Glossary
Sometimes fragrances are described in ways that simply aren’t common language. Or other times, it may be difficult to understand what kind of smell a particular note gives off. Don’t worry, here I’ll breakdown down the fragrance vernacular into layman’s terms.
General Terms
You may hear or see fragrances describes with these terms, but now you’ll understand the art behind them in entirety
Accord
Definition: An accord is simply the bespoke blend of ingredients used to create a specific smell profile. If a fragrance is described as having leather accords, that’s simply referring to the fact that the scent has a leathery smell. But that exact leathery smell is actually the intellectual property of the fragrance supplier. For example, one supplier may make a leather accord for a particular fragrance using proportions of tobacco, suede, and various resins while another leather accord may be birch, saffron, and patchouli-based.
In Colloquial Terms: Think of two chefs making blueberry sauce. One chef may create his blueberry sauce with one set of ingredients while the other chef uses a different set of ingredients. To the restaurant goer, the blueberry sauce on both menus will taste different. Those two blueberry recipes tasting different are akin to two leather accords smelling differently.
Animalic
Definition: So this may sound gross but bear with me. Before we created synthetic perfumes, we used to get some ingredients from actual animals. These ingredients were used for what we know as musk today. Ingredients like civet, which was a glandular secretion from civet cats that added depth and warmth to fragrances. In modernity though, you’ll be happy to know that these are all synthetic now, and in general animalic ingredients are added to a perfume to give depth, sensuality, and intensity to a scent to make a statement and make it long lasting.
In Colloquial Terms: I kind of relate animalic scents to pheromones in the sense that the smell is raw and bold like sweat but odorous in a weirdly good way.
Sillage
Definition: This truly just means your smell trail — the strength and type of smell left behind when you pass someone.
In Colloquial Terms: There are some people who you know are nearby because you smell their scent (like me haha) — that’s sillage. It’s the combination of concentration, notes, and how the wearer applies their perfume that constitutes sillage. Fragrances with strong sillage leave a lasting impression while those with softer sillage require closer interactions with the wearer to experience.
Types of Notes
Learn the classification, feel, and typical use of these popular ingredients used as notes
Aldehyde
Olfactory Family: Fresh
Typical Note Type: Top
Definition: Technically, it’s a chemical compound found in peels from citrus fruit like lemons and oranges, but it’s often created synthetically today.
Use Case: They’re used to bring a sharp, awakening quality to a perfume. Think of smelling a orange syrup and then squeezing actual orange into it to add zest — that zest is the equivalent of an aldehyde, adding a effervescent lift to the notes and your nose.
Vibes: You’re opening a cold sparkling water that’s fizzy and fresh, perhaps sometimes in the can it’s a bit soapy or metallic but it makes you feel like you’re taking in something fresh. That’s the work of an aldehyde.
Amber
Olfactory Family: Oriental
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Amber is another winning synthetic note made of ingredients like vanilla and resin to create a warm, sweet, and sensual smell.
Use Case: Amber is typically used to create a deep and warm base note that emits richness and comfort at the same time.
Vibes: Imagine yourself wrapped in a warm cashmere blanket, smiling like you do once you tuck yourself into bed. The blanket is soft but also smells a bit like warm, spiced honey. That’s amber.
Bergamot
Olfactory Family: Fresh
Typical Note Type: Top
Definition: Bergamot comes from the oil extracted from an Italian bergamot orange, although many synthetic variations exist today. It is mostly vibrant like most citrus but does has a little bit of a floral smell to it.
Use Case: It’s used to bring freshness and a light sharpness to make a fragrance invigoration upon first spray.
Vibes: You’re taking that initial smell of a lush fruit basket of oranges, limes, lemons, and grapefruit with little flower petals disperse among the fruit.
Cedarwood
Olfactory Family: Woody
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Like bergamot, cedarwood is an extracted essential oil that comes from cedar trees.
Use Case: Cedar is usually used to create a dry, woody base without being overpowering. This enables the perfumer to ground a fragrance in stability but allow it to be subtle enough to build upon with lighter notes.
Vibes: You’re taking a walk through the woods. Throughout your whole walk, there’s a little bit of that nature wood smell but it’s not overpowering as you can smell the scents of nature that come and go as you walk. That light wood smell is cedar.
Immortelle
Olfactory Family: Oriental
Typical Note Type: Middle
Definition: In short, immortelle is a plant essential oil. Specifically, it comes from the flowers of the Helichrysum plant, and tends to give off a herbaled honey scent.
Use Case: It is generally used to add a sweet, spicy richness to give fragrances a distinctive, long-lasting warmth.
Vibes: Imagine it’s fall, and you’re caramelizing some sugar on the stove, but you add a dash of rosemary, thyme, dill, and a medley of other herbs in your cabinet. The waft you get from that pan will be close to immortelle.
Iris
Olfactory Family: Floral
Typical Note Type: Middle
Definition: The actual iris smell comes from the root of an iris flower. Iris tends to give a powdery, floral violet-esc smell.
Use Case: Iris is usually used to add a hint of sensuality and refinement to a fragrance, adding a soft floral layer. You’ll notice that while most florals tend to be top notes Iris is usually used as a middle note because the violet smell is more grounding than fresh.
Vibes: Iris always makes me think of a fancy, traditional room with fresh potpourri — something like what I imagine Daisy Buchanan’s room to smell like. Iris is light, soft floral but the powdery element brings a bit of royal elegance to it.
Musk
Olfactory Family: Oriental
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Musk is an example of an animalic scent. It originally came from the glands of a musk deer, but again is now only produced synthetically. Musk is Originally derived from the glands of musk deer, it’s now mostly synthetic, creating a warm, sensual, and skin-like aroma.
Use Case: Musk doesn’t necessarily have the strongest smell on its own but its like a right hand man to the other notes — it brings depth to the fragrance while making it long lasting.
Vibes: Musk is like the clean, warm smell of skin after a shower—subtle, comforting, and intimate. It can be both fresh and slightly animalic, adding a sensual softness.
How It’s Used: Musk is commonly used as a base note to add warmth and depth to a fragrance, often creating a long-lasting and sensual dry down.
Patchouli
Olfactory Family: Woody
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Patchouli is a scent that comes from eponymous plant, which is essentially a kind of mint plant. Patchouli though has a different smell profile than the traditional mint you may be thinking of. It’s as earthy as mint but a bit sweeter, spicier, and deeper, almost as if you mixed bark of a tree, a sweet resin, and a mint leaf.
Vibes: Patchouli is kind of like that initial smell you have when walking into a swanky downtown hotel in New York City. It’s fresh and sophisticated.
How It’s Used: Patchouli is a richer scent, and thus tend to be used as a base note. It acts as a grounding element in fragrances, and gives off a scent that is alluring but also smells completely natural.
Saffron
Olfactory Family: Oriental
Typical Note Type: Middle
Definition: Saffron is a spice that comes from the saffron flower and tends to give off a rich, leathery aroma.
Vibes: Imagine walking through a spice market. There’s a warmth to the colors and smells around you. Intertwined with that warmth are hints of a luxurious earthy and slightly metallic aroma. Together, it’s exotic, rich, and a bit mysterious.
How It’s Used: Saffron adds an opulent, spicy touch to perfumes, giving them an exotic warmth and depth.
Sandalwood (Santal)
Olfactory Family: Woody
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Sandalwood fragrance comes from extracting the oil from sandalwood trees, usually the Santalum Album which comes from India or the Santalum Spicatum, the Australian sandalwood. You may also see sandalwood referred to as ‘santal,’ which is just a shorthand used in some of the more modern clean luxury brands (e.g., Le Labo’s Santal 33 or Apotheke’s Santal Rock Rose).
Vibes: Sandalwood is like a smooth, creamy wood wrapped in soft cashmere with wafts of a warm incense intermittently.
How It’s Used: Sandalwood tends to be a grounding and long-lasting note, which is part of why it’s often used as a base note. Sandalwood’s inherent warmth and softness also helps balance stronger notes like florals and orientals, which makes it a desirable anchor note.
Styrax
Olfactory Family: Oriental
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Styrax is a sweet, balsamic resting that comes from the bark of Sweetgum trees.
Vibes: Think of something sweet, smoky, and balsamic—like a campfire with wood that has a touch of dried honey on it. It’s rich and slightly medicinal, but in a warm and comforting way.
How It’s Used: Given its longevity and depth, styrax is often used as a base to build sweet or spicy fragrances off of given the syrupy essence of the resin.
Tonka Bean
Olfactory Family: Gourmand
Typical Note Type: Base
Definition: Tonka bean comes from the dried seeds of tonka trees which are endemic to South America and give off a warm, sweet aroma.
Vibes: Imagine a warm, whipped cream with vanilla extract, fresh almonds, and a dash cinnamon —that’s sort of the dessert-like smell tonka gives off. m
How It’s Used: Tonka bean is used to give fragrances a sweet, creamy warmth and is often found in gourmand or oriental perfumes.
