I was thinking the other day: what are some notes that every fragrance lover should be able to discern? I decided that I wanted (more so needed) to internalize every popular note out there - at least the texture of them.
Despite smelling hundreds and hundreds of fragrances, I never sat down to really educate myself what I was actually smelling. I never for once took time to associate a smell to its parent. Embarrassingly and humbly I admit after all this time, I don't know what I'm smelling half the time beyond the basics like: lavender, tuberose, vetiver, jasmine, leather, sandalwood, etc. I admit to having more head knowledge (Polge of Chanel and his aldehydes and Creed using ambergris) than nose knowledge, but I'd love to really get this down and understand what aldehydes and ambergris smell like.
I thought it would be helpful to come up with a list of notes and the fragrances that have that dominating note. If you want to learn what tuberose is… smell Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower. If you want to learn what iris is about, smell SL's Iris Silver Mist and so on. It is obvious that one can go to an essential oil store for this education as well.
I understand on the chemical level that there are many renditions (there are 100-150 species of roses) of a single note plus you have the whole synthetic and non-synthetic arena to talk about, but this is all for basic education. It would be useful to include some educational facts (I know very little botany but ie. “Anise bears a strong family resemblance to the members of the carrot family, that includes dill, fennel, coriander, cumin and caraway. Many of these relatives have been described as having a licorice flavour, to some extent, but anise is the true taste of licorice. [http://theepicentre.com/Spices/anise.html]”) and additional outlets (where) to experience some of these notes.
Absinthe -
Agarwood –
Aldehydes –
Amber -
Ambergris –
Angelica -
Anise –
Basil -
Bergamot -
Birch –
Cardamom -
Castoreum –
Cedar -
Chamomile -
Civet –
Coriander -
Cypress -
Eucalyptus -
Fennel -
Frankincense -
Gaiac Wood -
Gardenia -
Geranium -
Ginger –
Grapefruit -
Hawthorn -
Heliotrope -
Hibiscus -
Hyssop -
Jasmine -
Juniper Berry -
Labdanum -
Lavender -
Lemon -
Lilac -
Lime -
Muguet -
Myrrh –
Neroli -
Oakmoss -
Opopanax -
Orchid -
Oudh -
Patchouli -
Peony -
Rosemary -
Rosemary -
Rum -
Sage -
Sandalwood -
Thyme -
Tonka -
Tuberose -
Verbena -
Vetiver -
Violet -
White Musk -
Ylang-ylang -
Calone, linalool, coumarin, salicylates
etc.
Please include some other widely used notes that I may have missed.
*** Perhaps this can one day become a sticky in the "starting out" section. I and future readers of this post thank you.
Despite smelling hundreds and hundreds of fragrances, I never sat down to really educate myself what I was actually smelling. I never for once took time to associate a smell to its parent. Embarrassingly and humbly I admit after all this time, I don't know what I'm smelling half the time beyond the basics like: lavender, tuberose, vetiver, jasmine, leather, sandalwood, etc. I admit to having more head knowledge (Polge of Chanel and his aldehydes and Creed using ambergris) than nose knowledge, but I'd love to really get this down and understand what aldehydes and ambergris smell like.
I thought it would be helpful to come up with a list of notes and the fragrances that have that dominating note. If you want to learn what tuberose is… smell Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower. If you want to learn what iris is about, smell SL's Iris Silver Mist and so on. It is obvious that one can go to an essential oil store for this education as well.
I understand on the chemical level that there are many renditions (there are 100-150 species of roses) of a single note plus you have the whole synthetic and non-synthetic arena to talk about, but this is all for basic education. It would be useful to include some educational facts (I know very little botany but ie. “Anise bears a strong family resemblance to the members of the carrot family, that includes dill, fennel, coriander, cumin and caraway. Many of these relatives have been described as having a licorice flavour, to some extent, but anise is the true taste of licorice. [http://theepicentre.com/Spices/anise.html]”) and additional outlets (where) to experience some of these notes.
Absinthe -
Agarwood –
Aldehydes –
Amber -
Ambergris –
Angelica -
Anise –
Basil -
Bergamot -
Birch –
Cardamom -
Castoreum –
Cedar -
Chamomile -
Civet –
Coriander -
Cypress -
Eucalyptus -
Fennel -
Frankincense -
Gaiac Wood -
Gardenia -
Geranium -
Ginger –
Grapefruit -
Hawthorn -
Heliotrope -
Hibiscus -
Hyssop -
Jasmine -
Juniper Berry -
Labdanum -
Lavender -
Lemon -
Lilac -
Lime -
Muguet -
Myrrh –
Neroli -
Oakmoss -
Opopanax -
Orchid -
Oudh -
Patchouli -
Peony -
Rosemary -
Rosemary -
Rum -
Sage -
Sandalwood -
Thyme -
Tonka -
Tuberose -
Verbena -
Vetiver -
Violet -
White Musk -
Ylang-ylang -
Calone, linalool, coumarin, salicylates
etc.
Please include some other widely used notes that I may have missed.
*** Perhaps this can one day become a sticky in the "starting out" section. I and future readers of this post thank you.
