The Intoxicating Triangle
- Melanie Jane Nightingale
- Apr 14, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: May 17, 2021
“Just like men, perfume is never perfect right away; you have to let it seduce you,” - Jean Patou
Did you know there is a relationship between perfume and music? Just as a musician has scales, a perfumer has fragrance notes and classifies them similarly: top notes, heart notes, and base notes. It's the blend of these fragrance notes, just like a combination of musical notes, that creates an accord or a melody, meaning the blend is complex and more sophisticated than the individual notes .
But how are these notes defined? Let's analyse each one of them
TOP NOTES
These are flirty and airy. A range of good top notes helps give a perfume a good first impression, but don’t judge too quickly. As the molecules of the top notes are lighter than the heart and base notes, they are more volatile, and the first to dissipate.
Many people believe that when you first smell a perfume, you are smelling the top notes first, followed by the heart and then base notes. That's not entirely true.
To understand what happens, take the world of cinema as an example.
The first impression of a perfume is like watching a movie trailer. You immediately know the genre, the style, and who has the starring roles. You get the gist of what the film is about in a matter of seconds, this is when you decide whether you want to watch the entire movie.
It’s the same when you first experience a new perfume. Initially you’re introduced to a glimpse of what’s in store — just like a movie trailer. But give it time and the lighter notes gradually dissipate, allowing the heavier notes to come to the surface and tell their story. Over time, the scent develops into something unexpected. Perhaps it's not as exciting as the trailer led you to believe or perhaps you're surprisingly engrossed throughout. Whether the ending is satisfying depends upon the base notes, which can last for up to 24 hours or more.
So, before passing judgement on an unfamiliar perfume, give it time, let it seduce you. Experience the magic of what unfolds, only then can you make an informed decision about whether it’s right for you.
HEART NOTES
Here you will discover the genuine character and soul of a perfume. Heart notes are more noticeable once the top notes have evaporated. Since they're comprised of heavier molecules, they last longer, and play a vital supporting role to the base notes as they develop. Middle notes bridge the gap between the top and base notes, and can even serve as modifiers, giving your fragrance an interesting twist and helping to make your scent special.
However, being ‘sandwiched’ between the top and base notes, heart notes are occasionally difficult to detect. Even familiar scents such as lavender take on an entirely different accord and are tricky to distinguish. Why? Because they bounce off the top and base notes, which prevents them from having their own individual character. They become team players, rather than individual athletes. They are used for what they bring to the party, not for their individual performance.
BASE NOTES
Base notes are heavier molecules with real staying power, such as vanilla, sandalwood and patchouli. In any blend, these are the scents that linger on the longest. They are often associated with memory, using base notes that remind you of positive experiences will leave more than just a lasting impression on your skin, it has now become personal and that's where the psychology of scent comes in. What could be better than having a signature scent with a feel good factor?
Be aware that if you only have one base note when creating a fragrance, it will leave you with that one lonely note, long after the top and heart notes have dispersed. Therefore, it is crucial to have a sophisticated blend of base notes in your fragrance if you want your fragrance to remain intriguing. For example, if vanilla is your only base note, initially the fragrance will have a warm sweetness that blends in harmony with the other notes, but over time you’ll smell like a freshly baked cookie! The addition of just one other base note, such as patchouli, prevents this from happening and produces a more complex scent.
AN EVOLVING SCENT
With perfumes we are smelling a combination of notes, so as time goes on and the scent develops on the skin, we perceive it differently. Initially, we remark on the top notes, but after only a few minutes, that same perfume will have a more unique character and the overall aroma will have deepened.
We've all been there. Spraying a perfume on our wrists and exclaiming our immediate love for it, only for it to become nauseating later on. Or maybe you’ve smelt a new perfume and had no interest in it, yet hours later it has seduced you and you can’t get enough.
Try it. Grab your favourite perfume, set a timer, and see for yourself.
Spray it on a scent strip and write your first impressions. Then smell the same strip after five minutes, and again after twenty minutes, and finally after one hour.
Does your impression change as the top and heart notes fade and you experience the "dry-down"?
Do the same on your skin now and note the changes as your skin warms the scent, and your body chemistry plays tricks on the aroma. A pertinent reason to try new perfumes on your skin and not rely on the scent strip alone.
How much of each note should you use in your scent blend?
Jean Carles, a world-class inspirational perfumer and educator, created a revolutionary method in which he determined the following proportions in a composition: 25% top notes, 25% heart notes, 50% base notes
However, other perfumers state that your scent should comprise 30-40% top notes, 20-50% heart notes, 10-30% base notes.
For me perfume is an art and not something that has a restrictive set of rules or boundaries.
It’s time to experiment to see which proportions work best for you. It all depends on the type of perfume that you want to produce and your own personal style.
Use this simple tip for perfume making at home:
If you want a heavier scent, concentrate more on oils that have heavier molecules, so floral absolutes from and base notes.
If you want a lighter scent, concentrate on adding more top notes and lighter heart notes such as citruses, floral essential oils and isolates.
Read more about absolutes and essential oils on our blog here.
Understand more about scent intensities on our blog post here.
ENROL ONTO THE FRAGRANCE 101 MASTERCLASS TO LEARN MORE!
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