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The Symphony of Perfume.
Like an orchestral symphony a good perfume will always have three movements of a beginning, middle and an end.
The first movement contains the light weight notes, the crucial impression of the scent, are called Top Notes. These are highly volatile and do not last long, like a flute in the wood wind section, high pitched and fleeting.
The second movement takes longer to evaporate and these are called Heart Notes or Middle Notes. These are the body to the perfume adding richness to the scent.
Finally the Base Notes. These are heavy, more profound and longer lasting scents that stabilise the other essences. This is probably the most important part of the symphony and provides the staying power of any perfume, lasting all day and sometimes several days.
In the nineteenth century it was the perfumer Piesse who in his seminar The Art of Perfumery 1867 described an octave of odours; A was Tonka bean, B was mint, C was Jasmine, and so forth. Each odour was assigned to a different musical note as if on a scale. Explaining that the right notes must be combined in the correct chords so that the scent can be harmonious, the individual scents synchronising with each other.
Without proper fixing you can still smell each individual essential oil separately as each oil evaporates at different times. For example if the scent is disjointed with the top note too far away from the heart note, the bouquet can be improved and unified by adding an oil that vibrates from the heart note to the upper note. For an overwhelming or heavy base note you need to add a scent that reaches from the base up to heart the notes. If it is still a bit too heavy you can continue layering up with a scent that reaches from the heart notes upwards.
Badly constructed fragrances lack a good harmony. Either the notes are unconnected and dont work on any level, or the notes are mixed up making the scent vulgar and lacking the ability to carry. When a perfume is well constructed there is a balance between the top, heart and base. Each part harmonises to form a symphony that gives a pleasant experience to those that inhale it.
Note groups
Top notes
Angelica, bay, basil, bergamot, bois de rose, cardamom, coriander, fennel, fir, galangal, ginger, pink grapefruit, juniper berry, lavender, lavandin, lemon, lemongrass, lime, mandarin, marjoram, mimosa, nutmeg, orange bitter, orange blood, orange sweet, oregano, palmarosa, peach, penny royal, black pepper, green pepper, peppermint, petit grain, pine, pineapple, rosemary, spearmint, tangerine, tea tree, wintergreen, wormwood.
Heart notes
Allspice, basil, beeswax, carnation, roman chamomile, champha, cinnamon, clary sage, clove, coffee, geranium, ginger absolute, jasmine absolute, jasmine concrete, jonquil, lavender absolute, lemon verbena, lemongrass, linden blossom, litsea cubeca, lovage, magnolia, Melissa, marjoram, Neroli, orange flower absolute, orric absolute, osmanthus, black pepper, pine needle, Palmarosa, rose otto, rose concrete, rose absolute, rosemary, styrax, tagetes, tuberose, violet leaf, vanilla, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, gardenia, freesia, orchid.
Base notes
Ambrette, angelica root, armoice, Benzoin, cassia, blue chamomile, civet, clary sage absolute, cocoa, cognac, copaiba balsam, castus, deer tongue, elderflower, fir absolute, frankincense, galbanum, resinoid, hay, helicrysum, labdanum, lavender concrete, myrrh, nutmeg absolute, oakmoss, opoponax, patchouli, sandalwood, seaweed, black spruce absolute, white spruce absolute, tarragon absolute, black tea, green tea, tobu balsam, tonka, vanilla, Vetivert, amber, musk, orris, cinnamon, Cedarwood, styrax, leather notes.
Originally published at I Conjure Candles
Written by Seth Brogan
