New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

harsh top notes

post #1 of 10
3/12/08 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 
I am sure this has been previously discussed at some point, but isn't it amazing that even well-established perfumers create fragrances with incredibly harsh topnotes? One would think that with thousands of ingredients to choose from perfumers would select, at least, a neutral opening note in terms of harshness. Since so many frags are purchased at retail outlets by the tester strip method, why risk the first note being a harsh put off?
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
post #2 of 10
3/12/08 at 4:34pm
i dont get it either...unless they want to jar you so badly with the top notes, that you will think the following middle and base smell like heaven...maybe they are genius...ha ha ...i dont know, but it is an interesting question!
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
3/12/08 at 4:44pm
I have wondered about this too. People with perfumery experience could confirm or refute this but I have wondered if in some cases in order to get the desired effect in the heart of the perfume with a volatile "top" note in balance, the fragrance needs to be overloaded with that note up top. Most of it dissipates within a minute or two leaving the correct amount behind.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
3/12/08 at 4:53pm
I have a comment about this too...
I have Knize Ten (Golden Edition)
and man...it is harsh....just like the original...
But I swear, after 2-3 hrs....this thing becomes VERY good....
the way some scents transform from beast to beauty amazes me.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
3/12/08 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
Minotaure is one that comes to mind.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
3/12/08 at 6:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hirch_duckfinder View Post

I have wondered about this too. People with perfumery experience could confirm or refute this but I have wondered if in some cases in order to get the desired effect in the heart of the perfume with a volatile "top" note in balance, the fragrance needs to be overloaded with that note up top. Most of it dissipates within a minute or two leaving the correct amount behind.

I've always thought along the same lines...that to get a more volatile note to hold on until the heart develops means using truckloads of it. You'd lose balance among the topnotes, but as Hirch points out, a more enduring effect in the middle is the payoff. I've noticed this kind of construction often in Lorenzo Villoresi and Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier scents.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
3/12/08 at 6:52pm
Harsh topnotes = long complex drydown.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
3/12/08 at 8:17pm
I think that sometimes topnotes are harsh because the middle and basenotes are interrupting them somehow. Maybe the basenotes just aren't ment to mix with the topnotes but the drydown is amazing so they sacrifice one part of the note pyramid for the other.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
3/13/08 at 3:57am
Thread Starter 
Is the harsh top note really the only possibility for the same heart or basenote drydown? Or is it just an oversight? Again, with so many possibilities why take the chance that a person using a tester strip would be put off?
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
3/13/08 at 5:04am
Maybe they are also to awaken your nose? Kinda like scents that contain pepper, if what your wearing 'punches' you in the nose at first, chances are in an hour or so once its fully dried down, your nose is going to be more sensitive to scent.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive

Features on Basenotes

Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.