There are literally thousands of fragrance ingredients and probably a similar amount of finished perfumes. A luxurious, sophisticated couture perfumes typically consists of 50-200 different scented rawmaterials.
Olfactive Classifications were introduced as a way to bring structure to these and to create a 'language' which allows us to speak about both the fragrant rawmaterials and the blended perfumes.
The advantage of using ingredients and classes to describe perfume is that they introduce a degree of objectivity. Perfumes are a subjective, sensual experience that is unique to each one of us and it is very difficult to communicate this transparently.
Below is an overview of the fragrance classes that most perfumers can agree upon.
Sophisticated, sensual perfumes created with heady substances such as musk, vanilla, exotic woods, spices, tropical flowers and other rich ingredients, such as amber, tobacco, spices, animal notes and tree resins.
These wonderfully warm notes may have facets to freshen them up, e.g. citrus, fruit.
This is a very large and a most widely used olfactive family. Either a single flower, i.e. Solifloral, or a floral bouquet is the main theme of each creation.
It is generally split into red flowers (e.g. rose, violet,…) and white flowers (e.g. jasmin, orange blossom, tuberose, YlangYlang, honeysuckle, …). Some perfumers add another sub-category: white-green florals (e.g. Muguet).
These florals may be enriched with green, aldehydic, fruity or spicy nuances.
The emergence and popularity of 'Florientals' has prompted many to create a new main category: Floriental.
As the name suggests, it describes accords that mix both floral and oriental elements:
Floriental fragrances are very sensual and seductive in their style but generally softer and lighter than orientals because of their floracy.
Frequently referred to as Fougère, or translated as "fern-like". In modern perfumery, this is one of the main olfactive families. The name is derives from the perfume ‘Fougère Royale’ (Houbigant).
Fougere is not, however, a single ingredient or a group of ingredients. Instead, it is an olfactory accord or a combination of fragrance ingredients that create a typical perfume that is both fresh and warm.
A classical Fougere usually contains coumarin, bergamot, lavender, vetiver, geranium and oakmoss: they open with fresh top notes of Lavender and Bergamot, develop into a heart of Geranium and finish on a fond of Coumarin, Oakmoss and Vetiver.
We offer an in-depth introduction to Fougere in our Encyclopedia.
Here you find accords created around aromatic herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender,…) that are normally complemented with citrus and spicy notes.
Their masculine character makes them a mainstay of men's fragrances.
This olfactive family concentrates on perfume accords where the heart is one of the following woody scents: sandalwood, patchouli, vertiver or cedar.
Hints of citrus or aromatics are typically added to round them of. These are warm and elegant fragrances and more masculine in nature.
Sandalwood and patchouli tend to be warm and more opulent in character, whereas cedar and vetiver feel dryer in style.
Known in the perfumery world as ‘hesperidics’, these fragrances with a fresh and light character are built around notes of citrus such as lemon, lime, orange, bergamot, petit grain, grapefruit, neroli and tangerine.
These accords typically have elements of other orange-trees (orange blossom, petit grain, neroli), flowers (white flowers) or hints of chypre but also aromatic, woody and spicy materials to give depth and richness.
The family includes all types of ‘Eaux Fraîches’ and was typified by the first ‘Eaux de Colognes’.
A fozzilised tree resin, Amber is valued for its colour and beauty fossilized tree resin which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty through the ages.
In perfumery, ‘amber’ accords reflect the golden colour and its rich warmth. The scents tend to be musky, honey-like, oriental and earthy in combination with elements of vanilla, spices (e.g. clove), labdanum, benzoin resin or incense.
The Chypre category does no describes a style of perfume accord and not its ingredients.
The notes in this group are typically based around an accord of oak moss, ciste-labdanum, patchouli and bergamot. The interplay of the richness and warmth of oak moss in combination with the freshness from citrus are the character that defines this category.
Other woody, mossy and floral notes may be added and even replace some of the elements. The richness of these fragrances mixes beautifully with citrussy, lavender, leathery or fruity notes.
Chypre accords are rich and long-lasting in character. An early and classic example of this family is ‘Chypre’ by Coty (1917).
We offer an in-depth introduction to Chypre in our Encyclopedia.
This olfactive group has no limits: beautiful, fruity fragrances with berries (strawberries, raspberries, loganberries, blueberries, ...), sweet juicy fruit (peaches, nectarines, mango, papaya, ...), tropical fruit (coconut, pineapple,... ), Kiwi, melons, ... there are always new enticing fruit varieties to try.
Unlike the afore mentioned catogories, Skin Care and Toiletries products typically take the lead here. Shower gels, soaps or lotions are more likely to introduce a new type of fruit than an Eau de Toilette.
perfume, fragrant product that results from the artful blending of certain odoriferous substances in appropriate proportions. The word is derived from the Latin per fumum, meaning “through smoke.” The art of perfumery was apparently known to the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. References to perfumery materials and even perfume formulas are found in the Bible.
Raw materials used in perfumery include natural products, of plant or animal origin, and synthetic materials. Essential oils (q.v.) are most often obtained from plant materials by steam distillation. Certain delicate oils may be obtained by solvent extraction, a process also employed to extract waxes and perfume oil, yielding—by removal of the solvent—a solid substance called a concrete. Treatment of the concrete with a second substance, usually alcohol, leaves the waxes undissolved and provides the concentrated flower oil called an absolute. In the extraction method called enfleurage, petals are placed between layers of purified animal fat, which become saturated with flower oil, and alcohol is then used to obtain the absolute. The expression method, used to recover citrus oils from fruit peels, ranges from a traditional procedure of pressing with sponges to mechanical maceration. Individual compounds used in perfumery may be isolated from the essential oils, usually by distillation, and may sometimes be reprocessed to obtain still other perfumery chemicals.
Certain animal secretions contain odoriferous substances that increase the lasting qualities of perfumes. Such substances and some of their constituents act as fixatives, preventing more volatile perfume ingredients from evaporating too rapidly. They are usually employed in the form of alcoholic solutions. The animal products include ambergris from the sperm whale, castor (also called castoreum) from the beaver, civet from the civet cat, and musk from the musk deer.
Odour characteristics ranging from floral effects to odours unknown in nature are available with the use of synthetic, aromatic materials.
Fine perfumes may contain more than 100 ingredients. Each perfume is composed of a top note, the refreshing, volatile odour perceived immediately; a middle note, or modifier, providing full, solid character; and a base note, also called an end note or basic note, which is the most persistent. Perfumes can generally be classified according to one or more identifiable dominant odours. The floral group blends such odours as jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, and gardenia. The spicy blends feature such aromas as carnation, clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The woody group is characterized by such odours as vetiver (derived from an aromatic grass called vetiver, or khuskhus), sandalwood, and cedarwood. The mossy family is dominated by an aroma of oak moss. The group known as the Orientals combines woody, mossy, and spicy notes with such sweet odours as vanilla or balsam and is usually accentuated by such animal odours as musk or civet. The herbal group is characterized by such odours as clover and sweet grass. The leather–tobacco group features the aromas of leather, tobacco, and the smokiness of birch tar. The aldehydic group is dominated by odours of aldehydes, usually having a fruity character. Fragrances designed for men are generally classified as citrus, spice, leather, lavender, fern, or woody.
Perfumes are usually alcoholic solutions. The solutions, generally known as perfumes but also called extraits, extracts, or handkerchief perfumes, contain about 10–25 percent perfume concentrates. The terms toilet water and cologne are commonly used interchangeably; such products contain about 2–6 percent perfume concentrate. Originally, eau de cologne was a mixture of citrus oils from such fruits as lemons and oranges, combined with such substances as lavender and neroli (orange-flower oil); toilet waters were less concentrated forms of other types of perfume. Aftershave lotions and splash colognes usually contain about 0.5–2 percent perfume oil. Recent developments include aerosol sprays and highly concentrated bath oils, sometimes called skin perfumes.
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Learn MorePerfumes employed to scent soaps, talcums, face powders, deodorants and antiperspirants, and other cosmetic products must be formulated to avoid being changed or becoming unstable in the new medium. They must also be formulated so as to avoid unacceptable alterations in the colour or consistency of the product.
Industrial perfumes are employed to cover up undesirable odours, as in paints and cleaning materials, or to impart a distinctive odour, as in the addition of leather odours to plastics used for furniture coverings and the addition of bread odours to wrapping papers used for breads.
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