Perfume is a very important part of your outfit. It makes you more attractive, enhances your image, reflects your mood and completes your appearance.
Choosing a fragrance can be tough, but learning the basics can help you understand your favorite perfumes and make the right decisions.
In this article, you will learn about perfume categories, fragrance notes and families.
Perfume categories
Perfumes are made with two basic ingredients, fragrant oils and alcohol. Based on the concentration of fragrant oil they contain, the perfumes are classified in 5 main categories:
Parfum: These are the perfumes with the highest concentration of perfume oils. They are the heavier, stronger perfumes and only a few drops will last you the whole day. Parfum contains up to 30% fragrance oil concentration and is the most expensive of all the perfume types. It is ideal for night and special occasions.
Eau de Parfum: The most common fragrance category. These perfumes contain a fragrance oil concentration of 20% and last up to 8 hours. They are ideal for the colder season as they are strong and perfect for both day and night.
Eau de Toilette: Eau de Toilette contain a fragrance oil concentration of 15% and last up to 4 hours. The perfumes in this category are ideal for daily use and for the warmer seasons as they are not very strong.
Eau de Cologne: With a fragrance oil concentration of 5%, Eau de Cologne is very light and doesn’t last long. It is usually a male fragrance, it brings freshness and is ideal for use after the shower or as aftershave.
Eau de Fraiche: Similar to Body Mist. The perfumes of this category contain a fragrance oil concentration of max. 3% and last for about an hour. They are ideal for the summer as they are very refreshing.
Fragrance Notes
Fragrance notes are the aromatic ingredients that make up a perfume. The notes are categorized as top notes, middle notes and base notes.
Top Notes
Top notes set the first impression as you recognize them after spraying a perfume. They evaporate quickly but are very important in the selling of the perfume. Top notes are the last notes added in a perfume and make up about 20%-30% of the blend. Typical top notes include citrus scents (lemon, bergamot, orange) and herbs (eukalyptus, basil, sage).
Middle Notes
Also called “the heart notes”, middle notes form the main body of a perfume. They make up about 50%-70% of the blend and last for about 4 hours. Middle notes start to appear before top notes fade away and along with base notes determine the main character of the perfume. Common middle notes include rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, lavender and geranium.
Base Notes
Base notes are the first notes added in a perfume and make up about 10% of the blend. Base notes are heavy and rich and last for 6 hours. They carry the top and middle notes, add depth and create the final impression. Common base notes include woody notes (cedar wood, oak moss) but also vanilla and patchouli.
Fragrance Families
Perfumes rely on different notes and are categorized by different fragrance families. The term “fragrance families” refers to a classification system perfumers use, to group perfumes in specific categories based on their main characteristics.
Most people love one or two fragrance families, so understanding them will help you understand your perfume preferences and make it easier for you to choose the right perfume.
Through the years different families have been used to categorize perfumes. The modern classification includes 5 main fragrance categories:
Floral: Floral fragrances are the most popular family and most often used in women’s perfumes. Fragrances that belong in this family can be sweet, fresh, soft or powdery but also more intense and spicy. Common notes found in floral family are rose, jasmine, lily and violet.
Fresh: Fresh fragrances are uplifting, refreshing and zesty. They contain citrus notes (lemon, bergamot, orange), green notes (chamomile, tea, rosemary), fruity notes (peach, passion fruit, apple) or aquatic notes.
Oriental: The oriental family is a broad family of warm, sensual and spicy perfumes that contain notes from the East. Common notes found in the oriental family derive from spices (pepper, cinnamon, cardamom), from animals (musk, ambergris) and from resins (myrrh, incense). Vanilla and coffee are also very common in this family.
Woody: The woody family was considered for many years masculine but nowadays women’s perfumes can fall into this category as well. Woody fragrances contain notes of woods (sandalwood, cedar, oakmoss) and notes of roots and leaves (patchouli, vetiver). Woody fragrances are warm and earthy but can also have a smoky and leathery smell.
Fougère: A unique family of masculine perfumes. The name of this family originated with the fragrance Fougère Royale created in 1882. Almost all fougere fragrances are made with lavender, oakmoss and coumarin and they have a woody and fresh scent.
How to apply
- Wear your perfume after your shower. When your pores are clean perfumes get easily absorbed by your skin.
- Keep your skin well hydrated. Moisturized skin helps fragrances last longer.
- Use products from the same line (shower gel, body lotion) to enhance the power of your perfume.
- Spray your perfume on pulse points (wrists, inner forearm, neck, behind the ears). Pulses warm the perfume and release it into the air.
- In the summer season opt for light perfumes that are more discrete. Choose heavier perfumes in the winter season as cold weather makes it harder for notes to evaporate.
- If you wear Eau de Toilette or Eau de Cologne make sure to reapply throughout the day.
How to choose
- Spray on parts of your body and not on the paper bottlers. Perfumes smell different on the skin.
- Try maximum three perfumes at one time. If you try too many perfumes at once, your nasal receptors will become less sensitive and you won’t be able to appreciate the scent of the perfumes. Tip: Smell coffee between perfume samples. It will “cleanse” your nose.
- Don’t rub your wrists after applying the perfume. It will make it smell different and won’t last long.
- Don’t make a hasty decision. Let the scent develop on your skin to see if you actually like it.
How to store
- Keep your perfume in a dark place. Light can quickly degrade your perfume.
- Keep your perfume in a dry place, away from heaters. Humidity and high temperatures will degrade your perfume.
- Put the lid on after applying your perfume and try to minimize air exposure. Air will harm your perfume.
- Don’t shake your perfume bottle. Air may get inside the bottle and harm your perfume.
Now you know! If you are searching for the right perfume, take a look here.
