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Sillage, chypre and other fragrance terms you should know

07 November 2019 | By Lynette Botha

Is your scent cloying or evanescent? What’s the dry down like? How about the flacon? If you’ve got no idea what we’re on about, take a browse through our fragrance glossary.

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Nothing can return you to a place, remind you of a person or take you back in time as quickly as scent can. And while you may know your EDT from your EDP, do you know the difference between undertones and notes? Read on…

Absolute 

Similar to essential oils, absolutes are highly concentrated ingredients that are produced through solvent extraction from a plant or flower. 

Accord 

Perfume accords are made up of various notes that come together to create the unique, basic character of a fragrance. 

Aroma

The amalgamation of the sense of smell and taste. As in, the aroma of vanilla. 

Chypre

A certain fragrance family; often a composite blend of mossy, woody and floral odours. Pronounced sheep-rah.

Cloying

A scent that is often overpowering due to its overt sweetness. 

Dry down

How a scent lingers hours after being spritzed. This is the final phase of a fragrance – what is left after the initial application. 

Evanescent

A scent or specific note that is fleeting and evaporates quickly. 

Extracts

Concentrated and intense ingredients that are usually extracted from flowers and plants. 

Flacon 

Another name for a perfume bottle. Usually used to describe an out-of-the-ordinary or highly-detailed fragrance bottle.  

Fragrance family

The name for a group of fragrances that share similar notes, for example floral or earthy. 

Gourmand

Used to describe fragrances that have an almost edible appeal or food-like ingredients. 

Heady

The description for a strong and intoxicating scent.

Heart notes

A term for the middle notes of a fragrance.

Noses

The people behind the fragrances – creators and perfumers are often referred to as the noses. 

Note(s)

Perfumes are mades up of top, middle and base notes. Similar to music being classified by notes, so are fragrances. 

Olfactory

Anything that relates to the sense of smell. 

Sillage

This refers to the amount of time a fragrance lingers in the air or trails behind when worn. Pronounced see-yazh.

Tincture

Fragrant ingredients made by directly soaking and infusing raw materials in room-temperature or warm alcohol.

Undertones

These are the subtle characteristics of a fragrance.

 


IMAGE CREDIT: shutterstock.com

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