Perfume Notes Guide: Everything You Need to Know
Fragrance notes are the individual scent layers of ingredients that make up a fragrance. They are the building blocks of a fragrance and contribute to its overall scent profile. Fragrance notes are typically categorized into three main types: top notes, heart notes, and base notes.
Top Notes
- These are the initial scents that you smell immediately after the perfume first touches your skin.
- They are the most volatile and evaporate the fastest.
- Examples of top notes include citrus, bergamot, and lemon.
Heart Notes
- These are the scents that emerge after the top notes have evaporated.
- They form the essence of the perfume and are the main body of the fragrance.
- Examples of heart notes include floral scents like rose and jasmine.
Base Notes
- These are the scents that emerge after the heart notes have evaporated.
- They are the longest-lasting notes and provide the foundation for the fragrance.
- Examples of base notes include musk, vanilla, and sandalwood.
Perfume makers carefully select notes to make sure a fragrance both smells pleasant and evokes a certain experience. Notes are classified in a fragrance pyramid. A perfume’s notes can be separated into three basic categories: top notes, heart notes, and base notes. Notes at the top of the pyramid have a higher volatility (they evaporate faster), while notes at the bottom are longer-lasting.
Positive and Negative Effects of Fragrance Ingredients or Materials
Some fragrance ingredients or materials can carry potentially serious negative long-term health effects. Synthetic Fragrance is a common ingredient in personal care products, especially ones from brands owned by large corporations. It is an umbrella term that refers to all the compounds and chemicals that comprise a product’s fragrance. Typically this is dozens of ingredients. Companies are not required to disclose the individual fragrance elements as the fragrance “blend” is considered proprietary information.
However, there are many beauty brands to choose from that do not use Fragrance and disclose every aspect of their product’s ingredients. It is best to incorporate the stabilizers as early in the process as possible, since unwanted reactions can rarely be reversed after the damage is done.
In conclusion, fragrance notes are the individual scent layers of ingredients that make up a fragrance. They are the building blocks of a fragrance and contribute to its overall scent profile. Fragrance notes are typically categorized into three main types: top notes, heart notes, and base notes. Some fragrance ingredients or materials can carry potentially serious negative long-term health effects, but there are many beauty brands to choose from that do not use Fragrance and disclose every aspect of their product’s ingredients.
