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Is there such thing as a fragrance that projects more in the base than opening?

post #1 of 11
7/31/10 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
Simply put. I haven't come across one yet. Is it even possible to have more projection from the base notes than the top notes?
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post #2 of 11
7/31/10 at 9:04pm
It's a challenging perfumery problem. I know that some frags are notoriously radiant in the heart as compared to the top notes.

Theoretically, if you had something with poorly perceived top notes and heart notes, but strongly perceived base notes, where the amount of projection gained by perception at the receptors was greater than the amount lost by lower volatility, then you could get what you're talking about. In fact, if the top and mid notes contained something relatively odorless which actually inhibited perception of the stronger base notes, then it could REALLY work.

Curious what our local perfumers with real experience can tell us...
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post #3 of 11
7/31/10 at 9:10pm
I try to avoid top notes, but with Jacomo for Men ("Silver") it takes a while to achieve maximum strength, probably due to the amber in the base. So, the top notes might be stronger for a minute or so, but then it seems weak for perhaps half an hour. Then it seems a lot stronger.
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post #4 of 11
7/31/10 at 9:13pm
I think there is, and I've only come across it in a few scents, and all French ones at that. I'm sure scent houses from other nations can have the same thing, but for my own brain's faults for sure I've only smelled it in French ones. I'm talkin' Piquet's Bandit, Hermes Bel Ami, Molinard stuff from the Les Fleurs de Provence series. They all seem to be richer and project more the longer they're on my skin. A phenomenon that I just love. Several Diptyque scents do it as well, like L'Ombre dans l'Eau, Eau Lente, and maybe Oyedo and Ofresia, but I can't remember for sure which ones struck me as doing this.
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post #5 of 11
7/31/10 at 10:53pm
I think almost anything built on vanilla ends up being all vanilla.
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post #6 of 11
7/31/10 at 11:51pm
The only two I've noticed that, and not very significantly, are Narciso rodriguez for her EdP (even though it smells nowhere as good as the EdT) and Jean Paul Gautlier Le Male. Generally though Vanilla and Amber are two strong basenotes that can project very well, combined with weaker top notes, they can project better later on. I would like a perfume that has weak projection for the top notes and stronger one for the basenote.
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post #7 of 11
8/1/10 at 12:45am
I'm totally overwhelmed with the presence of Enslaved (Roja Dove) after let's say 8 or 12 hours and I can still easily smell it after 24 hours. My skin usually makes them disappear much too soon where others have no problem. I will try the other two from the Roja Dove trilogy some time soon, but it was Roja Dove's idea (with Enslaved) that you have to wait for the base in order to become enslaved. I am.
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post #8 of 11
8/1/10 at 2:25am
Quorum by Antonio Puig.

The opening there is deceptive (although it seems to be strong, it gets surprisingly stronger as it develops). It's easy to over-spray this stuff and I've made that mistake a few times when I started to use it.

After it starts to develop, it projects like there's no tomorrow.
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post #9 of 11
8/1/10 at 5:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HammerFist View Post

Quorum by Antonio Puig.

The opening there is deceptive (although it seems to be strong, it gets surprisingly stronger as it develops). It's easy to over-spray this stuff and I've made that mistake a few times when I started to use it.

After it starts to develop, it projects like there's no tomorrow.

Very true. I forgot that Quorum does it also. Later in the wearing, sure enough, a think tobacco essence comes together and the whole package of the smell just lies around dense and together with the other elements and just grows, dense and unified.

Reminds me that Miller Harris's Feuilles de Tabac does it nicely too.
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post #10 of 11
8/1/10 at 8:05am
If the base note molecules projected stronger than the top notes, they wouldn't be base notes, would they? Unless, as Redneck posted, the top notes were used to muffle/block the base notes, but what would the point of that be? A fragrance with delayed sillage? A base is the most linear part of the fragrance, and when astringent/sharp/citric/floral top and middle notes burn off a sweet base can become more clear, but it can't regenerate energy. But then there's the weird aroma chemicals like Iso E Super which often creates olfactory fatigue in the wearer, but others can smell it for hours.
Calling all chemists/perfumers out there!
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post #11 of 11
8/1/10 at 3:26pm
The only fragrance I've encountered this with is Mazzolari Zagara. It's like a crescendo of scent, building and building until it's practically screaming of your skin.
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