How many times have you sprayed a perfume that your friend loves, only to be immediately turned off by the scent? How many times have you tried on perfume and found yourself loving it even more after an hour of wearing it?
These experiences are shaped by fragrance notes. If you’re just getting into colognes and perfumes, you may be unfamiliar with fragrance notes and how they shape a perfume’s experience.
When searching for the best perfume for women, it is crucial to understand fragrance notes and the different roles that they play. We will help you learn more about top, heart, and base notes in this guide.
Understanding Fragrance Notes
Fragrance notes are the ingredients that make up the perfume. They are split into three categories: top notes, heart notes, and base notes.
Think of it like the musical notes that make up a song, or the shades of colors that make up a painting. The singer’s voice may be the primary thing you hear, but it is supported by the melody, harmony, bass line, and more.
Perfume makers carefully select ingredients to form the perfume’s accord and develop the character of the fragrance. They pick perfume fragrance notes to ensure it evokes a certain experience.
To explain this, we’ll break down the fragrance notes of the popular Mulger Alien perfume, which can be found here: https://www.perfumeprice.co.uk/thierry-mugler-alien-refillable-eau-de-parfum-60ml-spray.html.
Top Notes
Top notes, as the name suggests, form the top layer of a fragrance. They are the scents you smell first after spraying the perfume. These notes play a huge role in setting first impressions.
Top notes evaporate quickly and only linger for the first five to fifteen minutes after application. That’s their purpose, though! A strong initial scent is to be expected before a transition into another.
Many popular perfumes include citrus scents like lemon, orange, mandarin, and bergamot in their top notes. Some will use light floral notes like lavender and rose. The popular Mugler Alien perfume has top notes of citric mandarin.
Heart Notes
The heart notes, or middle notes, make an appearance once the top notes evaporate. They are meant to retain and build on some of the top notes’ scents. They also introduce new aromas that evolve the experience.
A perfume’s heart notes are generally pleasant and well-rounded. They make up about 70% of the total scent and last for around 20-60 minutes.
Heart notes typically include full-bodied and aromatic scents like jasmine, geranium, cinnamon, black pepper, pine, and lemongrass. The heart notes of the Alien fragrance notes are orange blossom and jasmine.
Base Notes
Fragrance base notes form the foundation of the perfume. They help boost the lighter notes while adding more depth and resonance.
Base notes are very rich, heavy, and long-lasting. They appear after about 30 minutes, once the top notes have completely evaporated. Base notes sink into your skin, so the scent lingers for several hours after application.
Popular base notes include vanilla, amber, musk, and sandalwood. The base notes of the Alien fragrance are cashmere wood, amber, and vanilla.
Notes Create Harmony
Like the notes of a song, fragrance notes work together to create a harmonious experience. Top, heart, and base notes all play a role in shaping a perfume’s character.
Now that you know about each of these notes and how they function, you can select the perfect scent for you and your style.
Rachel Dixon works on Business, travel and features blogs at Daily Mid Time and Zobuz. She has passionate for travelling and cooking. Spending time with family as well as on internet to enhance her capabilities for well orientated content creation and blog writing.
