "hot/short" (intense and burning briefly) like cinnamon, or "cold/long" (gentler, with a cooling sensation and prolonged aftertaste) like coriander, caraway, and cardamom. Resinous middle notes include labdanum, frankincense, myrrh, balsam of Peru, and benzoin.
Base notes are the foundation of a perfume and emerge once the top and middle notes have evaporated. They are often rich, deep, and long-lasting scents that linger on the skin. Woody notes are common base notes, including sandalwood, cedarwood, and vetiver. Amber is another base note, adding a warm, sweet, and exotic character to a fragrance. Gourmand fragrances are a type of base note that evokes the smell of food, especially sweets and desserts. Common notes include vanilla, chocolate, burnt sugar, caramel, honey, and candied hazelnut.
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Concentration: Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, and Eau Fraiche vary in strength
The language of fragrance is complex and vague, with terms like 'tinge' and 'touch' being used to describe the various notes of a perfume. However, when it comes to the concentration of perfumes, the language is more precise. The concentration of a perfume refers to the ratio of perfume in relation to alcohol. The higher the concentration of perfume oil, the stronger the fragrance and the longer it will last once sprayed.
There are four main concentrations of fragrance: Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, and Eau Fraiche. Each varies in strength and expected longevity. Eau de Parfum, or EdP, is the strongest type, containing between 10-20% perfume oil. It is a popular choice, often lasting around 8 hours. Chanel No. 5, for example, has an EdP concentration that was developed in the 1980s, much later than the original parfum and Eau de Toilette versions.
Eau de Toilette, or EdT, contains around 5-15% perfume oil. These fragrances often provide a quick burst of beautiful smells before fading, making a great first impression. They typically last between 4 and 7 hours. To make an EdT version of a fragrance brighter and fresher than its EdP counterpart, the oil may be adjusted to contain more top notes and fewer base notes.
Eau de Cologne is a much lighter choice, containing only 2-4% perfume oil. It is often used as a body splash to freshen up throughout the day. Eau de Cologne doesn't last long, usually only around 2-3 hours. The lightest concentration available is Eau Fraiche, with just 1-2% perfume oil. This type of fragrance is incredibly light and perfect for those who want just a hint of scent.
The modern perfume industry encourages layering fragrances so that they are released in different intensities throughout the day. The conventional application of pure perfume (parfum extrait) in Western cultures is behind the ears, at the nape of the neck, under the armpits, and at the insides of the wrists, elbows, and knees. These pulse points warm the perfume, continuously releasing the fragrance. According to perfumer Sophia Grojsman, behind the knees is the ideal point of application for optimal scent rise.
The scent of perfume as it wafts through the air or lingers as a trail after the wearer has passed can be described as their 'sillage', derived from the French word for 'wake'. Other words to describe the smell of perfume include fragrance, aroma, emanation, efflux, scent, whiff, and aura.
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Families: Floral, Oriental, Woody, and Fresh are the main scent families
The language of fragrance is often deliberately vague, with descriptions providing just enough information to stir the imagination. However, to help shoppers and connoisseurs alike, the world of fragrance is classified into families, with Floral, Oriental (also known as Amber), Woody, and Fresh being the main four.
Floral
The floral scent family is one of the most common and is used in many well-known perfumes. Floral fragrances usually take on a feminine character and smell like fresh-cut flowers or have a powdery note to them. They are perfect for spring and summertime. Single floral fragrances are dominated by the scent of a particular flower, such as rose, carnation, or iris. In French, this type of fragrance is called a soliflore. Floral bouquet perfumes, on the other hand, are compounds of several flower scents.
Oriental/Amber
Oriental fragrances are rich and exotic, often with herbs, spices, and dry, powdery, resinous notes. Amber scents, which are the foundation of all oriental perfumes, are described as sensual, warm, and exotic. They are made up of sweet, warm resins that originate in tree barks, such as vanilla, labdanum, and balsams. Oriental fragrances are also associated with ingredients traditionally used in Arabic perfumery, such as musk, patchouli, sandalwood, and spices.
Woody
The woody family includes warm and opulent scents, mixing incense-like fragrances like sandalwood, agarwood, cedarwood, and vetiver with drier notes. Woody fragrances are dominated by woody notes and often contain patchouli, with its camphoraceous smell.
Fresh
The fresh scent family encompasses clean, bright, zingy, aromatic, herby, citrusy, and oceanic scents. More often used in men's fragrances, fresh scents are paired with spicy notes to create a more robust fragrance. Aromatic, tart notes can also be found mixed with zesty or fruity scents.
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Ingredients: Flowers, resins, spices, and more are used in perfumery
Flowers, resins, spices, and other natural ingredients are commonly used in perfumery. These ingredients are carefully selected and combined to create unique and captivating fragrances that evoke emotions and memories.
Flowers play a significant role in perfumery, with some of the most commonly used flowers being jasmine, rose, and lily of the valley (muguet). Jasmine, native to Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, has a refreshing and light floral fragrance and is considered one of the most expensive perfume ingredients due to the large number of flowers required to produce its oil. Rose, with its universal appeal and unique signature, adds a distinctive touch to any fragrance, while muguet, a wildflower with a sublime scent, is often synthetically reproduced as its natural scent cannot be easily captured.
Resins, such as myrrh and opopanax (sweet myrrh), are also important ingredients. Myrrh, one of the oldest perfume components, is a gum resin tapped from the True Myrrh tree found in Arabia, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Opopanax, an herb that grows in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa, has a balsamic scent with floral and herby notes.
Spices like patchouli, derived from an Asian shrub, add a sensual and exotic dimension to perfumes. Its warm and deep fragrance is often associated with romance and erotic love.
Other natural ingredients include sandalwood, a base note with a creamy and milky scent, and tonka bean, which has a vanilla aroma with hints of cinnamon, cloves, and almonds. Lavender is another popular ingredient, known for its distinctive yet not overpowering floral and fresh scent, while tuberose, a plant related to the lily family, has a powerful and heady fragrance.
In addition to natural ingredients, synthetic fragrances are also commonly used in modern perfumery due to their versatility, consistency, and cost-effectiveness. Synthetic chemicals like Iso E Super contribute to the fullness of a fragrance, offering a smooth and warm woody aroma.
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Diffusion: The French term 'sillage' describes how a fragrance diffuses around the wearer
The French term "sillage" describes how a fragrance diffuses around the wearer. It comes from the French word for "wake", as in the trail left in the sky by an airplane or the ripples that trail behind a boat in the water. In the context of perfume, sillage refers to the lingering aroma that people can smell even after the wearer has walked away. A strong sillage means that a fragrance projects well and has a large sillage.
Sillage strength is largely based on the ingredients in a perfume. The top notes of a fragrance are usually what gets smelled first and influence the initial sillage. The middle notes, or heart notes, don't evaporate as quickly as the top notes, allowing them to stay in the air longer. The base notes are the most important when it comes to determining sillage. These are usually the least volatile notes in the mix, meaning they evaporate the slowest. The heavier the base notes, the higher the sillage.
The alcohol content of a perfume can also determine its sillage. For example, eau de toilette perfumes have a high alcohol content, which helps spread the fragrance. This gives it a strong initial sillage that doesn't last very long. On the other hand, eau de parfums have high oil concentrations, which allow them to leave a scent trail.
An individual's body chemistry can also impact the sillage of a perfume. Factors such as skin type, pH levels, and body temperature can influence the way a fragrance interacts with the body. Applying perfume to areas with more body heat, like pulse points, can help to enhance sillage and make the scent last longer.
The inherent scent of the skin, moisturization, and the behaviour of the skin's microbiome can also affect the diffusion of a perfume. Certain compounds, such as Hedione, damascones, Iso-E super, and linalool, are sometimes added to fragrances to enhance their diffusion and sillage.
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Frequently asked questions
The four main categories of perfume scents are floral, oriental (or amber), woody, and fresh. Each of these categories has its own distinct characteristics and subfamilies.
Some examples of perfumes that fall under the floral category are Serge Lutens Sa Majeste La Rose, Houbigant Quelques Fleurs, and Jean Patou Joy. Floral perfumes usually smell like fresh-cut flowers or have a powdery note to them.
Perfumes that fall under the oriental category include Guerlain Shalimar, Yves Saint Laurent Opium, and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. Oriental perfumes are characterized by their rich, exotic scents, often featuring herbs, spices, and resins.
