2008 Cheri Cherie Perfumes . All Rights Reserved.
A fragrance can be defined as any pleasing, sweet-smelling scent. Perfumes, eau de toilettes, colognes and splashes are examples of modern fragrances; the variation in concentration level defines their classification. Fragrances are further divided into olfactive families or categories of similar types of aromas. A fragrance composition additionally contains individual notes or essences. A "note" typically is indicative of a characteristic odor of a single material; the world of perfumery allows for more than 2000 notes to choose from
Traditionally, a perfume is a blend of natural, essential oils extracted from flowers, spices, grasses, herbs and woods to which scent-prolonging fixatives are added. Perfumes manufactured today are a concentrated essence of fragrant materials (both plant and animal sources), including various synthetic ingredients, combined with small quantities of high-grade alcohol. The precise formulas of commercial perfumes are kept proprietary; there are more than 3000 raw ingredients to choose from when composing a fragrance! We certainly won't attempt to list them here, but a good starting point to refer to is to define some basic olfactive families that may describe the majority of commercially available perfumes:
Floral: The largest scent category, can include a single floral category or a combination of scents. Rose, gardenia, violets are some popular examples.
Citrus or Fruity: A family of scents which have a clean, fresh citrusy quality. Some examples include apple, melon, pineapple, bergamot, nectarines.
Amber or Oriental: A large, heavier fragrance class featuring scents such as vanilla, resins, musk, and amber.
Woody: Fragrances that are dominated by woody scents, typically of sandalwood and cedar. Patchouli, with its camphoraceous smell, is commonly found in these perfumes.
Leather: A family of fragrances used more predominately by men, featuring smoke, honey, wood, tar, and pungent leather scents.
Chypre: A family of scents characterized by patchouli, clary sage, resins.
Fougère: Another male-dominated fragrance family, it is based primarily on lavender, coumarin and labdanum.
Green: Reminiscent of freshly cut grass and new growth in spring, some examples include rosemary, lavender, hyacinth and pine.
Oceanic/Ozone: a newer, more modern category, it is described typically as fresh air, ocean scents, and is based on synthetic materials.
Spicy: As it sounds, a lively scent category based on popular spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves.
Fragrance Ingredients
