Scentology 101: A Lesson In Fragrance
The world of perfume is full of esoteric terms like Chypre and Aldehydic. Which beyond making our fragrance feel fancy, do more to confuse us than to inform us. But we believe that you shouldn’t have to have a masters in chemistry or be fluent in French to shop for a new scent. So we’ve studied up on the industries vast vocabulary to bring you a cheat sheet for decoding the olfactory lexicon.
Accord (n.): The new scent that is created by blending multiple notes or ingredients.
Aldehydic (adj.): A metallic, sparkling and starchy scent. But if you don’t find that particularly informative (can sparkle really be a smell?!), think: old-fashioned. Popular perfumes with this scent: Chanel N°5 , White Linen by Estee Lauder.
Aromatic (adj.): Webster might define ‘aromatic’ as something simply having a smell, but when it comes to fragrance it specifically refers to herbal scents like lavender, rosemary and sage.
Base Notes (n.): Molecularly, the base notes are the heaviest ingredients in perfume oil. They last the longest and work to both enhance the other notes as well as slow their dispersion.
Chypre (n.): A common fragrance family based on the accord of citrus top notes, floral middle notes and mossy base notes. Examples include: CK One by Calvin Klein and Femme by Rochas.
Cologne (n.): In technical terms, cologne refers to the concentration of the fragrance (see: eau de cologne), but in the marketing of scents, it’s most commonly used to mean ‘perfume for men.’
Cuir (adj): If the woman at the fragrance counter describes a scent as ‘queer,’ don’t be offended. Cuir, pronounced ‘queer,’ is the french word for leather.
Eau de Cologne (n.): 1. Don’t be fooled by ‘cologne’ in this case, when the term is prefaced by ‘eau de‘ it isn’t only for guys. Ranking just above ‘eau fraiche’ on the concentration scale, this fragrance only contains a mere 2-4% oils and the rest is just a mixture of alcohol and water. 2. When used as a proper noun, however, Eau de Cologne refers to the first cologne created in Cologne, France by Johann Maria Farina in 1709.
Eau Fraiche (n.): Translating to ‘fresh water’ in French, fragrances labeled ‘eau fraiche’ have the least amount of perfume oil (1-2%) and linger for only about an hour.
Eau de Parfum (n.): If you speak French the meaning may be obvious, but for those of us who don’t, eau de perfum or ‘water of perfume’ is just what it sounds like, watered down perfume. Containing 15-20% percent perfume oil, this scented solution lasts 5-8 hours and is an affordable option for high-end perfume on a budget.
Eau de Toilette (n.): At 5-15% oils this lightly scented solution lasts only about 3 hours.
Middle Note (n.): The notes that develop after 10-30 minutes after application and are considered the body of the perfume. Synonyms: Heart notes
Musk (n.): This popular base note was once comprised of a substance secreted from animal glands, but today most musks are a synthetically produced. Modern musk perfumes include: Narciso Rodriguez For Her by Narciso Rodriguez, Love by Chloé, Gucci by Gucci.
Oriental (adj.): Woody and floral fragrances are fairly self explanatory, but Oriental is a little less obvious. Containing notes of vanilla, frankincense, sandalwood, patchouli and/or musk this scent is sensual.
Perfume (n.): The most potent of the all the fragrances, perfume (sans any French prefix) has the highest concentration of essential oils (20-40%). Synonyms: Extrait
Top Note (n.): The lightest molecular ingredients, the tops notes are the first scents you smell and are also the shortest lived, dispersing after 5-30 minutes. Synonyms: Head notes
