Fragrance 'notes'

Perfumes (also these days widely referred to as 'fragrances') are made up essentially of a mixture of water and alcohol in which aromatic compounds have been dissolved. As the perfume is placed on the skin, the alcohol begins to evaporate, and as it does so the fragrance alters in character. This process reveals the three main layers of the predominant scents or 'notes' that characterise the perfume.

• Top notes are the scents given off from the bottle or immediately after application. It is important that they are attractive, because this is the smell the buyer will first encounter. Typically they are fresh, sharp and crisp, perhaps a little spicy, and delicate floral notes may also be present. Typical top notes are citrus (orange, lemon, lime etc), bergamot, jasmine and ginger.
• Middle (or heart) notes emerge after several minutes or more (allow at least 10 when testing perfume). These are softer, more fulsome and rounded scents, such as lavender, rose, geranium, ylang-ylang, nutmeg and clove.
• Base notes give the perfume depth and resonance, and combine with the middle notes to provide the main long-term character of the perfume. They include the 'fixatives' (such as musk) that bind the other ingredients together and give the perfume its 'tenacity', or power to last (see How Perfume is Made). Cedarwood, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver, patchouli, cinnamon are typical base notes.

Fragrance categories or 'accords'

Perfumes are described and categorised by their predominant theme, known as 'accords', which are usually created by the blending of three or four principal notes. (For more details of the ingredients, see also Perfume Ingredients.)

• Aldehyde. A leading synthetic odorant, with a range of characteristics, often flowery.
• Aromatic. Redolent of herbs and spices, such as clove, anis, clary sage, rosemary, thyme and mint.
• Chypre. An accord named after a perfume called Chypre (pronounced 'sheepr'), created by Coty in 1917. Chypre is the French word for Cyprus, and the perfume was designed to evoke the island's landscape. It has complex, woody, mossy, leather notes, with bergamot, patchouli and labdanum.
• Citrus. The freshening influence of lemon, lime, orange, mandarin or bergamot.
• Floral. Perfume dominated by flowery notes. Perfumes that focus on one particular flower (e.g. rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, frangipani) are categorised as 'single floral' or 'soliflore'.
• Fougère. 'Fern', named after a scent called Fougère Royale, created by Houbigant in 1882. Often a feature of men's fragrances, it has herbal, woody characteristics, along with oakmoss, geranium and bergamot.
• Green. Fresh, bright, natural characteristics, often imparted by floral notes.
• Leather. A dry, smoky effect of wood tars and balsam, offset by flowery notes, reminiscent of leather.
• Oriental. An exotic, spicy, eastern sensation, fragrant with incense resin, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, vanilla and tropical flowers.
• Woody. Perfume dominated by the warm, dry woody notes of cedar and sandalwood. Patchouli and vetiver also have woody characteristics.

Composition

The basic ingredients of perfume are extracted mainly from plants, in the form of essential oils, or the synthetic equivalents of these. These highly concentrated perfume oils are mixed in varying proportions with alcohol and water to produce the finished product. They range in concentration from what we call perfume (or 'perfume extract') to eau de Cologne. The lower the percentage of perfume oil, the lower the intensity of the fragrance and its powers to last.

• Eau de Cologne: contains 25 per cent perfume oil
• Eau de toilette (EDT): contains 520 per cent perfume oil<
• Eau de parfum (EDP): contains 2030 per cent perfume oil
• Perfume extract: contains 30-40 per cent perfume oil