Perfume words, made simple

A very concentrated extract made with a solvent, used for delicate flowers that heat would spoil.

For example: Jasmine and tuberose are usually used as absolutes.

Also called: extract

See also:Essential oil·Aroma molecule

A few notes blended so they smell like one new thing, like a chord in music.

For example: Vanilla, labdanum and benzoin together make an amber accord.

Also called: blend, chord

See also:Note·Amber accord

Aroma molecules with a bright, fizzy, clean sparkle, famous in classic floral perfumes.

For example: Often compared to fresh laundry or the fizz of sparkling water.

Also called: aldehydic

See also:Aroma molecule

A warm, sweet, resinous blend, usually of labdanum, vanilla and benzoin. It is not ambergris and not fossil amber.

For example: Older guides call this family “oriental”.

Also called: amber, ambery

See also:Ambergris·Accord·Resin

A rare, waxy material from sperm whales, found washed up by the sea and aged by sun and salt water. Most perfumes use lab-made versions.

For example: Not the same as an amber accord.

Also called: grey amber

See also:Amber accord·Aroma molecule

A single fragrant compound, made in a lab or taken from nature. Perfumers use them like single colours of paint.

For example: Vanillin (vanilla), linalool (found in lavender), coumarin (fresh hay).

Also called: synthetic, aroma chemical

See also:Aldehydes·Essential oil

A traditional perfume oil with no alcohol, from South Asia and the Middle East. Classic attars are made by distilling flowers into sandalwood oil.

For example: Kannauj in India is famous for rose attar and mitti attar, the smell of first rain on dry earth.

Also called: ittar, itr, perfume oil

See also:Carrier·Distillation·Mukhallat

Wood chips soaked in fragrant oils, resins and sugar, warmed on charcoal or an electric burner (mabkhara) to scent rooms and clothes.

Also called: bukhoor, bakhour, incense

See also:Oud·Resin·Mukhallat

The deepest, slowest notes. They last longest and hold the whole blend together.

For example: Sandalwood, vanilla, musk, oud.

Also called: base

See also:Dry-down·Fixative·Fragrance pyramid

A very light spray, about 1–3% perfume oil, meant to be used generously and refreshed during the day.

Also called: body spray, splash

See also:Concentration·Eau de Cologne

What the perfume oils are dissolved in: perfumer’s alcohol for a spray, or a light oil when no alcohol is added.

For example: In ScentForge: “Spray (with alcohol)” or “Oil (no alcohol added)”.

Also called: base, solvent

See also:Attar·Concentration

A classic family: fresh citrus on top of a mossy, woody base. The name is French for Cyprus.

For example: Bergamot with labdanum and oakmoss.

Also called: chypré

See also:Fougère·Accord

How much perfume oil is in the bottle. More oil usually lasts longer; less feels lighter and brighter.

For example: From strongest to lightest: Extrait, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, body mist.

Also called: strength

See also:Extrait de Parfum·Eau de Parfum·Eau de Toilette·Attar

Heating plant material with water or steam: the fragrant oil rises with the vapour and is collected as it cools.

For example: Rose oil, oud oil and many attars are distilled.

Also called: steam distillation

See also:Essential oil·Attar

The last and longest stage of a perfume, when mostly the base notes are left.

For example: Smell it again after an hour or two to judge the dry-down.

Also called: drydown, base stage

See also:Base notes·Longevity

A light, fresh splash with about 2–5% perfume oil, traditionally citrus and herbs.

For example: In everyday English, “cologne” can also mean any perfume for men.

Also called: EDC, cologne

See also:Concentration·Eau de Toilette·Body mist

A strong everyday spray with about 15–20% perfume oil. It usually lasts a good part of the day.

For example: Written “EDP” on many bottles.

Also called: EDP

See also:Concentration·Eau de Toilette·Extrait de Parfum

A lighter spray with about 5–15% perfume oil: brighter, easy to wear, and it fades sooner than an Eau de Parfum.

Also called: EDT

See also:Concentration·Eau de Parfum·Eau de Cologne

Fragrant oil taken from a plant, usually by steam distillation or, for citrus, by pressing the peel.

For example: Lavender, bergamot, vetiver.

Also called: EO, natural oil

See also:Distillation·Absolute

The most concentrated spray: about 20–30% perfume oil. A little goes a long way.

For example: Often written simply as “Parfum” on the bottle.

Also called: Parfum, extract

See also:Concentration·Eau de Parfum

An ingredient that slows down how fast the others evaporate, so the whole scent lasts longer.

For example: Resins, musks and woods often do this job.

Also called: fixer

See also:Base notes·Longevity·Resin

French for “fern”: a classic family built on lavender, coumarin (like fresh hay) and oakmoss, the traditional barbershop scent.

Also called: fougere

See also:Chypre·Aroma molecule

The usual way to show a perfume’s notes: top, heart and base, in the order you notice them.

Also called: note pyramid

See also:Top notes·Heart notes·Base notes

Perfumes that smell good enough to eat: vanilla, caramel, chocolate, coffee, honey.

Also called: sweet, edible

See also:Amber accord·Base notes

The main character of a perfume. It comes through as the top notes fade and stays for a few hours.

For example: Rose, jasmine, cardamom.

Also called: middle notes

See also:Top notes·Base notes·Fragrance pyramid

The International Fragrance Association. Its safety standards limit how much of some ingredients a perfume may contain.

For example: ScentForge applies these limits to every formula.

Also called: International Fragrance Association, safety limits

See also:Patch test

Wearing two or more scents together to make your own combination.

For example: An oud oil under a fresh citrus spray.

Also called: combining, stacking

See also:Attar·Accord

How long a perfume stays noticeable after you put it on. Weather, fabric and how much you apply all change it.

Also called: lasting power, staying power

See also:Projection·Dry-down·Fixative

Letting a freshly mixed perfume rest for days or weeks so the ingredients settle and blend before you wear it.

For example: Many oil perfumes are left to rest for a few weeks.

Also called: resting, ageing

See also:Attar·Carrier

Arabic for “mixed”: a blended perfume oil, often of oud, rose, musk and amber.

For example: Often worn together with bakhoor.

Also called: mukhalat

See also:Attar·Oud·Bakhoor

A soft, clean, skin-like scent. Today it is made in labs or comes from plants; natural deer musk is protected and rarely used.

For example: White musk; ambrette seed is a plant musk.

Also called: white musk

See also:Base notes·Aroma molecule

After a while you stop noticing a perfume you are wearing, even though people near you still can.

For example: So there is no need to keep re-applying.

Also called: olfactory fatigue, nose fatigue

See also:Smelling strip·Longevity

One smell you can pick out in a perfume, like rose, bergamot or sandalwood.

Also called: ingredient

See also:Fragrance pyramid·Accord

Dark, fragrant, resin-rich wood that forms inside agarwood trees after an injury or infection. Its distilled oil is dehn al oud.

For example: Burned as chips or worn as oil across the Gulf and South Asia.

Also called: oudh, agarwood, aloeswood

See also:Bakhoor·Mukhallat·Distillation

Before wearing a new perfume widely, put a little on a small patch of skin, like the inner arm, and wait 24–48 hours. If it turns red or itchy, wash it off and stop using it.

Also called: skin test

See also:IFRA

How far the scent reaches from your skin while you stay still: close, arm’s length or across a room.

For example: Projection is how far it reaches; sillage is the trail you leave.

Also called: throw, reach

See also:Sillage·Longevity

Sticky, fragrant tree sap that hardens into “tears”. Warm, balsamic and long-lasting.

For example: Frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, labdanum.

Also called: balsam, gum

See also:Amber accord·Fixative·Bakhoor

French for the wake behind a boat: the scent trail you leave in the air as you move.

For example: Noticing someone’s perfume after they have left the room is sillage.

Also called: trail, scent trail

See also:Projection·Longevity

A strip of paper you spray to try a perfume without putting it on your skin.

For example: Write the name on each strip so you don’t mix them up.

Also called: blotter, mouillette, tester strip

See also:Nose blindness·Dry-down

What you smell first: light, bright notes like citrus and herbs that fade within about 15–30 minutes.

For example: Bergamot, lemon, pink pepper.

Also called: opening, head notes

See also:Heart notes·Base notes·Fragrance pyramid