While searching for perfume online, you will have encountered various terms used to describe the scent and composition of each fragrance. We have compiled this handy guide of perfume terminology to help you understand more about the wonderful world of perfume and, of course, to help you find your favourite scents or scent families.
Perfume Notes
You can think of the structure of a perfume scent as a pyramid, with a heavy base at the bottom, a rich heart in the middle and a lighter head at the top. These layers are referred to as notes.
- Top Notes: This is the initial scent you notice and is usually light and fresh. They are the first impression of the scent and fade the quickest.
- Middle Notes: After the top note disappears, the middle note will emerge and will be the core scent of the fragrance.
- Base Notes: These are the long-lasting, richer odours that appear last. They are the underlying foundation of the perfume and will be the final impression of the scent.
Performance
Important fragrance considerations are how long a perfume lasts and how far it travels.
- Longevity is a description of how long the fragrance lasts on your skin. Some perfumes fade after a few hours, while others last the whole day.
- Sillage is a lovely word that describes how far the perfume will waft behind you as you walk. A perfume with a strong sillage will be noticeable from afar, while a soft sillage will be more evident for those who are up close and personal.
Fragrance Families
Fragrances are grouped into families based on the dominant scent. The fragrance wheel highlights four main families:
- Floral: These are scents associated with flowers, including rose, jasmine, lily and violet. These are often found in perfumes for women.
- Amber: The group of warm, spicy scents like amber, vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom make up this family. This family is also referred to as “Oriental”, but this word is becoming less commonly used.
- Woody: Fragrances based on wood scents like sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver and pine are found in this family. These are common in scents for men.
- Fresh: The bright, clean scents of citrus and other fruits, ocean breezes, cut grass, green tea and cucumber are common in this family.
Other fragrance families include:
- Chypre: Complex scents combining citrus, mossy and woody elements.
- Gourmand: Fragrances with foody notes like chocolate and caramel.
- Fougère: Usually a blend of lavender, oakmoss and coumarin.
- Fruity: Aromas of berries, apples and peaches.
- Leather: Warm, smoky, musky scents that remind you of leather.
Concentration
Perfumes are rated according to their concentration of perfume oil into these three categories:
- Eau de Cologne: The lowest concentration, so a light scent that does not last long.
- Eau de Toilette: A middle concentration means that this perfume will be longer-lasting.
- Eau de Parfum: The highest concentration for a strong, long-lasting fragrance.
The concentration has a direct impact on the cost of the perfume, with high concentrations being higher priced.
Now that you are well-versed in perfume lingo, we invite you to browse our extensive range of male and female fragrances to fit your perfect choice.
