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- Contents
- Scent 101
- Ingredients
- Resources
- Glossary
- Questions
Scent 101
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.”
Types of Fragrance
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.
Ingredients
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
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.
Essential Oil
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.
Absolute
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.
CO2 Extract
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.
Synthetic
Ingredients
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.
Aroma Molecule
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.
Absolute
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
Accord
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).
Top, Heart and Base Notes
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.
Top Notes
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.
Heart Notes
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.
Base Notes
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.
Families
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:
Amber
sweet, sensuous, and warm
Aromatic/Herbal
vibrant, energetic, fresh
Citrus
fresh, sparkling and uplifting
Floral
sweet, soft, varied by the natural scent of each flower
Fruity
very popular today and often created synthetically
Green
natural, fresh and youthful
Leather
smells like leather
Musk
impart warmth, diffusion and staying power
Spicy
impart warmth, body and character
Sweet
popular in gourmand fragrances
Woody
rich, powerful, masculine
Resources
Feed your curiosity with these online and offline resources for perfume and fragrance.
Blogs
Books
The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr
Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent by Jean Claude Ellena
Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez
Glossary
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.
- Absolute
- Many natural materials, for example flowers, are too delicate to undergo the high heat of the distillation process. In this case, the fragrant compounds are extracted from the raw material using solvent. The resulting absolute is essentially a highly concentrated essential oil.
- Accord
- Two or more ingredients that together create a distinct fragrance. Accords often recreate the effect of another material. For example, you may see a ‘candied-cherry’ accord. Candied cherry cannot be bottled up, instead a perfumer will find a combination of ingredients that come together to create a ‘candied-cherry’ scent.
- Animalic
- Previously attributed to scents with animal-derived origins, most animalic ingredients today are aromachemicals. When smelled alone, animalic notes can be intense and unpleasant, but used in small amounts they add sensuality and depth to a fragrance.
- Aldehydic
- Aldehydes are synthetic materials popularized by the heavy use of them in Chanel No. 5. They are the same organic compounds as ketones and though their scents vary, they tend to add lift, air, and "sparkle" to a fragrance.
- Aroma Molecule
- An original molecule that is not found in nature. It may have a unique scent or resemble a natural material that cannot be obtained naturally for one reason or another.
- Aromatic
- This term refers to raw materials and notes that are vibrant, energetic, fresh, like lavender and mint. Aromatic notes are common in masculine fragrances.
- Balsamic
- Balsamic refers to a family of raw materials with a sweet, heavy, sticky scent (think balsamic vinegar). Most balsamic notes, like benzoin, are derived from resins and gums and they're important in Oriental fragrances.
- Chypre
- Chypre (pronounced "sheepra") refers to a family of fragrances originating from the mossy, woody, citrusy perfume Chypre (Coty, 1917). Classic chypre fragrances generally had sparkling citrus and floral notes over a dark, earthy base of oakmoss, patchouli, woods and labdanum. Modern chypre fragrances use less (or zero) oakmoss due to regulatory restrictions; sometimes they use synthetic substitutes.
- CO2 Extract
- Supercritical CO2 extraction is a more recent invention that uses carbon dioxide in its liquid state. Because the process is quick and gentle it produces an absolute that can retain the original odor of the natural material.
- Concentration
- Perfume is made up of scented oils and alcohol. The ratio of oil to alcohol is the "concentration" and it is typically between 10 to 20%. Parfum is the most concentrated form of fragrance and eau de cologne the least.
- Essential Oil
- A natural oil that carries the distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant (flowers, leaves, wood, bark, roots, seeds, or peel) from which it is derived. Essential oils are created through the steam distillation or expression process.
- Flanker
- Flankers are like TV spinoffs, but if the original was a perfume and the spinoff was a twist or interpretation of that perfume. Flankers are ever popular today and some are less obvious than others. Bestseller Coco Mademoiselle, for example, is a flanker of the original Coco. Many flankers are released as limited editions. There have been nearly 20 flankers of L'Eau D'Issey Pour Homme released since the original was created in 1994. Usually, flankers have the same bottle as the original fragrance, but in different colors or with a different decoration.
- Fougère
- Fougère is a fragrance family (the word means 'fern' in French) originating from Fougère Royale (Houbigant, 1884). The fougère structure includes notes like lavender, coumarin, oakmoss, woods, and bergamot.
- GC-MS
- Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry is an instrumental technique by which complex mixtures of chemicals may be separated, identfied and quantified. Used in the perfume industry to analyze ingredients and fragrances.
- Gourmand
- A dessert-like fragrance that is so sweet it's nearly edible. Common notes include vanilla, chocolate, caramel, cotton candy, maple syrup.
- Juice
- Refers to the scented oils. The ratio of "juice" to alcohol determines the concentration, or strength, of a perfume.
- Mod
- "Mod" is industry speak for a fragrance formula. Each formula you create on Scent Market is a "mod".
- Musk
- The name musk originates from an odorous substance obtained from a gland of the male musk deer that was historically used in perfumery. The name now encompasses a family of scents with similar odors. The musk odors used today are nearly all synthetic.
- Narcotic
- Used to describe the effect indoles have on a fragrance; strong, heady, addictive. Generally used to describe white florals.
- Nature-Identical Molecule
- Called “nature-identical” because the synthetic and natural molecules are exactly the same. Natural molecules have to be synthesized when it’s difficult or impossible to extract the aromatic compounds from a fruit.
- Nose
- Industry speak for a perfumer.
- Note
- Notes are the raw materials or scents that make up a fragrance. A ‘note’ can be a single ingredient (natural or synthetic), or an accord.
- Oriental
- A fragrance family that uses amber, vanilla, spices, and musk to create rich, heady, sensual scents.
- Powdery
- Often, fragrance descriptions move beyond simple smells and refer to the perceived texture or aesthetic of the scent. A scent, such as iris, that is perceived as soft and somewhat dry is referred to as "powdery." Powdery scents can give the suggestion of makeup or baby powder.
- Woody
- Reminiscent of dry wood, like pencil shavings.
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