What Makes a Fragrance?
You ever look at a candle or perfume description and they list top, middle, and bottom notes and think “what the hell are those”? Same, but now I'm so deep into fragrance that I fear I may know too much.
It’s important to look at fragrances like candles and perfumes like music. You have layers of instruments or scents that come together to create something really awesome.
Top notes are the first impression of the scent, which makes them important. When you take a whiff of a candle, the initial smell from that cold throw are the top notes. These notes are not the longest lasting, but they’re still important. These notes will typically include citrus elements, light fruits, and fresh herbs.
Middle Notes or heart notes are the bulk of your scent, about 40-80%. These are the scents that you smell as the top notes fade away and work with the bottom notes to really flesh out a scent. It’s important that these scents are well-rounded and pleasant, so rose, cinnamon, and lemongrass are popular choices.
Bottom or Base Notes will make their appearance after the top notes have evaporated entirely. So, if you’re trying a perfume, spray it on your wrist and walk around with it for a while because it WILL smell different later. Base notes make up 10-25% of the overall fragrance and help deepen the scent complexity with those well-rounded middle notes. They are the lasting impression. These notes are rich and long-lasting with sandalwood, cedarwood, vanilla, patchouli, and musk being very common choices.
It's important to note that just because a candle or perfume may have similar notes - they will probably not smell the same. In the era of dupes, I understand that trust issues. I mean, I run a candle e-commerce candle business, so I understand the difficulty of trying to convey a scent through pixels and it is NOT easy. I spend a lot of time trying to convey a feeling accompanied with a scent in my descriptions to hopefully ease the decision-making, but it's tough out here.
But now you're ready to tackle the perfume department of your local department store (or candles shop)!