Do you know how to analyze a composition? Discover the olfactory pyramid to find the 3 notes of perfumes and the 7 fragrance families.
In this article, you will discover:
- How to make an olfactory pyramid?
- What is the basis of perfumes?
- What are the olfactory notes?
The olfactory pyramid is a classification in perfumery that divides ingredients according to their sound and persistence into top, middle and base notes.
What is the olfactory pyramid?
Have you ever noticed how your light citrus fragrance begins to take on woody and amber notes after a few hours? It's all about the olfactory pyramid. For convenience, perfumers have created a generally accepted olfactory pyramid. The classic scheme of a perfume is a combination of initial top notes, middle notes, and main base notes. Why "notes"? The most common answer is the association of perfumery with music. After all, the intoxicating composition of a fragrance gradually unfolds before us like a piece of music.
UNDER THE SILENCE OF THE ROSE by Philippine COURTIÈRE
A new fragrance from our La Petit Madeleine brand. We focus on working exclusively with local suppliers and using the highest-quality ingredients. What makes this fragrance unique is its court-cooked ciren and the intoxicating scent of rose combined with blackcurrant.
Its composition is as follows:
- Top notes – Blackcurrant.
- Heart notes – Delicate rose.
- Base notes – Blond woods.
What are the 3 notes of a perfume?
As you already know, the 3 notes we are talking about are the top, middle and base notes of the perfume.
The top or opening notes open immediately and last 5 to 10 minutes. The fragrance of the top notes is lively – it sets the stage for the main note of the fragrance.
Top note examples:
- Rosewood
- Lemon
- Lavender
- Bergamot
- Orange
- Coriander
- Tarragon
- Noble laurel
- Lemon petitgrain
The central or "heart" notes of the perfume open within half an hour and can last from 1.5 to 2 hours. The nature of the perfume can be very different: woody or fruity, chypre or spicy, oriental or fougère, amber or musky. Aromatic substances are chosen for the heart that have a relatively slow evaporation rate. As they blend, they accentuate and shade each other. Heart notes are often a combination of floral scents complemented by fruity, oriental, or woody notes. Sometimes, artificially synthesized scents form the basis of a perfume, allowing for unique combinations not found in nature.
Base notes are the longest-lasting part of a perfume. They begin with the heart notes and reach their distinctive sound after 3 hours. In particularly long-lasting perfumes, base notes can last up to 6-8 hours. Some perfumes can stay on your clothes for several days—this is usually the case with fragrances from the Oriental group.
Each olfactory note in a perfume gives the composition its unique touch. But to unlock the full potential of each ingredient and balance the composition, perfumers create complex recipes.
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with perfumery materials knows that low-volatility, high-persistence products, such as vetiver, oakmoss, patchouli, and others, smell unpleasant when applied directly to the skin, but become superior as they evaporate. This necessitates the use of modifiers with intermediate volatility and persistence, which serve to modify the unpleasant top note of the base products. The modifiers here are the middle notes of the perfume.
Finally, the very volatile top notes, which lack persistence, contribute to giving the perfume a very pleasant smell when the bottle is opened.
What fragrance note remains?
If you are the type of person who values the longevity of perfumes above all else, this section will be of particular interest to you. Perfume lovers choose perfumes with "fixatives," substances composed of heavy products that create the final notes of the perfume, ensuring its necessary longevity. As fixatives, one can use substances of animal origin (ambergris, musk, beaver tail, etc.) or plant origin (sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver, sage, etc.) as well as synthetic products (artificial musk, vanillin, ionones, salicylates, coumarin, etc.). These ingredients of the olfactory pyramid are called base or base notes. These perfume notes can remain on your clothes for days. For your information, our eau de parfum is vegan.
Natural fixatives have a pungent and distinctive scent on their own. However, when combined in a composition, if the dosage is precise, these ingredients give the perfume both staying power and an exciting sense of mystery and sophistication. For example, substances of animal origin have the ability to round out the scent, ennoble it, and give the fragrance character and refinement.
How are perfumes classified?
Every fragrance has something to say about the personality or mood of the wearer. Perfumes are as individual as they are personal. For convenience, various classifications have been developed to distinguish fragrance groups based on their dominant notes. You may have heard of the seven fragrance families. This is one of the most common classifications in perfumery.
What are the 7 perfume families?
There are a huge number of different perfume classifications based on a variety of factors – including the basic sound. One of the most popular (and also the simplest) is the classification of perfumes into 7 families, created by French perfumers in the 19th century.
So, the 7 families of perfumes in perfumery:
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- Floral – The dominant scent in this group of fragrances is the scent of a flower. These can include violet, jasmine, peony, lilac, ylang-ylang, rose, lily of the valley, neroli (orange blossom extract), iris, tuberose, orange blossom, and other flowers.
- Citrus – this category is associated with the Hesperides, who, in mythology, were the guardians of the orchard of golden apples, i.e., oranges. This group includes Mediterranean fragrances (bergamot, orange, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin) and exotic fragrances (lime, yuzu). This category is synonymous with freshness and lightness. Citrus fruits are at the top of the olfactory pyramid and the first to release their scent when the perfume opens.
- Ferns – The origin of the family name is Royal Fern. The scent of these perfumes is fresh and bitter, and its main notes are oakmoss, coumarin, and woody tones.
- Chypre – The first Chypre, created by François Coty in 1917, brought together a bouquet of scents: patchouli, oakmoss, incense gum, and bergamot. These notes became the founding notes of the chypre family.
- Woody – This family is dominated by oils of sandalwood, patchouli, cedar, oud, vetiver, myrtle and other woods.
- Oriental (Oriental, Amber) – The aromas in this family represent the exoticism of the Orient and have a thick, hard, heavy, and seductive scent. These include patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, lavender, sage, iris, orange blossom, jasmine, amber, musk, and various balsams and resins.
- Leather – Fragrances in this family smell of animals, horse saddles, and expensive jackets. The main notes are tobacco, suede, birch, and leather.
In recent years, it has also become common to distinguish between:
- Gourmand – These are fragrances in which you can smell the culinary scents of sweets – waffles, biscuits, pralines, nougat and so on
- Oud – A family of fragrances in which a note of the mysterious oil of the oud tree predominates.
Why do you need to understand families?
Mainly to understand your preferences and guide you in choosing a new fragrance. Searching for the abstract "sweet" or "unusual" can confuse even a very experienced consultant, but naming the family you want will help you more accurately describe the fragrance you are looking for.
The olfactory pyramid is only a navigator, but you choose your own direction.
Having a theory makes it easier to navigate the world of perfumery and find the fragrance composition that suits you best. Now you can easily explain the fragrance you're looking for to a consultant. And you can tell your friends about your perfume experience in a more elegant way.