A glossary of perfumery terms that we are still developing.  Please feel free to help us expand this list :o)

Absolute:  Absolutes are not strictly essential oils but are quite possibly the strongest aromatic materials.  Absolutes are made from plant materials that often yield very little essential oil from steam distillation.  Instead, the plant oils are removed through solvent extraction.  They contain molecules of all sizes, some far less volatile than others.

Accord:  In music, a chord is a blend of two or more notes to create a new and distinctive sound.  In perfumery, the harmonious blend of two or more aromas to produce a distinct aroma is referred to as an accord.  This can be simple or very complex and may form only part of a perfume's structure as a single chord does in music.

Alcohol: In perfumery, when used alone often refers to ‘perfumer's’ alcohol, which is used as a carrier for colognes, perfume etc, such as ethyl alcohol or ethanol.  The chemical group of alcohols called R-OH consists of several chemicals but their name often ends with ‘enol’ such as monoterpenol, sesquiterpenol and diterpenol – chemicals that are often found in essential oils.

Aldehyde:  Aldehydes are found in aromatic materials, such as essential oils, and are among the most important molecules to the perfumer since they often have the most powerful aromatic values.  Although aldehydes are a group of chemicals, they are easily recognised by the ‘al’ at the end of their name, such as citral.

Aldehydic:  This is a term used by perfumers to describe the aldehyde aromas, which can be described as having fatty/oily notes.

Animalic:  Alone, these are often described as having an unpleasant aroma but in very low dilutions lend a very pleasing value to a perfume blend.  Animalic notes such as ambergris, castoreum, civet and musk are, in their original natural form, obtained from animal glandular secretions.

Anosmia:  Loss of sense of smell.  This can be the result of illness (such as a cold) or injury.  Anosmia can be total (no sense of smell at all but this is rare) or partial, whereby an individual cannot detect the smell of certain types/groups of molecules.  Sometimes sensitivity to a certain smell can be increased after being exposed to it several times (when a certain aroma cannot be detected upon first exposure, an individual can 'train'their nose to become more sensitive to that aroma).

Apocrine Sweat Glands:  These glands do not usually open out directly onto the skin’s surface (unlike eccrine sweat glands).  Instead, they open out into hair follicles close to the skin’s surface.  The sweat secreted from these glands contains a chemical called Pheromone, which contributes to the individual’s natural & sexual scent.  This can influence the characteristics of a perfume.

Balsam:  Sticky resin excreted from trees and shrubs which when cut that usually produce a sweet, woody aroma.

Balsamic:  Warm, sweet notes that often characterise oriental perfume blends and lends richness and depth to perfumes.

Body:  Often described as being the ‘heart’ of an aromatic blend.  It is the main character of a perfume.  Can also be used to describe ‘roundness’ of a perfume.

Bouquet: This is a blend of flowery notes

Bouquetting: Harmonising a blend

Camphoraceous: Aroma that characterises the fresh & clean aspects of essential oils, often herbal varieties such as lavender, eucalyptus and rosemary.

Chypre: Describes a perfume type and is normally comprised of fresh, citrus and/or green top notes that are built upon woody base notes (often rich and/or animalic aromas such as oakmoss, labdanum or patchouli).  Many ‘male’ scents often have a chypre structure.

Classic:  A classical perfume often has a floral structure and may contain anything up to 10% floral absolutes (which is a higher % than more contemporary fragrances)

Cloying:  Used to describe sweet, sickly aromas that tend to linger, or ‘cling’.  Can occur when there is note variation and can be unpleasant.

Cologne:  A woman’s cologne is a light fragrance that is around 3% diluted into a water/alcohol base.  A man’s cologne usually has a slightly higher concentration than a woman’s cologne (around 5%, sometimes higher).

Compound:  Used to describe the concentrated perfume that has not yet been diluted into its carrier.

Concrete:  A solid wax-like material produced when essential oils are obtained from plant matter such as leaves, roots and flowers through solvent extraction.  When the solvent is removed, it leaves a waxy mass that contains volatile plant oils, plant waxes and other extracts.  An absolute is obtained from the concrete.

Depth:  Describes the quality and complexity of an aroma/fragrance. 

Distillate:  An essential oil produced by distillation. 

Dry Down:  The character of the perfume after several hours and is usually the base note (when the more volatile molecules have evaporated).

Eau De Cologne:  Normally a term used to describe a light fragrance at a dilution of around 3% compound in a water/alcohol solution.

Eau De Parfum:  A term describing a fragrance that has a dilution of up to 15% compound in an alcohol base.

Eau De Toilette:  Similar to Eau De Cologne whereby the compound is around 3-8% in a water/alcohol solution.

Earthy:  Character of an aroma/compound that smells like soil, mould, moss, earth etc.  Oakmoss is a very good example.

Enfleurage:  An expensive and labour-intensive classical method of extracting aroma molecules from plant matter (since replaced by concretes).  Petals and leaves etc were placed on trays of animal fat and left for days at a time and continually replaced until the fat became saturated with extracts – this was called a pomade.  The oils were then extracted from the pomade with solvents.

Essential Oil:  An essential oil is a very concentrated aromatic molecule that is highly volatile.  Strictly speaking, the term essential oil should only be applied to plant oils that have been obtained through expression or distillation.

Evanescent:  A fragrance note that quickly disappears.

Expression:  A term used to describe the extraction of essential oils by physical force/pressure and applies exclusively to citrus fruits, where the essential oil is stored in sacs under the rind’s surface.

Extrait:  This is another name for alcohol-based perfumes and can contain a compound up to 45% in alcohol.

Fatigue:  Being exposed to the same aroma for extended periods can lead to odour fatigue whereby the aroma can no longer be detected.  However, the nose can still detect other aromas.

Fixative:  A fixative is a material used in fragrance to give the overall aroma longevity.  This can either be a long-lasting aromatic component (such as an essential oil) or other component to which the other materials bond.

Flat:  Lifeless and uninteresting aroma that may not be very pleasing.

Floral:  Often associated with ‘natural’ and will have flowery notes.

Forest:  A blend that has the characteristics of mossy, woody notes

Fougere:  Has fern notes such as oakmoss combined with herbal notes.  A choice in many male fragrances.

Fresh:  Light and uplifting often having green and/or citrus notes.  Green florals are also described as fresh.

Fruity:  Non-citrus fruit ‘edibles’ such as banana or blackberry

Full-Bodied:  An aroma that has depth and is nicely rounded.

Fungal:  Characterised by a mould/fungi-like aroma.  Oakmoss can lend such a characteristic to a blend.

Fractional Distillation:  Essential oil refinement to isolate specific components of the essential oil, for example citral from lemongrass

Green:  An aroma that is characterised by a freshness and ‘naturalness’ like that of cut grass or leaves

Gums:  Exuded from the bark and leaves of trees and shrubs (also includes resins and balsams)

Harmonious:  A fragrance blend whereby the notes are in harmony

Heady:  An enlightening aroma that can make one feel light-headed.

Heart:  The main theme of the fragrance

Heavy:  A deep, sweet aroma with little or no ‘lift’

Herbaceous:  Having a herb-like ‘natural’ aroma akin to essential oils such as clary sage, rosemary, basil etc.  Often cooling.

Infusion:  Obtaining a solution from soaking or steeping materials in a hot substance, such as water (as in tea)

Insoluble:  Where one substance is unable to dissolve into another substance

Light:  Often associated with a ‘fresh’ aroma and is not a dominant smell

Linanool:  A chemical found naturally in many essential oils and tends to have a light floral note that is accented by a woody note.

Middle Note:  Or ‘heart’ note.  This constitutes the main bulk of a fragrance.

Mossy:  A character of an aroma that has mossy notes and may resemble the smells of the forest.  Oakmoss is a good example.

Note:  Much of the terminology used in perfumery is akin to that of music.  A note depicts the aroma according to its volatility.  In a compound, top notes will be detected by the nose first since they are quick to evaporate.  Middle notes take longer than top notes to evaporate and form the heart of the fragrance, and bottom notes can take hours or even days to evaporate and are the last to be detected by the nose.

Olfactory:  Relating to the sense of smell

Oriental:  A style of fragrance that contains heavier notes which are well-rounded and long-lasting.

Palette:  You often see the term ‘perfumer's palette’ which describes the range of aromatic
materials available to the perfumer when formulating.

Perfume:  Or extrait.  This is the most concentrated & long-lasting fragrance that can contain anything from 20-50% compound.

Pomade:  A fat that has been saturated with plant oils and forms part of the process of enfleurage.

Potpourri:  This is a mixture of dried flowers and herbs.

Powdery:  This aroma can be achieved when a sweet, heavy note is blended with lighter citrus, fruity or green notes.

Resinoids:  Extracts of resins/gums/balsams and frequently used as fixatives.

Soluble:  A substance that can dissolve in a solvent (alcohol, water, oil)

Spicy:  Warm or hot characteristic of an aroma or compound. 

Stability:  How materials behave in a perfume.  Instability often materialises over time by changes in colour, viscosity, aroma and separation.

Synergy:  A synergy is achieved when the effect is more than the total of the individual parts.

Tenacity:  How long the perfume retains its aromatic character

Thin:  Lacking depth.  Simple.

Top Note:  The first aroma encountered when perfume is applied.  These are normally the most volatile molecules within the compound.

Viscosity:  Refers to the thickness of a material.

Velvety:  Refers to a mellow and smooth aroma/fragrance.

Volatile:  The rate of evaporation at room temperature.

Woody:  Has a fragrance characteristic of wood.