Fragrance Families:
Floral: A Floral fragrance is generally a fragrance that has a single flower scent or is predominantly a single floral scent. The most notable examples are Rose, Jasmine, Gardenia, and Ylang-Ylang. There are many others of course.
Fougere*: [* pronounced "foo-zhair"] comes from the French word for "fern"; most often associated with men's fragrances; this is a mossy or woodsy kind of scent often contain Lavender and Oakmoss.
Green: Green scents would be considered "natural" in flavor. Herbaceous scents would fall in this category. The hallmark of this fragrance family is "fresh". Some examples would be: fresh-cut grass, leaves, forest scents, pine.
Spicy: Spicy scents will often make your nose "tickle". They are pungent and carry a high amount of the chemicals eugenol and isoeugenol. Some well-known examples of spicy scents would be clove, cardamom, coriander, ginger, carnation, and lavender.
Oriental/Amber: Oriental fragrances are common in both male and female fragrances. They are often warm, spicy and sweet and contain ingredients such as Vanilla and Tonka bean. Musks and precious woods like Sandalwood is also very common in these fragrances.
Citrus: The earliest colognes were in the citrus family and citrus fragrances are still popular today. Obviously, this fragrance family would feature fragrances that are citrus and/or tart scents, i.e. lemon, lime, orange, bergamot, clementine, yuzu, grapefruit, pineapple, mandarin, etc...
Modern/Aldehydic: These perfumes are blended from organic chemical that have been produced synthetically. These scents do not exist, as plants, in the world. They are very potent and are used in extreme dilution by perfumists. Aldehydes often make exciting top notes in a perfume blend.
Chypre: Chypre [* pronounced "sheep-r"] is a uni-gender category that appeals to both men and women. A Chypre fragrance contains woody, mossy and floral notes, as well as the scent of leather. This kind of scent is tenacious and rich, often containing Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Bergamot and Vetiver. Chypre was named after a feminine fragrance by Coty called 'Chypre' in 1917. [The name 'Chypre' is French for Cyprus, which is where many of the notes that make up the Coty fragrance (and this fragrance family) could be found.]
Oceanic/Ozone: The Marine fragrance family is relatively new and is used to describe scents that evoke a feeling of the sea air. An ingredient called calone is said to be used to give the marine scent. This, too, is a uni-gender scent category.
TOP NOTE
The top note is immediately detectable, due in large part to the fact that it is evaporating quickly and so is more evident. Poucher determined that top notes fell within a rating of 1 to 15. By way of example, here are some rates of popular top notes:
Mandarin = 2
Coriander = 3
Nutmeg = 11
Fragrance examples of Top Notes:
Floral & Citrus: Chamomile, Gardenia, Geranium, Iris, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, Marigold, Rose, Tuberose
Fruity: Apricot, Black Currant, Grape, Peach, Pear, Plum, Marigold (tagetes), Melon, Orange, Raspberry
Citrus: Bergamot, Clementine, Lemon, Lemon Verbena, Lime, Mandarin, Neroli, Petitgrain, Pineapple, Tangerine, Yuzu
Green: Basil, Clary Sage, Galbanum, Hyacinth, Lavender, Mint, Rosemary
Spicy*: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Clove, Pepper, Nutmeg, Coriander, Allspice
Woody: Sandalwood**, Rosemary, Cedar, Oakmoss**
[* Sometimes appears as top notes]
[** Also listed as a fixative by other books and by Making Soaps & Scents, itself. My thought is that they are considered "top" notes because they rise to the front of the blend as well as being at the base.
MIDDLE NOTE
The middle note lasts longer than the top note and has the advantage of mixing with the top note to begin with, and leads into the base note at the end of its phase.Middle notes generally develop within 10 minutes and can last as long as hours. Middle notes tend to be rich in florals.Poucher's classification system rates middle notes as being between 16 and 69. Some examples of middle notes are:
Marjoram = 18
Clove Bud = 22
Jonquil absolute = 24
Ylang-Ylang absolute = 24
Rose absolute = 43
Tuberose absolute = 43
Jasmine absolute = 43
You'll note the "heaviness" of rose absolute. We've been told that while rose is very expensive, that we don't need a lot of it for it to make an impact. With this quantification system, we have an easier way of understanding that statement!We can also see that Jasmine, which is less expensive than rose, can have a similar impact at a lower cost. It does affect our choices for the other notes though, doesn't it? Fragrance examples of Middle Notes:
[NOTE: You will see fragrances repeated in this list. The rationale for the duplication seems to be that the fragrances in question are on the edge between fleeting and more enduring. They are also successfully blended with other scents to create a true middle note.]
Floral:
Camellia, Carnation, Cyclamen, Daffodil, Frangipani, Freesia, Gardenia,
Geranium, Heliotrope, Honey, Honeysuckle, Iris, Jasmine, Jonquil, Lavender,
Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Magnolia, Mimosa, Narcissus, Orange flower/blossom,
Orchid, Peony, Rose, Stephanotis, Sweet Pea, Tuberose, Violet, Water Lily,
White Lily, Ylang-Ylang
Green:
Mostly aldehydes
Cucumber, Grass, Green leaves, Lettuce, Tomato,
Modern:
Mostly aldehydes simulating:
floral, fruity, citrus or woody notes
Oriental/amber
Amber, Musk, Vanilla
Chypre: (* pronounced 'sheep-r')
Calamus, Clary Sage, Labdanum, Oak Moss, Patchouli, Storax
Citrus:
Bergamot, Lemon, Lemon Verbena, Lime, Mandarin, Orange
Pettitgrain, Tangerine,
Spicy:
Allspice, Cinnamon, Clove, Coriander, Ginger, Myrrh, Nutmeg,
Pepper, Pimento
Oceanic:
Aldehydes which simulate:
Freshly-washed linen, Ocean breeze, Sea Air
BASE NOTE
The base note is the longest lived of all the notes. However, in spite of coming "last", it is arguably the most important choice in your blend. The base note is present throughout the other two notes. While it is not noticeably detectable until the others have evaporated, it has affected and altered all of the scents contained in the blend. The change of the base note fragrance can radically alter the perfume.Base notes are notable because of their longevity. Base notes may also be thought of as "fixatives".
Some examples of base notes listed in Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes are: Galbanum resin = 90 Propanax resin = 90 Angelica = 94 Fixatives = 100 Frankincense Benzoin Patchouli Sandalwood Oakmoss Tonka bean Vetiver Balsam Copaiba resin balsam of Judea balm of Gilead balm of Peru Tolu balsam
Fragrance examples of Base Notes listed in Making Soaps & Scents: Animalic (origin: "animal" or synthetic): Ambergris Castoreum Civet Musk Resinous (origin: resin from roots or trees, etc...)** [**Source for definitions:
http://www.onelook.com ...
Angelica root, balm of Gilead, balm of Peru,Balsam, balsam of Judea, Copaiba resin, Frankincense, Galbanum, Tolu balsam
Woody:
Aloewood, Ambrein, Benzoin, Cedarwood, Coumarin (similar to Tonka bean), Labdanum, Musk, Oakmoss, Orris root, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Styrax (storax), Tarragon leaves, Tonka (tonka bean), Vanilla; Vanillin, Vertiver (vetivert; vetiveria), Virginia cedar
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