Definition



Fragrance is much more than just a perfume, today it is a part of our lifestyle and our daily grooming routine. Fragrances can conjure up stories and emotions, transport you to a magical world and capture memories of family and friends or special moments in time.



It is a blend of various raw materials containing essential oils, alcohol, aroma compounds, solvent and aqua as well as other ingredients to improve skin condition.



Categories



Concentrated Perfume Oil



This is the extract of a fragrance and represents the scent in its purest form with a concentration of around 20 to 40%. Due to this high concentration this form lasts longer and requires less frequent application.



Eau de Parfum or EDP is one of the most popular forms of fragrance. Eau de Parfum contains between 15 to 20% of essential oils and is the second most potent and longest lasting means of wearing a fine fragrance. Eau de Toilette or EDT is fast growing category and the most common means of wearing a fragrance. EDTs are not as highly concentrated in essential oils as an EDP or Perfume would be and contain 5 to 15 % of fragrance oils. This impacts the ability of the fragrance to last and around 80 % of the oils in an EDT fragrance will evaporate within three hours of application.



Notes



A fragrance is composed of three notes and these are formulated to evaporate in layers. The composition of a perfume is called an accord where there are three sets of 'notes' that appear gradually on top of each other thus creating an olfactive harmony.



Top notes (head)



Top notes or “ Note de tete” are the money shots. The first scents you smell, which wear away after around 10 minutes and leave behind the heart notes. A few hours later, the perfume’s essence or base notes, emerge. Therefore one should wear a scent around for a while to evaluate how its entire fragrance profile develops.



The compounds that make up the top notes are usually sharp and volatile.



Middle notes (heart)



The true personality of a scent appears just before the top notes die down and are usually rounded and soft. Floral scents are the typical middle notes. The ‘heart’ gives the perfume its main character together with the base notes. The middle notes can start to appear a few minutes after application and will last about 3-6 hours on the skin.



Base notes (dry-down)



These notes are comprised of compounds which are heavy and large molecules that evaporate slowly. They emerge last and add a rich and deep character to the fragrance. They are also used to give lasting power to the perfume. You'll probably detect the first base notes between a half of an hour to an hour, and they can last up to 24 hours on the skin.