

If you’re in-store, here’s how to properly shop for fragrances.įirstly, you need to make use of the blotters that are helpfully put out for you, it means you won’t be trying out endless perfumes on your skin and confusing scents. It’s a great idea to test out a scent before buying it. No matter which fragrance wheel you use, by defining the notes you like in a perfume, you will have a great knowledge base when choosing your next fragrance. Sometimes these fragrance families are cut down to just four – floral, oriental, woody and fresh – with subcategories within them, such as soft floral or woody oriental. The final category is Gourmand, an entirely new concept, featuring “tasty” notes in perfume, such as chocolate, caramel, coffee and almonds. It is less of a category and more of a concept, developed by French perfumier François Coty in 1917. Perfect for male scents, there are also female perfumes in this category.Ĭhypre is the penultimate member of the family and is a blend of woody and mossy fragrances with a touch of bergamot and sometimes a floral hint. It is often described as a fern-like scent.Īnother popular category is the Woody scent, made up of ingredients such as sandalwood, cedar and patchouli.

They are seductive perfumes, best worn at night.įougère category is often directed at men and features ingredients such as bergamot, geranium and oak moss. Oriental fragrance, featuring ingredients such as sandalwood and vanilla. This scent is, of course, followed by the slightly heavier The bass notes end with subtle musk notes and precious woods to add dept and richness.įloriental scents are just as described, they blend floral notes with a touch of spice, resins and warm woods. The heart notes are a full-bodied blend of beautiful feminine florals, highlighting jamine, iris and muguet white flowers. SUNG ALFRED SUNG is a floral perfume that commences with green floral nuances. They have notes of jasmine and rose (the two most popular ingredients in floral scents) lily of the valley and magnolia. An example would be ALFRED SUNG PARADISE, which opens with notes of dewy tropical greens and tagets absolute woven with juicy white peach for a spark of playful whimsy.įloral perfumes are very feminine and a popular fragrance family. To illustrate the fragrance family, a wheel chart is used to outline the different categories (and even sub-categories within them) much like sommeliers detecting different notes in a wine.įresh fragrances tend to be zesty and citrusy, light and splashed on in summer. You’ll find that, even without knowledge of these groups, you may instinctively prefer a particular fragrance family as our chosen base for perfumes. This information applies to both women’s and men’s fragrances. Defining which family you like will make it easier to choose a scent. Together, the middle and base notes form the essence of the scent profile.Įvery fragrance falls into one of eight fragrance families. It takes time for the base notes to come through, usually up to an hour, which is why it is always important to wear a perfume for a while before deciding if you like it. They are generally slightly softer and longer lasting and are supported by the base notes, which add depth and solidity to the scent. The middle notes, also known as heart notes, appear soon after and make up the main body of the perfume. There are three the top notes, are the first rush of scent you experience after a perfume is sprayed. Understanding Fragrance NotesĮveryone’s body chemistry interacts uniquely with different fragrances and it’s important to consider a perfume with a scent profile that matches you.Īll fragrances are composed of layers, these are the “notes” that make up the scent. Hopefully, this guide will help you select the best scent for you. The art of perfumery is deep and there are certain rules that every skilled fragrance customer of must know. What’s the difference between all these fragrances? How do you begin selecting a fragrance that suits you? At times, it can seem difficult to navigate the wide selection available. Whether intended to seduce or reflect, the scents we use to enhance our image are varied and complex. Today we use fragrance for different purposes. Even the ancient Greeks valued fragrant ingredients as precious luxuries. The tradition of the perfumery dates back over 3,000 years to ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians. It is the finishing touch to a perfect outfit, the romance of an unforgettable moment and a hint of mystery to leave as your calling card. We use this sense in fragrance to evoke imagination and style.

Our sense of smell, scientifically called olfaction, is perhaps the most powerful human sense for processing memory and emotion.
