Fragrance Wheel & Strengths Chart | Perfume Direct® (2024)

FAQs

How do you read a fragrance wheel? ›

The wheel is split into four sections, and they are: Floral, Oriental (now referred to as Amber), Woody and Fresh. Each family contains aromas that are similar to each other, share the same characteristics or have complementary aspects. Under each family are sub groups, which describe a particular scent in much detail.

Fragrance Families

The four main types are warm, woody, oriental and fresh, with each effect brought out by different combinations of fragrances. Fresh scents, like Davidoff Cool Water, generally rely on aquatic and citrus notes, whereas warm scents like DKNY's Be Delicious use more florals and juicy fruit scents.

“Parfum”, “Parfum Extrait”, “Extrait de Parfum”, “Perfume Extract”, “ pure perfume” or “Elixir” is the strongest concentration of fragrance and can have between 15% and 40% of aromatic compounds.

Scientists have classified odors into 10 basic categories: fragrant, woody/resinous, minty/peppermint, sweet, chemical, popcorn, lemon, fruity (non-citrus), pungent and decayed.

These scents are split into three distinct elements: top notes, heart notes and base notes. Together, the top, heart and base notes work together to create a beautiful fragrance.

Beverley Hawkins, owner of the Vancouver-based West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy, recommends six scents that boost productivity, mood, and more: lemon, lavender, jasmine, rosemary, cinnamon, and peppermint. In a shared work space, it's a easy as bringing scented cotton balls.

Here's a hint: Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum takes the top spot for best overall thanks to its universal appeal. Without further adieu, here are the best perfumes for women that are floral, spicy, fruity, sexy, and undeniably timeless.

The Different Perfume Categories

Eau de Perfume or Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, and the less well known Eau Fraiche.

How do I find my signature scent? ›

Underneath the name of the perfume on a bottle will normally be the fragrance concentration. A fragrance concentration refers to the strength that a fragrance has. Perfumes with a higher fragrance concentration contain more perfume oils and less alcohol.

Scents that humans are particularly attuned to include chemical components in bananas, flowers, blood and sometimes pee. In 2013, Laska and colleagues tested the abilities of humans, mice and spider monkeys to detect urine odors found in common mouse predators.

Well, a team of scientists from the University of Oxford think they've worked out the best and worst smells in the world. According to their study, the best smell is vanilla and the worst smell is sweaty feet. The results show that people share favourite smells regardless of where they come from in the world.

In general, eau de parfum scents are heavier (i.e. more concentrated) making them more likely to last all day. They're very different from the lighter, less-concentrated eau de toilette fragrances or body sprays. Eau de toilettes usually have half the concentration of the perfume oil found in eau de parfum.

There are four scent families: woody, floral, amber, and fresh. These families each take a respective space on the Fragrance Wheel, a circular diagram which illustrates the four scent families in relation to each of their corresponding subfamilies.

A study conducted by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Oxford has found that vanilla is the world's most universally-loved scent.

Vanilla and amber scents, spicy shades or balsamic notes are all ingredients that invite seduction. Chypre perfumes intrigue as much as they fascinate with their almost erotic freshness. Bewitching white flowers such as tuberose or ylang-ylang embody the femme fatale, while gourmand notes make you salivate.

We'll get straight to the point: the secret to layering fragrances is to layer scents in order of intensity. The base should be an intense fragrance, followed by a spritz of perfume that has lighter notes. For example, a base note of oud would complement a middle note of rose, embellished with a top note of jasmine.

How Do You Identify Perfume Notes? You can identify perfume notes based on the time passed after the application of the perfume. Top notes are those you smell immediately after the perfume first touches your skin. Once this initial burst fades, the heart notes kick in to form the essence of the perfume.

What scent is most popular? ›

The researchers demonstrated that people spend more when they are in an environment with “warm scents” such as vanilla or cinnamon (as opposed to cool scents” such as peppermint).

Olfactory adaptation

When we wear a fragrance regularly, the brain associates it with our own body odor. The fact that we no longer smell our perfume is part of a physiological process of olfaction. With our own scent, the stimulation of our olfactory sensors is permanent.

Too much fragrance can also cause the wick to clog which will make your candle have a weak scent throw. You can find the recommended fragrance oil load for the wax you are using in the Candle Making University.

What makes a perfume last longer? ›

Spray your fragrance towards your pulse points: wrists, neck, décolleté, behind the ears. Concentrated areas of heat will diffuse the perfume and help it linger longer. Maintain some distance between the perfume's vaporiser and your skin.

DOES PERFUME EXPIRE? Yes, perfume and also after shave do go off. However, how long they last depend on the scent's chemical composition. Many perfumes don't have a set expiry date and can last anywhere between 1-10 years.

Eau Fraiche

This has what is perhaps the weakest scent of all the fragrance types. It is a light, delicate, and subtle type of perfume. It is also cheap. In terms of its effect, it is not as powerful as the other perfume options but it gets the job done.

An EDP lasts for around four to five hours, which makes it perfect for a night out scent or a special occasion. EDT's are good for those who wear their perfume throughout the daytime as it normally lasts for two to three hours and is a little lighter than an EDP.

Eau De Toilette is the lighter of the two, usually including between 5-15% of essential perfume oil. Fragrances labelled as EDT will usually last around 4-7 hours. On the other hand, Eau De Parfum usually has around 10-20% perfume oil and so is a much stronger blend. These fragrances can last up to 8 hours.

Everyone has their own scent—just think of how differently your grandma and your boyfriend smell when you lean in for a hug. But can we smell ourselves? For the first time, scientists show that yes, we can, ScienceNOW reports. Our basis of self-smell originates in molecules similar to those animals use to chose mates.

You should know within a few minutes after putting it on your pulse points whether you like it, or it it is just falling off your skin." Further, Knotek suggested that it is important to try something you're not sure you will like, and to that end, always try it on your skin, as what's in the bottle might not smell the ...

Perfume does not improve with age! The initial fragrance decreases with time as the concentration changes due to oxidation. The top and middle notes vanish first, leaving the heavier base notes behind.

The fragrance wheel was developed by Michael Edwards, a fragrance expert, to help perfumiers recommend the best possible perfumes for their customers. It's a circular diagram that depicts every scent family and the subfamilies within them.

How do you calculate fragrance scent loads? ›

Fragrance/Scent Load - The ratio of oil to wax. A scent load of 10% means that you add 10% of the wax mass as oil. So, to 100g of wax, you would add 10g of oil. Fragrance/Scent Load does not refer to the percentage of oil in the candle as a whole.

Fragrance acts as a loophole on the FDA's regulation of personal care products. They are considered a trade secret under the Fair Package and Labeling act of 1966, allowing companies to not list ingredients so their formula cannot be replicated easily.

There are four scent families: woody, floral, amber, and fresh. These families each take a respective space on the Fragrance Wheel, a circular diagram which illustrates the four scent families in relation to each of their corresponding subfamilies.

The neck, wrists, ankles, and behind the knees are the optimal spots. These areas generate heat, and heat enhances scents. Don't forget to moisturize first though; fragrances don't last nearly as long on dry skin as it does on freshly moisturized skin.

The batch code consists of 6 digits and utilizes the Julian Date, the last digit of the year of manufacture, the production line, and the production shift.

Bottom line: An unopened bottle of fragrance is good for 12 to 18 months, though a light scent—such as a citrus, one with fresh green notes, or a delicate floral—will most likely begin to turn sooner.

The concentration of a fragrance is denoted by terms like Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum and Parfum. These can often be relied upon to tell you roughly how much perfume there is diluted in alcohol within the bottle, and therefore, how strong or long-lasting it is.

If you're making 8-8ounce candles, multiply 8x8=64 oz of wax. Then 64 x 6% (. 06) =3.84. You could round that up to 4 ounces of fragrance oil for 64 ounces of wax.

The 'fragrance load' or fragrance % is the manufacturers recommended maximum amount of fragrance that a particular wax can retain. For example, if you are making a 16 oz. candle with a wax that has a maximum 10% fragrance load, you could add up to 1.6 oz. (16 oz. * 10% = 1.6 oz.)

A scent load of 10% means that you add 10% of the wax mass as oil. So, to 100g of wax, you would add 10g of oil. Fragrance/Scent Load does not refer to the percentage of oil in the candle as a whole.

What are the six scents? ›