Are you planning to put up your own fragrance line?

Besides creating a sound business plan, finding reliable cosmetic fragrance suppliers, securing the necessary documents, and all other preparatory steps to successfully launch your brand, familiarizing yourself with industry-specific words is essential.

Learn the Lingo

Learning the language used in your line of business is essential. Knowing these unique terminologies will help you understand the intricacies involved in creating strategies or developing products. It will also help you navigate the ins and outs of your trade, especially when talking to your customers.

Just as you learn different culinary terms when taking a patisserie course or discover various techniques when learning pottery, you also have to become proficient with the vocabulary used in the fragrance world.

Here are some of the key terms and concepts that you should get acquainted with:

1. Concentration Categories

Have you ever wondered why some scents smell stronger or last longer, while others do not? A fragrance’s strength and how long the smell lasts is based on its fragrance concentration. The amount of aromatic compounds in a solvent varies, and this dictates the intensity and longevity of its scent. Some may contain a higher percentage of perfume oils, while others have less alcohol.

Fragrance concentrations are categorized further into:

Eau Fraîche

Translating to “fresh water,” Eau fraîche refers to products that are typically diluted with water and contain less than three percent of aromatic compounds. It’s usually marketed as splashes, mists, or veils and does not contain a high amount of alcohol. Since it has a lower fragrance concentration, its scent usually lasts for about a couple of hours.

Eau de Cologne (EDC)

EDC has a slightly higher fragrance concentration than Eau fraîche, with a scent that can last for about two hours. It typically has a two to four percent concentration of fragrance with a higher amount of alcohol. Since people apply it more liberally than fragrances with higher fragrance concentrations, colognes usually come in bigger bottles or containers.

Eau de Toilette (EDT)

A notch higher than EDC when it comes to fragrance concentration, EDTs usually have five to ten percent of aromatic compounds dissolved in alcohol. Sometimes referred to as aromatic water, EDT can last for about three hours and is typically worn during the daytime.

Eau de Parfum (EDP)

Suitable for everyday wear, EDP has a fragrance concentration of fifteen to twenty percent. Also called millésime or parfum de toilette, its scent typically stays on for about five hours.

Parfum

The most expensive of the range, parfum, refers to fragrances with the highest concentration of fragrance. While most parfums would have 20 to 30 percent fragrance concentration, others can go up to 40 percent. Known as perfume, its scent lasts the longest among all fragrances, usually around six to eight hours.

2. Fragrance Families

When developing your scents, it’s also important to know about fragrance or olfactive families. While there is no definitive or objective grouping for scent families, there are categories that have emerged since the 1900s. This classification groups certain scents based on their description, but in no way completely characterizes them.

In 1992, a perfume historian and taxonomist by the name of Michael Edwards developed a fragrance wheel. Much like the color wheel, it provides a simple classification when naming and showing the fragrance classes’ relationship. These are arranged around a wheel and are divided into subgroups.

The four primary fragrance families recognized and used today by the retail and fragrance industry are:

Floral

The scents of flowers inspire this fragrance family. Considered to be one of the most popular scents, floral fragrances are widely used in women’s fragrances, although they are occasionally used in men’s perfumes as well. Scents in this family can be fruity with sweet and tropical notes reminiscent of apples, peaches, and pears. They can also smell soft and powdery or with a subtle hint of spicy notes.

Fresh

Scents that remind you of the fresh, clean smell of citrus fruits, herbs, or the ocean belong to the fresh fragrance family. Since these scents are mostly used when making men’s fragrances, these are often mixed with spicy notes for a more robust whiff. These can be aromatic with lavender or woody hints, aquatic with scents that remind you of rain or sea spray, green like freshly mowed grass or green leaves, and zesty with bergamot or mandarin notes.

Oriental

If you’re going for a more decadent and exotic scent, then the oriental fragrance family is the way to go. These notes are typically opulent and heady, so they are sometimes used with amber or sweet scents to soften them. These can smell warm and sweet like cinnamon, musk, and vanilla. They can also have a sweet and spicy personality with scents like anise, incense, myrrh, and patchouli.

Woody

Mixing incense-like fragrances with drier notes can produce the woody scent of this fragrance family. Some would also temper down the coniferous and bitter bouquet of woody scents by incorporating citrus or floral hints. Woody fragrances can be aromatic with scents like cedarwood, sandalwood, and vetiver, or smoldering and smoky in the case of leather aromas.

3. Fragrance Notes

Creating your fragrance line will require you to know about the different fragrance notes. Just like in music, scents also have different notes that, when blended harmoniously, produce an accord or a completely new scent.

The three types of fragrance notes are:

Top notes

Also referred to as head or opening notes, a fragrance’s top notes are generally the lightest. This is the scent that you instantly recognize when you spritz on a fragrance. Because of its small and lightweight molecule, however, it dissipates quickly. Typical top notes include scents derived from citrus, herbs, and light fruits.

Middle notes

Before the top notes completely evaporate, the middle notes emerge. They usually appear to mask the initial impression of opening notes and lead your nose to the heart of the scent. Heart notes are typically pleasant and well-rounded, and they strongly influence the base notes. The smell also lasts longer compared to top notes. Middle notes usually are a smooth blend of floral or fruity notes such as cinnamon, geranium, jasmine, lavender, lemongrass, nutmeg, or ylang-ylang.

Base notes

Base notes appear when the top notes have fully evaporated. The final fragrance notes and middle notes mingle together to create a full-bodied fragrance. Since their job is to provide a lasting impression on the wearer, base notes are usually rich scents that linger on the skin for hours after the top notes have faded away. Amber, cedarwood, musk, oakwood, patchouli, sandalwood, and vanilla are some of the most common fragrance base notes.

Scent of Success

Familiarizing yourself with the different terms used in the world of fragrance will go a long way. Not only will it expand your knowledge and understanding of the essentials, but it will also help you in formulating ideas, products, and messages. While reputable fragrance suppliers can support you with your requirements, mastering these terms will make it easier for you to run business.

AUTHOR BIO

Lamia Rochdi is the Marketing Manager at Bell Flavors & Fragrances EMEA. A successful family-owned business, Bell's core competencies include customized solutions for the food and beverages industry, the household and personal care sector, and the perfume industry.