Sillage, chypre and other fragrance terms you should know
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.
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.
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