Perfume

:For the book "Perfume" by Patrick Süskind, see Perfume (book).

Description of a perfume

It is impossible to describe a perfume according to its components because the exact formulas are kept secret. Even if the formulas are known, the ingrediants are often too numerous to provide a useful classification. On the other hand, it is possible to group perfumes into olfactive family and describe them through the notes that appear as they slowly evaporate. Perfumes can also be classified according to their concentration.

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Olfactive families

Traditionally, fragrances that are clasified in seven olfactive families, whose names may vary:

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• Floral: Fragrances that are dominated by the scent of one or more types of flowers. When only one flower is used, it is called a soliflore (as in Dior's Diorissimo, with lily).
• Chypre: Fragrances build on a similar base consisting of bergamot, jasmine and oakmoss. This family of fragrances are named after a perfume by François Coty by the same name. Meaning Cyprus in French, the term alludes to where this base was inspired. This fragrance family is characterized by a scent reminiscent of apricot and custard.
• Fougère: Fragrances build on a base of lavender, coumarin and oakmoss. Many men's fragrances belong to this family of fragrances, which are characterized by its sharp herbaceous and woody scent.
• Leather: A family of fragrances which feature the scents honey, tobacco, wood, and wood tars in its middle or base notes and a scent that alludes to leather.
• Woody: Fragrances that are dominated by the woody scents, typically of sandalwood and cedar. Patchouli, with in camphorous smell is also used in this fragrance family.
• Orientals or ambers: A large fragrance class featuring the scents of vanilla and animal scents together with flowers and woods. Typically enhanced by camphorous oils and incense resins, which brings to mind victorian imagery of the East and Far East.
• Citrus: A old fragrance family that until recently consisted mainly of "freshening" Eau de colognes due to the low tenacity of citrus scents. Development of newer fragrance compounds have allow for the creation of primarily citrus fragrances.

Notes

A mixture of alcohol and water are used as the solvent for the aromatics. On application, body heat causes the solvent to evaporate quickly, leaving the fragrance to evaporate gradually over several hours. The rate of evaporation(vapor pressure) and the odor strength of the compound partly determines the tenaciousness of the compound and determines its perfume note classification.

Related Topics:
Body heat - Vapor pressure

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• Top notes: Scents that are perceived a few minutes after the application of a perfume. Top notes create the scents that forms a person's initial impression of a perfume. Because of this, they are very important in the selling of a perfume. The scents of this note class are usually described as "fresh", "assertive" or "sharp". The compounds that contribute to top notes are strong in scent, very volatile, and evaporate quickly. Citrus and ginger scents are common top notes.
• Heart notes or Middle notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges after the top notes dissipate. The heart note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and acts to smooth the sharpness from the initial impression of a perfume caused by the top notes. Not surprisingly, the scent of heart note compounds are usually more mellow and "rounded". Scents from this note class appear anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour after the application of a perfume. Lavender and rose scents are typical heart notes.
• Base notes: The scent of a perfume that appears after the departure of the heart notes. Base Notes bring depth and solidness to a perfume. Compounds of this class are usually the fixatives used to hold and boost the strength of the lighter top and heart notes. The compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after the application of the perfume or during the period perfume dry-down. Musk, vetiver and scents of plant resins are commonly used as base notes.

Concentration

Perfumes oils, or the "juice" of a perfume composition, are diluted with a suitable solvent to make the perfume more usable. This is done because undiluted oils contain volatile components that would be too concentrated for people with sensitive skin or allergies. Although dilutions of the perfume oil can be done using solvents such as jojoba, fractionated coconut oil, and wax, the most common solvents for perfume oil dilution is ethanol or a mixture of the ethanol and water. The percent of perfume oil by volume in a perfume are listed as follows:

Related Topics:
Jojoba - Coconut oil - Wax - Ethanol

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• Perfume extract: 20%-40% aromatic compounds
• Eau de parfum: 10-30% aromatic compounds
• Eau de toilette: 5-20% aromatic compounds
• Eau de cologne: 2-3% aromatic compounds

As the percentage of aromatic compounds decreases, the intensity and longevity of the scent decreases. It should be noted that different perfumeries or perfume houses assign different amount of oils to each of their perfumes. As such, although the oil concentration of a perfume in eau de parfum dilution will necessarily be higher then the same perfume in eau de toilette form, the same trends may not necessarily apply to different perfume composition much less across different perfume houses.

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