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Discover the art, science and language of scent.
Perfume is a mixture of scented oils and/or aroma molecules dissolved in a solvent, typically alcohol and water, or oil. In industry jargon, the scented mixture is referred to as the “juice.”
The concentration of a fragrance, the percentage of scented mixture, is typically between 10% and 30%. Different concentrations are sold and marketed under different names. There are no defined standards for fragrance concentration, so every brand categorizes their products differently. Parfum, or extrait, is the most concentrated form of fragrance, eau de parfum (edp) is somewhere in the middle, and eau de toilette (edt) is the least concentrated. Cologne and eau de cologne may be 5% to 10% or lower.
The individual raw materials that make up a fragrance.
Our collection contains natural and synthetic ingredients sourced from all over the world. Two types of ingredients are used in perfume: natural (derived from plant materials) and synthetic (created through chemical synthesis).
Natural ingredients have been used since the beginning of perfumery. Various methods are used to extract and concentrate the fragrant parts into raw materials. Depending on the method of extraction, the resulting raw material will be an essential oil, absolute, or CO2 extract.
A natural oil that carries the distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant (flowers, leaves, wood, bark, roots, seeds, peel) from which it is derived. Essential oils are usually obtained through steam distillation.
A highly concentrated aromatic oil obtained through alcohol extraction. The residual product that contains aromatic content after extraction is the concrete, which is further filtered to remove plant waxes and the resulting product is the absolute.
Supercritical CO2 extraction is a more recent invention that uses carbon dioxide in its liquid state. Because the process is quick and gentle it can produce an absolute that retains the original odor of the natural material.
Plants can produce a variety of raw materials depending on the species, the part of the plant that is extracted and the extraction method used. For example, a bitter orange tree produces three common raw materials: petit grain (steam distilled from branches and leaves), neroli oil (steam distilled from the flower), and orange flower absolute (extracted with alcohol from the flower). Rose absolute, obtained through alcohol extraction, and rose essential oil, obtained through steam distillation, from the same rose plant will have distinctive scents.
In the late 19th century perfumers began using synthetic ingredients, which allowed them to expand their palettes beyond natural oils and absolutes. With these materials perfumers can reinvent naturally occurring smells and create entirely new scents. Synthetic ingredients make up to 80% of many modern perfumes and give perfumers enhanced creative freedom and odor performance. We include synthetic ingredients in our collection because they’re an essential part of modern perfumery. We love to experiment and create with synthetic ingredients and hope that you will too.
An original molecule that is not found in nature. Some aroma molecules have unique scents that have never been smelled before; others resemble a natural material that cannot be obtained naturally for one reason or another.
Called “nature-identical” because the synthetic and natural molecules are exactly the same. Natural molecules are synthesized when it’s too difficult or cost-prohibitive to extract the aromatic compounds
A blend of two or more natural and/or synthetic raw materials that together create a distinct fragrance. Accords often recreate the effect of another material.
The rise in popularity of organic and green products in beauty and cosmetics has led many people to view all unnatural ingredients negatively. In reality, synthetic ingredients can be less harmful than nat-ural ones. Synthetic ingredients are created as alternatives to natural ingredients due to high costs, e.g. iris, overharvesting, e.g. sandalwood, technical contraints, e.g. fruity raw materials, or regulation (ingredients are restricted or banned if they are found to be allergens, e.g. oakmoss, or if obtaining the ingredient causes harm to a species, e.g. musk).
Fragrances are made of raw materials that have different rates of evaporation. Raw materials are classified as top, heart or base notes according to their volatility. Most fragrances are built with a combination of top, heart and base notes to balance the fragrance as it evolves over time.
high volatility + low tenacity—they evaporate the fastest and you smell them first
Top notes provide the first impression; a lovely scent upon first spritz. However, their scent is fleeting so top notes do not define the character of a fragrance.
intermediate volatility and tenacity
Also called middle notes or modifiers, heart notes add character, complexity and harmony to a fragrance. They can also cover any unpleasant scents that base notes may have in early stages of evaporation.
low volatility + high tenacity—they last the longest
When the top and heart notes have evaporated and only the base notes remain, this is called a fragrance's "dry down." The base notes in a formula will determine the main characteristics of a fragrance. Some base notes have fixative properties, meaning they help a fragrance last longer by preventing the more volatile perfume ingredients from evaporating too rapidly.
Raw materials are organized into families containing ingredients with similar scents. There are different systems of classification used across the industry. We use these families:
sweet, sensuous, and warm
vibrant, energetic, fresh
fresh, sparkling and uplifting
sweet, soft, varied by the natural scent of each flower
very popular today and often created synthetically
natural, fresh and youthful
smells like leather
impart warmth, diffusion and staying power
impart warmth, body and character
popular in gourmand fragrances
rich, powerful, masculine
Feed your curiosity with these online and offline resources for perfume and fragrance.
The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr
Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent by Jean Claude Ellena
Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez
Vocabulary used by the fragrance industry to describe a scent can at times sound like a foreign language: woody, aldehydic, powdery, balsamic. Let us break down some common terms for you.
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