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Take Note: The Language of Perfume, Translated

Know your top notes from your dry down? Your vetiver from your sandalwood? Let's unpack the (often confusing) vocabulary of fragrance

Take Note: The Language of Perfume, Translated

Know your top notes from your dry down? Your vetiver from your sandalwood? Let's unpack the (often confusing) vocabulary of fragrance

By: Verity Clark

Choosing your signature scent should be based, primarily at least, on whether or not you like how it smells on you. However, a whole new world of perfume possibility is opened up once you learn the fragrance lexicon, those confusing and somewhat poetic terms that seem to shroud the perfume world in mystery. If you understand the difference between a top note and a bottom note, and can discern a chypre from a gourmand, you might just learn a little more about your own personal perfume taste, making future scent shopping that little bit easier. Let Liberty be your guide

The Fragrance Pyramid, Decoded

First, let’s start with the basics. Have you ever noticed that your fragrance smells one way at first spritz, but then very different later on in the day? That’s down to the way a perfume is ‘built’; how the individual ingredients are combined and layered, which will each develop differently throughout the course of the day. Visualise a three layer pyramid: the tip is where the top notes sit; the middle section comprises the heart notes; and the bottom is formed of the base notes.

Top Notes | These are the notes that create the first impression, as they're what perfumers describe as ‘volatile’, they're punchy to begin with, but dissipate as time passes.

Heart notes | These notes are often what gives a fragrance its signature, plus they stick around for an hour or so after spritzing.

Base notes | Those that linger longer, base notes are formed using heavier molecules than their top and middle counterparts so they last the longest – up to six hours, in fact.

Meet the Fragrance Families

How many types of fragrance exist depends wholly on who you’re asking, but the main categories are floral, woody, amber, fresh, chypre and gourmand. Each scent family has distinctive characteristics and notes associated with it. “For example, the amber fragrance family is associated with rich, exotic and spicy scents while the fresh family is associated with bright citrus, green and oceanic scents,” explains Susan Wai Hnin, co-founder of Gabar. Working out your preference is pretty easy, when you consider the popular perfumes you already love.

Floral

Fairly easy to decode, this family is made up of scents that smell like freshly cut flowers, such as rose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and peony.

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Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

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Creed

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KILIAN PARIS

Love Don't be Shy Refillable Eau de Parfum 50ml

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Byredo

Heliotropia Eau de Parfum 100ml

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Diptyque

Eau de Parfum Fleur de Peau 75ml

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Spring Flower Eau de Parfum 75ml

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Woody

Warm, moody and earthy are all adjectives often used to describe scents which sit in the woody family, which often feature notes of cedar, fresh pine, rich vetiver, sandalwood or patchouli.

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Vilhelm Parfumerie

Smoke Show Eau de Parfum 100ml

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Byredo

Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum 100ml

£200.00

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Tom Daxon

Sicilian Wood Eau de Parfum 100ml

£175.00

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Le Labo

Santal 33 Eau de Parfum 50ml

£168.00

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Aesop

Gloam Eau de Parfum 50ml

£140.00

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Diptyque

L'Eau Papier Eau de Toilette 100ml

£125.00

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Amber

These are the rich, sensual, exotic scents that conjure up images of far flung souks and spice markets. Think sweet spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, addictive peppery flavours and explosive ouds

Le Labo

Ambrette 9 Eau de Parfum 50ml

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Laboratory Perfumes

Amber Eau de Toilette 100ml

£80.00

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D.S. & Durga

Amber Kiso Eau de Parfum 50ml

£155.00

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Loewe

001 Woman Eau de Parfum 100ml

£123.00

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Veronique Gabai

Noire De Mai Eau de Parfum 85ml

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KILIAN PARIS

Love Don't be Shy Amber and Oud Refillable Eau de Parfum 50ml

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Fresh

These are often laced with citrus notes (think freshly squeezed lemon or a slither of orange peel) or oceanic notes, like the breath-enhancing, brow-unfurling drama of fresh sea breeze. They tend to be light, zesty and uplifting.

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Veronique Gabai

Sur La Plage Eau de Parfum 85ml

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D.S. & Durga

Rose Atlantic Eau de Parfum 50ml

£155.00

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Loewe

Aire Sutileza Eau De Toilette 100ml

£119.00

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Vilhelm Parfumerie

Basilico & Fellini Eau de Parfum 50ml

£145.00

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Byredo

Sundazed Eau de Parfum 50ml

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Comme Des Garçons

Amazing Green Eau de Parfum 100ml

£90.00

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Chypre

Pronounced ‘sheep-rah’, scents that fall into this category are most commonly described as mossy, or with a ‘damp undergrowth’, which, thankfully, smell much nicer than that sounds. Think: bergamot and patchouli.

Diptyque

Eau Capitale Eau de Parfum 75ml

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Le Labo

Ylang 49 Eau de Parfum 50ml

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Sisley Paris

Izia La Nuit Eau de Parfum 100ml

£220.00 £65.00

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MALIN+GOETZ

Cannabis Eau de Parfum 100ml

£130.00

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Gourmand

One for the foodies, gourmand fragrances comprise edible notes, such as praline, chocolate, honey, coffee and caramel.

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Atelier Des Ors

Lune Féline Eau de Parfum 100ml

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Nasomatto

Fantomas Extrait de Parfum 30ml

£130.00

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Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

Music For A While Eau de Parfum 100ml

£265.00

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KILIAN PARIS

Intoxicated Refillable Eau de Parfum 50ml

£220.00

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Fragrance Concentrations

There’s a reason why certain blends of fragrance differ in price. “A perfume is a solution made of a perfume oil, diluted in a solution of alcohol and water, “ says perfumer Veronique Gabai. “The more perfume oil in the solution, the higher the concentration.” And the higher the concentration? Often, the higher the price.

Eau de Parfum: Concentration above 10%
Eau de Toilette: Concentration between 6 and 10%
Eau de Cologne: Concentration below 6%

Extra Credit

Bonus Perfume Terms to Learn

ACCORD

An accord is essentially a grouping of raw scent ingredients that together, create a distinctive scent of their own.

DRY DOWN

The dry down is the smell that appears once the initial notes have evaporated, and the middle notes have started to follow suit. It's the reason experts recommend trialling a perfume for a day or so before investing to ensure you like the scent long after the first impression.

FUNCTIONAL FRAGRANCE

“These are fragrances that deliver an additional benefit to scent,” says Gabai, “and are commonly designed for wellbeing or to enhance mood.” Often backed by neuroscience, functional fragrances are scents that have been proven to have a direct impact on the brain, whether that's to energise or relax the wearer.

NOSE

The affectionate name given to a perfumer, a 'nose' has an incredibly honed sense of smell and is qualified in the art of creating fragrance compositions.