Beginning a Fragrance Journey — It’s All in the Notes!
The world of fragrance is somewhat unknown to many, but a deep passion for others. For me, there is nothing like finding that one fragrance that you can deem your “signature scent”. Working in the field, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a customer light up with a huge smile when they find the fragrance that is just PERFECT.
After finding your signature scent, you may find it very tempting to go on the hunt to see if you can discover that feeling again. Then you find the second fragrance; suddenly two becomes three and by number four you’ve already got yourself a collection.
But what exactly makes up these aromatic fragrances that you get to call your own? This is where my journey to become a fragrance professional, a connoisseur if you will, began to take form. I spent days, weeks, and at this point years, exploring various popular fragrances in the industry. I subscribed to several YouTube channels that helped expose me to “top 10” fragrances for almost any scenario you could imagine. So, let’s get cover some of the foundational knowledge for how fragrances are blended!
First things first, fragrances are composed of several ingredients that give you the scent or aroma we are all familiar with. These are referred to as notes. These notes are generally broken down into three key parts: top notes, heart notes, and base notes. Top notes are those that you will smell as soon as the fragrance is sprayed and it touches your skin. This will usually last anywhere between 1–3 minutes. Once the top notes begin to fade, you will begin to smell the heart notes. These are quite literally, the HEART of the fragrance. The base notes will last the longest on the skin. Sometimes they can be faint, but often times they will linger on the skin for hours on end, especially with higher end fragrances.
The last concept we should cover are the concentrations of fragrances. The three main concentrations you should know about when searching for your fragrances are: Eau de toilette (EDT), Eau de parfum (EDP), and Parfum. Each concentration has a different percentage of alcohol (perfumers alcohol) and fragrance oil. EDTs will usually have between 4–8% oil, EDPs will generally be around 8–15% and Parfums will be around 15–25%. On occasion you may see Extract or Extrait. This is the highest concentration ranging about 20–30%. As a rule of thumb, the more oil a fragrance contains (i.e. the higher concentration), the longer it tends to last on the skin and the more potent the scent tends to be.
And with that, you too are on your way to a fabulous fragrance collection! I hope this first post was informative, and look forward to hearing about new additions to your collection.