The scent you wear says so much about you, without having to utter a word.
I have talked numerous times about my love affair with fragrance. For me, the scent you wear says so much about you, without having to utter a word. Smell is incredibly evocative and emotional and can have so much meaning. Personally, I feel like I’m missing something if I don’t have any on.
Perfumery has its own language and terms, so I wanted to decipher the language of scent and delve into some of its meaning. Often, we hear terms such as floriental, fresh, rich and spicy perfumes thrown around but what do these actually mean and are they even the correct technical terms to describe scents? Hopefully, this post will break down any jargon surrounding fragrance and help you to identify the types of scents which suit you.
A “fragrance note” is the individual elements which make up perfume. These can be natural or synthetic, although most fragrances are a blend of both. An “accord” is a balanced blend of fragrance notes which come together to create a completely new fragrance impression.
Many fragrances are structured as a pyramid consisting of: Top notes, Heart notes and Base notes. Top are the most volatile, heart notes give the fragrance its body, while base notes are those that stay with us the longest.
The term Fragrance Family is used to denote a particular but distinct group of notes. Every perfume can be classified into one of these families. The number of families isn’t set in stone but I’ve selected 8 of the most the popular.
Oriental: Warm richness lingering on the skin. A return to the earliest days of perfumery, with warm spices such as vanilla, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Plus, musks and resins such as amber and benzoin.
Example scents L-R: So…? Dark Romance, Bronnley Zealous Flower, Paco Rabanne Olympea Intense
Floreintal: Sensual and addictive, warm and spicy! A sophisticated blend of florals and orientals such as jasmine, gardenia, freesia with warm musks and resins.
Example scents L-R: Jean Paul Gaultier Classique, Ghost Sweetheart
Fresh: Zesty & Citrusy, light and refreshing. This is great for splashing on in the summer. Often contains notes of lemon, bergamot, orange and grapefruit.
Example scents L-R: Vince Camuto Fiori, Jo Malone Cucumber & Earl Grey, Fresh Sugar
Chypre: Dry and woody and refreshingly green! The French word for Cyprus, where these key ingredients flourish. Accords of bergamot, oakmoss, labdanum and patchouli.
Example scents L-R: Vilhelm Parfumerie Purple Fig, Hermes Un Jardin En Mediterranee
Floral: A celebration of blossoms and bouquets. This is the most popular family in fragrance creation! Think notes of peony, rose, gardenia, jasmine and mimosa.
Example scents L-R: Penhaligon Violetta, Monotheme Mimosa, Yardley English Freesia
Woody: A celebration of sandalwood, cedar and agarwood. This fragrance family is mostly masculine, with patchouli and vetiver for intensity.
Example scents L-R: Escentric Molecule 04, Atelier Bloem Iris, Le Labo The Noir 29, Roger & Gallet Fleur De Figuier
Fougere: Green and mossy. The French word for fern with compositions featuring lavender, vetiver, oakmoss, geranium and coumarin.
Example scent: Eight & Bob Megeve
Gourmand: Temptingly delicious! Think caramel, toffee, chocolate, rich vanilla, addictive coffee and creamy desserts.
Example scent: Nina Ricci Luna
I personally tend to lean towards either woody, chypre or floral fragrances but whatever your preference here are a few final tips for finding the right scent.
1) Pay attention to the concentration, this is the percentage of oil in any given fragrance:
- Perfume: Between 20-40% (although most commonly about 30%) which offers long lasting intensity.
- Eau de Parfum: Between 10-20% and believed to be the best value for money as will usually last up to 4-5 hours.
- Eau de Toilette: Between 5-15% which should last up to 2-3 hours, perfect for daytime or at work.
- Eau de Cologne: Cologne is a specific construction with a lively effervescence and lacking base notes. Clive Christian’s 1872 mens version is worth having a whiff of if you’re looking for men’s fragrances.
2) Avoid buying in a rush. Fragrances need time to develop, so wait for the heart and base notes to emerge. The character of the fragrance will gradually evolve the longer it’s on your skin.
3) Fragrances can smell very different on someone else so don’t be swayed by what smells great on a friend. Even what you eat can have an effect, so avoid highly flavoured and pungent ingredients such as spices and garlic before fragrance shopping.
4) Three is key. Avoid sampling more than three fragrances at a time. There’s only so much your brain and nose can compute. Give your senses time to adjust.
5) Your sense of smell is much fresher in the morning. Also, stores tend to calmer first thing, so you’ll be able to explore in a quieter environment too.
Don’t forget you can also keep up with me on Instagram @thatnewdress, Twitter @thatnewdress, Bloglovin That New Dress, Snapchat thatnewdress and Depop @dominiquew.
I wish I loved fragrances as much as you do. They don’t seem to stick to me, within 10 minutes I can’t smell anything. Thaks for sharing this awesome list 🙂
Oh I loved this post dear! I felt like I could smell those different scents right away 🙂 I always like Jo Malone but I think I have to try the one from Eight & Bob very soon 🙂
xx, Carmen from CARMITIVE – now in a new design with extended features!
http://carmitive.com
Great post, it’s so interesting to learn more about perfume! I think my favorites are fresh and gormand 🙂
http://violettedaily.com
Ooh so many good ones here! I love anything Jo Malone. Their peony scent is divine.
Hope you’re enjoying the last few moments of summer!
Lyndi
http://www.stylecalling.com
I really love perfumes so this post was really interesting to me!
Kiss*
Daniela Santos Blog | Instagram
All these scents look amazing!! Thank you for sharing! Xx Susanne – http://bagatyou.com
Thanks for the interesting post! Have a nice day)
you have so many good scents, some of them I have never heard of
xo
http://www.laurajaneatelier.com
These are so well packaged.They look so great.
ttp://sophieatieno.com
OMG! Can I have all of them? huhu loving the scent each of them.
xoxo, Katrina Isha
Thank you for sharing this information. It always takes me a long time before I decide on a new scent and I totally agree about testing too many scents at once.
xo Yvonne
http://www.aproposh.com
Thanks a lot 😀
you always have nice content dear friend. this tips are amazing
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This was such an insightful post! I love so many of your picks! I’m really into sweet perfumes!
Have an awesome day!
xx Kris
https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com
Gorgeous recommendations! I actually really need to get a new perfume so bookmarking this!
Alya / moorizzla xx
This is such a nice selection!
Thanks for sharing
Kiss
Maggie
Maggie Dallospedale Fashion diary – Fashion blog
So many pretty packaging of perfumes! I’ve tried some of these and need to look into the others. Thanks for sharing
http://aikocunanan.com/comfortable-intimates/
Such a wonderful fragrance collection you have! Hope you are having a lovely day! Gemma x
http://www.jacquardflower.uk
I honestly never bought a perfume before! The ones I used are always gifted by my mom, aunt, godmother, godfather, friends, exes, and PR agencies 😀 So this post is really informative for me. And I just learned my favorite perfumes are mostly, fresh, woody, and gourmand.
xx Alyssa // STYLE VANITY
I love wearing fragrance, I actually have several different ones that I use. One for school/work and one for love/date night with my boyfriend. I have also been wearing the same fragrances for over 5 years. I think it is interesting that you said our sense of smell is better in the morning, I didn’t know that.
https://styledwithamanda.blogspot.com
Those a really cute bottles! I love how you take great photos of them. I opt with floral fragrances as well, I love their freshness.
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
I’m allergic to perfume so I’m no good with scents, but all the bottles always look so beautiful!
Raindrops of Sapphire
This is a fabulous guide to finding fragrances best suited to your taste! Oriental fragrances tend to catch my attention, and I adore your imagery in this post – so dreamy!
aglassofice.com
x
wow, love niche parfums, i want to smell Mimosa ^_^ sound fabulous
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have an happy day
kisses
I love both fresh and fougere scents! They’re my faves. 🙂
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
Frangrance has actually been something that I’ve never much paid attention to– but this was so informative!! I want to start looking for some woodsy scents, because those sound wonderful. I always thought perfume smelled like flowers mixed with alcohol, but maybe I was looking in the wrong places.
http://cynicalduchess.com
Great post dear!
http://iameleine.blogspot.com/
amazing … all looks great
http://thestyleride.com/
Thanks a lot for sharing) looks very interesting!
Awww, you should definitely be investing in ones with higher oil concentration. They scent will linger a lot longer xx
If you like Jo Malone, you’ll love Eight & Bob! They do just gorgeous and unique scents xx
So glad you doung it interesting and informative hun! xx
Me too, I’m a sucker for Jo Malone! xx
That’s great to hear hun! xx
Pleasure, hope you enjoyed reading xx
Thank you so much Vika xx
There all gorgeous smelling, so I highly recommend checking them out xx
Thank you so much lovely xx
Haha! You can never have too many scents! xx
I always thinking picking out a new scent should take time, it’s important to get it right! xx
Thank you so much xx
So glad you think so, thank you for the lovely comment doll xx
That’s great to hear! Hope it will be helpful in your search xx
Thank you so much darling xx
I love perfumes that come in pretty bottles! xx
Thank you Gemma xx
That’s amazing that you’ve never bought a perfume before. You must be surrounded with lots of lovely people! xx
Isn’t that strange about our senses being better in the morning?! I think it’s because they are less overwhelmed by everything we smell throughout the day xx
I love a floral fragrance too! xx
The Mimosa one smells gorgeous, it’s a recent discovery and I love it xx
Yes, I love anything fresh smelling too! xx
This comment makes me so happy, I’m so glad you found it informative. Definitely have a look into some woody fragrances. If you’re smelling good quality ones, they shouldn’t smell too much of alcohol xx
Thank you doll xx
Thanks Mahi xx
Thank you sweetie xx
Lovely parfume! Thanks for sharing!
xoxo
ayu
Awww that’s such a shame but you’re so right, the bottles are very pretty! xx
You’re so lovely, thank you so much hun xx
Me too! xx