Fragrance categories

Here's also a suggestion:
I wish Basenotes had a Category (male & female) List of fragrances characterized as predominantly florals, fruits, fougeres, aquas or blues, grasses or greens, chypre or woods. orientals or spices, tobaccos, etc...or however best (professionally) they could/should be categorized...I know there is a certain amount of cross-over of elements...if Basenotes does have such a category page I have not as yet been able to find it...

Here might be a starting point from - http://www.janmoran.com/perfume_101.html#Overwhelmed

Popular fragrance categories:

Floral\tsingle flowers or classic floral blends, fresh, fruity, or powdery
Citrus Fruity\tlemon, orange, bergamot, apple, berries
Aquatic\train-fresh or ocean aromas
Nature Greens\tfresh-mown grass and spring leaves
Oriental \tvanilla-ambery or spicy-woody, floral Oriental blends
Chypre\tcitrus, patchouli, moss
Fougère(meaning fern) well-balanced citrus, lavender, woods (popular masculine fragrances)
Woody \tpine, cedar, sandalwood, patchouli

Though more from purely a woman's perspective here's another good site that also makes the case better than I: http://puckeypower.com/?p=15347

"Though there are many different kinds of scents, and the category of scent can vary, but there are five major categories, which are floral, fruity, woody, greens and oriental . One can combine two or more categories together to create a new scent. The combination of each category in different proportion will lead to different scent. So knowing about the major notes that each category holds will help you in experiment and play with scents. It will be of great fun."


*Wish I'd also capitalized the C in "categories"...does anyone know if I can do so and, obviously, how?...and WOW! this humble forum is already prominently listed in Google...

First, thanks for your respective comments & insights...

In general I agree as well but categories / labels are used by most members who comment here...there is a certain convenience, and certain fragrances obviously fit better within certain monikers...the boundaries between categories may very well be unclear and there are obviously a lot of cross-over...one can, and should, describe the multi-layered complexities of a fragrance pointing out their cross-over aromas while still having individual scents fall into general categories...a spicey oriental is far from a tropical aqua...

Here also is a comment I left for someone who raised the same question in another forum:

I had the same question & posted a simple list of basic categories from another site. I subsequently received this comment from noggs:

(noggs quote as seen above cited here)

There are various sites that list various, somewhat similar categorizations...I don't know why Basenotes prefers to avoid such lists, although I essentially agree with noggs' comment, most who write here refer themselves to categories such as fougeres, chypres, herbals, aquas, florals, orientals, etc...I agree there are definitely cross-over aromas yet essential categories can be, and herein actually are, used in at least a general way for the inevitable sake of convenience...obviously more detailed descriptions are also called for, and herein are also generally articulated...

Noggs,,,Thanks 4 ur reply & commentary...I quoted & referenced you in a reply to another member in another forum who raised the same question...I agree that categorizations can be subjective and that within the complex and subtle layering of aromas there is a significant degree of over-lap...to undoubtedly state the obvious, creating a fragrance is an art far more than it is a science and therein lies its subjectivity...that subjectivity includes the chemistry of ones own skin as well as the preferences and sophistication of ones own "nose" and I firmly believe, though it is seldom ever mentioned, it also depends on one's background, experience and even where one is from...yet in the end general categories can be useful and helpful, & particularly here, especially if one is looking for a type of fragrance eg. aquas or orientals or fougeres or chypres, whatever...I think there is a dominant element / type / categorization into which a particular fragrance falls; other subtleties, complexities, layers as sub-distinctions can, and should, be noted in descriptions...a fragrance might fall into a range of categories - though in general a rather narrow range...and just as a fragrance can fall into a rather limited range of categories, a category might apply to a rather large range of fragrances (if that makes any scents)...I've added further observations / commentary below, or is it above...thanks again for taking the time to read much less comment on / reply to my initial suggestion...

Thanks mucho 4 all the references / hyperlinks...I'll check them out...They will undoubtedly be of use to others as well...I originally only found a few links of any value but it was an an initial attempt and I probably wasn't using the best key words / key phrase...Thanks again...

Just went through them. And they are some excellent reference sites (my favorites below - better than my initial references above), thanks to Master-Classe...definitely worth checking out:

http://www.nstperfume.com/2010/03/09...ance-families/

http://www.nstperfume.com/perfume-glossary/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragrance_wheel

http://www.fragrancesoftheworld.com/...eel/index.html

http://www.sephora.com/browse/sectio...tegoryId=C8084

Even a link regarding body odor (we also need to be reminded how bad we can smell...more the reason to get into fragrances):

http://www.slate.com/id/2214615/

Thanks again Master-Classe