Plural perfume
According to Duden it is “the perfume; Genitive: des perfumes, plural: the perfumes and perfumes”.
Fragrance character
The scent character gives the scent its purpose. Depending on its severity, it is better or worse suited for certain people. It should be chosen to match the outfit and the personality/charisma of the wearer.
Components of a perfume
A perfume consists of alcohol and fragrances.
The largest part of a perfume consists of ethanol as alcohol (usually 80%), water and natural essences dissolved in it (essential oils of plant or animal origin), as well as synthetically produced fragrances.
From around 400 natural and 3000 synthetic fragrances, a quantity of around 30-80 different substances are used for a perfume composition.
Main chords
The main chords give the perfume its essence regardless of the notes. The combination of different scents can have the same main chords as the combination of completely different ones. What matters here is the combination of notes, not the individual selection, and how they harmonize and function with each other.
Scent pyramid: top note, heart note, base note
The principle of a pyramid is followed when making a perfume. The persistence of the respective phases is descending, in contrast to the scent intensity, which is ascending. The base usually has a woody, spicy note. The middle has a floral, aromatic note and the top has a fresh, invigorating note.
Each perfume consists of 3 notes
The Top note , which can be smelled for approximately the first 10 minutes. It is the first thing you notice about a perfume, it determines our first impression and often our judgment. But it quickly evaporates into the largest and most important part, which is Heart note. It can be smelled for the first 2-3 hours and gives the perfume its character; as the name suggests, it is the heart of the perfume. Your notes are most noticeable in relation to length and intensity. A classic perfume consists of around 50-80% of the middle notes.
The Base note forms the basis of a perfume; these notes can often still be smelled on the skin after many hours and on clothing even after days. It develops from individual aromas as well as the pH value of the skin and its hormonal balance on which it is sprayed.
Perfume concentration
1-3%: Eau fraîche= fresh water
3-5% Eau de cologne = Cologne water
6-9%: Eau de toilette = scented water
10-14%: Eau de parfum= perfume water
15-25%: perfume = perfume
20-30%: Extrait de parfum= perfume extract
30%+: Extrait Intense= intense perfume extract
Translations
pour homme (French) = for men
pour femme (French) = for women
Cologne (French) = Cologne
Perfume (French) = perfume
Extrait (French) = extract
Intense (French) = intense
cologne
A scented water originally only made in Cologne that contains essential oils from lemon and bergamot. The perfume by Johann Maria Farina from Cologne in 1709 even became an entire generic name for light perfume oil-water-alcohol mixtures.
Chypre
Chypre (French for Cyprus) categorizes a fragrance collection with top notes of citrus essential oils such as bergamot, orange, lemon or neroli, floral middle notes of rose and jasmine oils and a warm woody moss base consisting of oak moss and musk. The woody aspect of a chypre composition is often emphasized by characteristic side notes, most commonly patchouli oil, but often also vetiver or sandalwood. The name comes from the perfume Chypre, which was created by François Coty in 1917 and named after the island of Cyprus because the fragrance ingredients it contains mainly come from Mediterranean countries. Chypre was often imitated and became the prototype for entire families of perfumes, although related perfume ingredients can be found throughout the 19th century.
gourmand
In the fragrance industry, a scent is considered a gourmet scent if it has "edible" notes . Such gourmet notes include chocolate, caramel or marshmallow. But sweet fruits, honey and even popcorn are also gourmet notes and are used in fragrances.
Fougere
The French term Fougère is a line of fragrances with a fern scent that is particularly popular with men. Fougère scents are characterized by a sensual combination of moss, freshly cut grass (or coumarin) and lavender, leather or herbs.
The fragrance line takes its name from Paul Parquet's legendary Houbignant fragrance from 1882 - Fougère Royale - which first used the combination of coumarin, lavender, sage and bergamot. This Fougere fragrance sets the tone for the entire Fougere collection. Today they can be divided into fresh fougere scents with spicy notes, floral fougere scents with orange blossom or neroli, woody fougere scents with precious woods and sweet fougere scents with amber notes.
Niche perfume
As the name suggests, niche perfumes are not created for the broad spectrum, but for the niche. The target group consists of experienced perfume lovers for whom designer fragrances are too mainstream. The combination of unique and rare ingredients results in a scent like no other. The perfumer is given complete freedom in his art to create something extraordinary. The focus here is not on the brand's business plan, but on the art of combination. The usually higher price is explained by the time that must be taken to perfect and individualize the perfume down to the smallest detail.
Designer perfume
Designer perfumes are sold by major brands or designer houses such as Chanel or Dior and are intended to appeal to the general public. These perfumes often contain the same ingredients such as cedar wood, jasmine, musk or similar. The creations often have similar competitors, with similar ingredients. They are by no means boring, but they do have a certain basic solidity, which is why they are so popular with the majority. You can't go wrong with buying a designer perfume; the majority of the perfumes will be liked and loved even without smelling them. A designer perfume is by no means a second-class perfume; it is usually cheaper because the turnover to be achieved is achieved by the quantity of sales.
Absolute
Absolute oils are highly concentrated oily fragrances, predominantly of plant origin. While essential oils are usually obtained through steam distillation, absolute essential oils are extracted using solvents at room temperature.
Hesperidian
A historical error made “Hesperidian” synonymous with citrus scents. In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who guard a golden apple tree. When lemons spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, people believed that the golden yellow fruits were those apples. Unfortunately, lemons come from India, not the Mediterranean. So Hesperides definitely doesn't smell like citrus.
Summary
It is advisable to initially turn to the cornerstones of perfumes, designer perfumes. Once you have a certain knowledge of brands, scents and notes, you can venture into niche perfumes. However, it can take several years to gain an understanding of the complexity of a “normal” perfume.
