Welcome to part 3 of our “How To Choose A New Fragrance guide” where we will be looking at common fragrance families found in perfumes.
Over the last couple of weeks we have been discussing how to select a new perfume. As we noted perfumeries can be pretty overwhelming places and, despite wanting something a little different, many people end up falling back on the same scent that they know they like. Hopefully after reading through this series of posts you will have a better idea of how perfumes are made, the difference between the classes of perfumes and will ultimately have the confidence to try something new.
This week I’m going to look at the different olfactive fragrance families. Although the term sounds pretty technical “olfactive fragrance families” is simply the name that perfumers give to the six most popular “styles” of fragrance found in perfumes. Olfactory families are most easily compared to different musical genres, and like musical genres everyone will have their favourite, and often they will want access to a few options so they can choose a perfume from the olfactory family that best matches their mood, or the mood of the event the perfume is being worn to.
Floral
The first, and one of the most obvious, olfactive families is floral. The sweet and light fragrances that characterise floral scents have long been popular when creating delicate and feminine perfumes. Floral perfumes can be built on the scent of one single flower, known as a soliflore, or they can be created from a blend of multiple floral notes, which is referred to as a bouquet.
Citrus
Citrus aromas are used to create fresh yet gentle perfumes. Grapefruit, lemon and mandarin are some of the most commonly used citrus scents on which perfumes are based. As citrus scents are usually top notes and tend to evaporate quickly, they are often combined with aromatics to create hybrid perfumes.
Chypre
While most of the olfactory families are named after groups of scents that are instantly recognisable to most people, chypre is a little more obscure. Chypre perfumes are usually bold scents that sit midway between woody and floral perfumes, are often based on scents such as patchouli or oak moss. In the early twentieth century Chypre was a common name for perfumes fitting into this category; most notably Coty’s Chypre de Coty which popularised the term when it was launched in 1917.
Woody
These rich and earthen fragrances are very popular in both masculine and feminine scents. Strong wood based fragrances such as agar and cedar are often used as the heart of the perfumes and they are regularly combined with either spicy or aquatic scents to create a perfume that is either richer or fresher.
Oriental
Oriental perfumes are always very rich, usually sweet and are developed from exotic fragrances such as amber, vanilla and musk.
Aromatic
Aromatic scents are often perceived to be a little more modern than those from the other groups. They are typically powerful and fresh, relying on rich spices such as cinnamon or clove as well as herbs like sage and jasmine.
Even nowadays these six groups form the base that the vast majority of perfumes are created from and if you are aware which olfactive group you are looking for a perfume within you will dramatically simplify your search. When buying a perfume you are best to think beforehand about what style of scent you’re looking for, it is worth bearing in mind that many perfumers combine a couple of these olfactive groups which should allow you to find the perfect fragrance.
Remember to check back soon for the next post in the series when I will select a few specific perfumes and demonstrate what notes they are built from and what olfactive groups they fall within.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Related Posts