UNDERSTAND YOUR FRAGRANCE FAMILY AND FINE YOUR PERFECT MATCH
"Just like in our world of people, the world of scent uses ‘families’ to group and classify our ingredients and perfumes, but what are they and what do they mean?"
1. CITRUS
A family of top note ingredients from citrus fruits such as orange, mandarin and bergamot. They are one of the freshest families on the scent spectrum whose scents are very sharp and fleeting, giving any fragrance an immediate sparkle. The essential oils of these ingredients are mostly extracted from the zest of the fruit. These smells are for that very reason zesty, tangy, juicy and fresh as well as being considered as energising and summery!
2. FLORAL
Easily recognizable and the largest family of them all, floral contains the widest variety of ingredients most of which are flowers. It has a smell that is the most familiar to us, with rose and jasmine being star names. In fact, most floral perfumes will have one (soliflore), or many of these (bouquet) at the heart of their fragrance formula. Flowers are great at being the stand out signature ingredient but also sitting gently in the middle to bring balance to a fragrance.
3. FRUITY
Exactly as the name suggests, this family comprises of fruity ingredients. Think juicy, sweet and edible aromas such as peach, apple and rhubarb. It’s a collection of mid-note ingredients that are more modern in terms of its addition to the scent spectrum, as new technologies have allowed for new ways to create the smell of fruits. Fruity notes bring sparkle and youth to fragrances. A very common family to be used in fragrances!
4. SPICY
It does what it says on the tin (or bottle). A family of exotic spices including pepper, clove and cinnamon, that when come together can be reminiscent of Christmas or cooking spices. Warm and comforting middle note ingredients that add, well, spiciness to any scent.
5. WOODY
Dominated by woody scents such as sandalwood and cedarwood as well as patchouli and vetiver, this is a family that is most commonly adored by men. Think sawdust and pencil shavings, it has a dry and soft aroma that brings warmth and power to a fragrance. Comprising only of base note ingredients it also adds a long-lasting quality.
6. GREEN
Can you smell the freshly cut grass and leaves from the garden? That’s the smell of the green family. Another group of top note ingredients that create a fresh and sharp aroma, with crispy and vegetal notes. It’s very popular for summery fragrances to feature green notes in their composition as they give a natural, lively and crisp feeling from the first sniff.
7. MUSKY
Musks are molecules with a subtle scent yet extremely powerful and essential to any perfume formula, even in the smallest quantities. If musks were a colour it would be white. Their scent is powdery yet there is almost nothingness with a smell similar to skin. They are balancing base note ingredients that give a fragrance lingering depth and warmth. Musks carry a light, powdery, woolly, sometimes slightly sweaty scent.
8. ORIENTAL
Vanilla, resigns such as myrrh, frankincense, warm and powdery notes make up the comforting oriental family. This base note family is sweet, powdery and warm. It’s almost gourmand like and the most sensual note of them all, but it should not be confused with the edible family which borrows much more from the smell of cake and sugar. With a heavily eastern influence, it’s composition hasn’t shifted much since the days of its first creation. Oriental fragrances tend to be worn as evening fragrances due to their long-lasting, dark and seductive qualities.
9. CHYPRE
Mossy and slightly animalic, this family has a history dating back to perfumes from the Roman times. It was named after the island Cyprus, as a lot of the florals included in this family are found on the island. It was bought into the modern day in 1917 and at this time was predominately worn by women as a highly sophisticated scent. It contains an array of ingredients but mostly it’s oakmoss, patchouli and leathery notes.
10. FOUGERE
Can also be known as the aromatic family, Fougere means fern in French. Fougere is aromatic with a smell of lavender and other herbs married together with tonka bean (coumarin). Hugely popular in men’s fragrances particularly during the 1950s when it was considered ‘the barbershop smell’, but so much so it became overused and took a hiatus in the perfume world until recently. We’re now seeing a new found love for this classic aroma by every gender which is great, especially as the first fragrance that was created using Fougere in 1882 was designed for women!
WHAT DOES MATURATION MEAN IN PERFUMERY?
Maturation is a term used in the development process to convey a “timed” process. In simplest terms, maturation is the aging of the oil. The overall aging protocol allows the oil to become more fragrant as the scent matures over time. This process takes place before the oil is diluted in alcohol and water (depending on the format). The mixture is typically then placed in a cool, dark environment where it can develop and remain untouched on average between 2-7 days depending on the fragrance elements.
Some fragrance oil mixtures can require maturation for a few weeks or even a few months, depending on the complexity and how much concentration of resinous material is contained in the solution. In order to create and sell a guaranteed high quality fragrance, allowing it to undergo the maturation process is essential, especially in regard to the perfume's longevity and ability to emit a strong, desirable aroma.
THE ANATOMY OF PERFUME
Perfumes are a blend of aromatics and a diffusing agent (e.g., alcohol). Aromatics combine natural oils and synthetic compounds to create unique scents.
Take our Sweet floral favorite, Madefroyou : it opens with a Sweet fruity, Passion Fruit top note, transitions to a Floral rose heart, and settles with Musky base notes.
- Top notes: Initial impression, lasting ~15 minutes.
- Heart notes: Develop after the top fades, lingering 2-4 hours.
- Base notes: The longest-lasting, remaining up to 6 hours.
Perfumers blend top, heart, and base notes, mixing this perfume oil with a diffusing agent to achieve the desired concentration. The result? A variety of fragrances:
- Parfum: 20-30% perfume oil, Powerful Concentration (6-8hrs, Approximate scent Duration)
- Eau de parfum: 15-20% perfume oil, long-lasting (4-5hrs, Approximate scent Duration)
- Eau de toilette: 5-15% perfume oil, lighter scent (3-4hrs, Approximate scent Duration)
- Eau de cologne: 2-5% perfume oil, subtle and fresh (2-3hrs, Approximate scent Duration)
- Eau fraîche: 1-3% perfume oil, the lightest concentration (<2hrs, Approximate scent Duration)
Rule of thumb: The higher the concentration, the fewer sprays needed.
PERFUME APPLICATION TIPS
If you have an excellent perfume, you don’t need to spray too much to smell good. You just need to remember these application tips:
- Apply unscented lotion to the skin right after towel-drying while your skin is still a bit damp from your bath or shower. After that, you can apply perfume. The lotion will lock in your skin’s moisture, and perfume clings better to moisturized skin. Moisturizing will make perfume last longer.
- Do not mist. Don’t spray perfume into the air and walk into it. That’s a waste of good perfume. Instead, spray perfume directly onto the skin Or Cloth
- After application, let the perfume dry on its own. Do not rub it. Some people would spray perfume on one wrist and dab it with the other to distribute the perfume. Don’t do this; it will ruin your perfume and is a surefire way to ensure it won’t last as long.