Welcome to “Fragrance School”

“Perfume is the art that make memories speak.” - Francis Kirkdijan

Aug 29, 2023

assorted-item lot — Photo by Bundo Kim on Unsplash

Step one in my journey to find a signature scent had to be to educate myself. I feel an educated consumer is the best consumer and it was high time to inject more intention into my search.

My version of “fragrance school” consisted of reading books, articles and websites about fragrance so here I am ready to impart my most helpful and interesting findings.

What is Perfume / Fragrance

Up until now I have been referring to what is more commonly called perfume as fragrance. I’ve learned that although these terms can be used interchangeably they don’t mean the same thing. Fragrance is defined as, “a combination of organic compounds that produces a distinct smell or odor”. While perfume is defined as, “a liquid mixture used to emit a pleasant odor. It is formed from fragrant essential oils from plants, spices or synthetic aromatic compounds”. 1

A perfume can be made of anything from 1 to 120 ingredients and can contain a blend of natural or synthetic ingredients or both. All perfumes natural or synthetic are made from chemicals either produced by people or plants. The perfume plus the other ingredients like alcohols are what constitute a fragrance.

And since you can not copyright perfume is also a term used to keep a fragrance recipe a secret. The ingredients listed on the bottle or website are the allergens not the all the ingredients that comprise the fragrance. This is done purposely to make it more difficult to duplicate.

Most Common Types of Perfume

There are about 7 types of perfume but the industry usually sticks to making these three:

Eau de Toilette - light and refreshing scents that contain 5-8% perfume concentrate and stays on the skin for up to 2 hours.
Eau de Parfum - deeper, heavier scents that contain 10-15% perfume concentrate, and because of that they project further, formulated to last longer; and stays on the skin for 4 hours.
Parfum - a scent that stays close to the body and contains 20-30% perfume concentrate so it’s formulated to stay on the skin for a whopping 12 hours.

They Biggest Revelation…Notes are the Output not the Input

The scent of a fragrance is described using notes. There are at least 3 top notes, 3 mid notes and 3 base notes in a perfume. Top, middle and base notes define how long a material will last. Top notes are volatile and dissipate in 30 or so minutes, mid notes last for up to 4 hours and base notes linger 8 or more hours.

The notes are not really the items in the fragrance. Tom Ford’s Black Orchid does not contain ylang-ylang, vanilla or black plum. The perfumer has used chemicals that invoke the smell of those notes. So the notes listed for a fragrance are the output not the input.

Fragrance Terms You Should Know

Longevity- This is how long perfume is detectable for. The concentration of perfume will determine it’s duration.
Dry down - The dry down is the aroma that is left behind an hour or so after applying perfume.
Opening- The initial impression of a perfume when you first spray it.
Projection - The distance from the wearer that the scent can be detected. The greater the projection increases the probability that people around you will smell your fragrance.
Animalic- A perfume or component can be described as animalic when it smells like an animal or an unwashed human.
Niche- Niche fragrance brands don’t create fragrances specifically for men or women, they just create a fragrance and allow the user to decide for themselves.
Indie- Small fragrance companies that are wholly or fully owned by their creative director.
Sillage- The scent trail you leave behind as you walk away.
Skin scent - A parfum made with less volatile components. These stay close to the skin and don’t project well.
Volatile- Volatile materials float away quickly and don’t stay on the skin. Great example are the top notes in a fragrance.
Fixative- A fixative is added to a perfume to make it last longer, they usually are found as a base note and more likely than not a musk.
Flankers- Follow up fragrances to a successful fragrance . They can sometime be limited editions and have the same name as the original. A good example is Good Girl by Carolina Herrera and its many flankers are Good Girl Plush, Supreme and Very Good Girl.

Shopping Tips

When shopping for a perfume at the fragrance counter start by applying all the scents that interest you on paper strips. Then take the paper strips outside to get a true idea of the fragrance. Apply the fragrance you narrowed down to on your skin and give it time to dry down before making a decision on whether you like it or not. You’ll be surprised how many fragrances smell not so great in the opening but have an amazing dry down.

Application Tips

When applying fragrance start with your pulse points, these are areas on your body where your pulse can be easily taken and can generate heat to help project the fragrance.

Wrist
Behind the knees
Inner thighs
Behind the ears
Crook of your elbow
The neck
Ankles (yes ankles)

Some honorable mentions that have nothing to do with being an arterial pulse point but can be just as effective are:

Cleavage
Belly button
Hair
Clothes

Even though you have seen women do this on TV and movies don’t rub your wrists together after applying your perfume it makes it evaporate quicker.

Twenty sprays is highly recommended. This includes your hair, clothes, and body.

Fragrance Storage

If you have a perfume you like to save for special occasions store it in its box or keep it in a dark place because oxygen reacts with the volatile materials and impact the top notes.

As always I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me focus my search and coming up next are reviews of fragrances I have been trying out the along with some of my favorites and not so favorites.

Have any fragrance tips or questions?

1 Piece At A Time

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