5 Steps to Describe a Perfume

Female, Male or Unisex?

The distinction whether a scent is suitable for a particular gender has become very fluid nowadays but it is still important.

Equally, just because one might say that a note is quite masculine in style, this does not mean that women won't wear it or like it. The reverse is equally true.

This distinction is just a simple prop to better understand the fragrance.

Olfactive Category?

Further below you can read in more details what Olfactive Categories are but broadly speaking they group perfumes by their style.

For example, is a fragrance 'oriental' or 'aromatic'?

Dominant Ingredient?

With this step the perfumer goes into a little more detail about the ingredients.

The idea is to identify which ingredients dominate within the creation.

For example, is the 'rose' or 'vanilla' note more prominent in this particular scent.

The Accord?

The perfume accord is the 'backbone' of the fragrance and consists of the main building blocks of the scent or olfactive creation.

The perfumer is evaluating the creation with a view to capturing the character of the scent, its top, middle and base note. Perfumers will also start to assess the scent over time, e.g. its dry-down, and how the accord evolves.

Equally, perfumers will try and relate the fragrance to other scents on the market to identify whether this particular perfume is an 'evolution', 'revolution' and/or whether it has an unusual 'twists'.

Would You like to Learn More?

You can read in more detail about accords, the analogy with music but also what top, middle and base notes are on this page.

A Perfume Experience Box is an ideal way to sample & try many different perfumes and to learn how to describe them. See one here.