The language of perfume can feel like a secret code. Here are the words you will meet most often on Scentorium, on the bottles we carry and on Parfumo and Fragrantica, the two largest perfume databases, explained simply and with links to perfumes that show them best.
A
Absolute
A highly concentrated extract obtained with solvents from delicate materials such as jasmine, tuberose or beeswax. Absolutes are rich and true to the flower, and they are a sign of serious natural content.
Accord
A blend of several materials that together create a new impression, the way chords work in music. A "leather accord" or "old book accord" smells of leather or paper without containing either.
Aldehydes
Synthetic molecules with a bright, soapy, sparkling effect, famous since the 1920s. They lift a composition and give it an airy shimmer.
Amber
In perfumery, not the fossil stone but a warm, sweet accord, usually built from labdanum, benzoin and vanilla. Not to be confused with ambergris. See amber and resin perfumes.
Ambergris
A rare marine material formed in sperm whales and aged for years by sea and sun. It smells salty, sweet and skin-like, and it makes perfumes last. Lost Tribe even chooses its colour to suit each blend.
Ambrette
The seed of a hibiscus plant, which gives the most prized plant musk: soft, slightly pear-like and skin-warm. It is a natural alternative to animal musk.
Ambroxan
A synthetic molecule made from clary sage that recreates the dry, mineral, salty side of ambergris. Radiant and long-lasting; some people barely smell it.
Animalic
Notes that recall skin, fur or warmth: musk, civet, castoreum, ambergris, leather. Used well, they make a perfume feel alive. See our animalic and dark perfumes.
Anosmia
The inability to smell. Partial or "specific" anosmia is common: many people cannot smell certain musks or Ambroxan at all, which explains why the same perfume can seem strong to one person and faint to another.
Aromachemical
A fragrance molecule made or isolated in a laboratory. Some copy molecules found in nature, others smell of things nature cannot give. Most modern perfumes, including niche ones, combine them with naturals.
Attar
A traditional oil-based perfume from India and the Middle East, often distilled into sandalwood oil. Attars are worn directly on the skin, without alcohol.
B
Bakhoor
Wood chips soaked in perfumed oils and resins, burned on charcoal to scent homes and clothes, a tradition from the Arabian Peninsula.
Balsam
A thick, sweet resinous material such as Peru balsam or tolu balsam: warm, vanilla-like and slightly spicy. Balsams soften and round a composition.
Base notes
The deepest layer of a perfume, which appears last and stays longest: woods, resins, musks, vanilla, oud. They are what you still smell on a scarf the next day.
Batch
One production run of a perfume. In artisanal perfumery, natural materials vary from harvest to harvest, so batches can differ slightly in colour and smell. This is normal, not a defect.
Benzoin
A resin from Styrax trees in Southeast Asia, with a soft vanilla and caramel scent. A key ingredient of amber accords.
Bergamot
A citrus fruit grown mainly in Calabria, Italy. The oil is cold-pressed from the peel and gives a bright, slightly floral, tea-like opening to countless perfumes.
Blind buy
Buying a full bottle without having smelled the perfume. Exciting but risky, which is why samples and discovery sets exist.
Boozy
Perfumes that smell of drinks: rum, cognac, whisky, liqueur, wine. Often warm and sweet, sometimes with a bitter edge. See boozy perfumes.
C
Castoreum
A historic animalic material from beavers, with a leathery, smoky, birch-tar character. Today it is almost always reconstructed from other materials.
Cedarwood
A dry, pencil-shavings wood used in the base of many perfumes. Virginia and Atlas cedar are the most common.
Chypre
A classic structure built on citrus, a floral heart, oakmoss and woods. Chypres feel elegant, mossy and slightly bitter.
Civet
An intensely animalic material, historically taken from the civet cat. Modern perfumery uses synthetic or reconstructed versions. In small doses it makes florals feel sensual and alive.
CO2 extraction
A modern extraction method that uses pressurised carbon dioxide instead of heat or solvents. The extracts smell very close to the raw material, for example fresh ginger or pink pepper.
Concentration
How much perfume oil is dissolved in alcohol. From lightest to strongest: Eau de Toilette (EDT), Eau de Parfum (EDP) and Extrait de Parfum. Higher concentration usually means more depth and longer wear, not always more projection.
Conifer notes
Pine, fir, spruce, cypress and juniper: resinous, green and fresh or dark and balsamic. Pineward is a house built almost entirely on them. See forest and conifer perfumes.
Coumarin
A molecule with a scent of hay, almond and tonka bean. It was one of the first synthetics used in perfume, in Fougère Royale by Houbigant (1882), and it gave its name to the fougère family.
D
Decant
Perfume transferred from its original bottle into a smaller vial. At Scentorium we only offer official discovery sets or authorised samples, never home-made decants.
Discovery set
A set of small samples from one house, made to try a whole line before choosing a full bottle. At Scentorium we only offer official sets or authorized samples. See all discovery sets.
Distillation
The oldest way to extract scent: steam passes through plant material and carries the fragrant oil with it. Used for lavender, rose, vetiver, patchouli and many woods.
Dry-down
The final phase of a perfume on skin, after the top and heart notes have faded. Many niche perfumes are judged on their dry-down.
E
Eau de Cologne
The lightest traditional concentration, usually a few percent of perfume oil, built on citrus and herbs. Fresh, but short-lived.
Eau de Parfum
Often shortened to EDP: a mid-to-high concentration, roughly 15–20% perfume oil. The most common format in niche perfumery.
Eau de Toilette
Often shortened to EDT: a lighter concentration, roughly 5–15% perfume oil. Brighter and more airy than an EDP.
Enfleurage
A historic method in which fresh flowers are laid on a layer of fat that absorbs their scent. Slow and expensive, it is almost never used today.
Essential oil
A natural oil obtained by distillation or, for citrus, by pressing the peel. Not every plant can give one: jasmine and tuberose, for example, give absolutes instead.
Extrait de parfum
The most concentrated form of perfume, typically 20–40% perfume oil. Many of the houses we carry work mainly in extrait.
F
Fixative
A material that slows evaporation and helps a perfume last: resins, balsams, musks, ambergris, some woods.
Flanker
A new version of an existing perfume that keeps its name, such as an "Intense" or "Night" edition. Common in designer perfumery, rarer in niche.
Floral
The largest perfume family, built on flowers such as rose, jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, iris or violet. See floral perfumes.
Fougère
French for "fern": a family built on lavender, coumarin and oakmoss, often herbal and green. See green and earthy perfumes.
Fragrantica
One of the largest perfume encyclopedias online. Each perfume has notes, a pyramid, community votes on longevity and sillage, and a rating out of 5. Our perfumer pages cite its numbers.
G
Galbanum
A resin from a plant related to fennel, with a sharp, bitter, intensely green smell, like snapped stems. A little goes a long way.
Geosmin
The molecule behind the smell of earth after rain. Used in traces, it gives perfumes a damp, mineral, earthy feel. See green and earthy perfumes.
Gourmand
Perfumes built on edible notes: vanilla, caramel, chocolate, coffee, milk, pastry. The best ones stay wearable rather than sugary. See gourmand perfumes.
Green notes
Smells of leaves, cut grass, stems and sap: fresh, slightly bitter and alive. Galbanum, violet leaf and fig leaf are classic examples.
H
Headspace
A technique that captures the scent molecules around a living flower or object so they can be analysed and recreated. It lets perfumers reproduce smells that cannot be extracted.
Heart notes
The middle of a perfume, which appears after the opening fades and defines its character for hours. Usually florals, spices or teas.
Hesperidic
Another word for citrus notes: bergamot, lemon, orange, mandarin, grapefruit. The name comes from the Garden of the Hesperides in Greek myth. See fresh, citrus and aquatic perfumes.
I
IFRA
The International Fragrance Association, which sets safety standards for perfume materials. Its limits on ingredients such as oakmoss are a common reason for reformulations.
Independent perfumery
Perfume made by small, often perfumer-owned houses, outside large corporate groups. Small batches, personal stories and materials chosen for quality rather than cost. Meet our perfumers.
Indoles
Molecules found naturally in jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom. In small amounts they make white flowers rich and heady; in large ones they turn animalic.
Iso E Super
A synthetic woody molecule with a soft, velvety, cedar-like glow. It is in a huge number of modern perfumes and, like Ambroxan, some people can barely smell it.
L
Labdanum
A sticky resin from the rockrose shrub: warm, leathery, amber-like. It is the backbone of most amber perfumes. See amber and resin perfumes.
Layering
Wearing two or more perfumes together to create a new combination. It works best with simpler compositions that share a note.
Leather
A note recreated with birch tar, saffron, castoreum or specific molecules, ranging from smoky and tarry to soft suede. See tobacco and leather perfumes.
Linear perfume
A perfume that smells much the same from the first spray to the dry-down, instead of evolving through distinct top, heart and base notes.
Longevity
How long a perfume lasts on skin. It depends on concentration, materials, skin and climate. Spraying on clothes or hair usually makes it last longer.
M
Maceration
Letting a finished perfume rest so the materials blend and mature, from weeks to years. Mate-O by OM Parfum is macerated for two years.
Musk
Originally an animal material from the musk deer, now made with synthetic molecules for ethical reasons. Musks smell clean, skin-like or powdery and give perfumes softness and length.
N
Natural perfumery
Perfumes made only from natural materials, without synthetic molecules. Harder to build and to make last, but uniquely alive. ALTRA and Lost Tribe are fully natural houses.
Neroli
An oil distilled from bitter orange blossom: fresh, green, slightly honeyed. The same flower gives orange blossom absolute, which is richer and sweeter.
Niche perfume
Perfume made for people who already love perfume: smaller houses, bolder ideas and no need to please everyone. The opposite of designer fragrance made for mass appeal.
Nose
Another word for perfumer, the person who composes the formula. Some noses run their own houses, others compose for many. See our perfumers.
Nose fatigue
After a while the nose stops registering a smell it is surrounded by, including your own perfume. It is why you may stop smelling your perfume while others still can, and why you should not test too many at once.
O
Oakmoss
A lichen that grows on oak trees, with a damp, inky, forest-floor scent. The heart of chypres, now restricted by IFRA, so modern versions use low-allergen grades.
Olfactory family
A way of grouping perfumes by their main character: floral, woody, amber, fresh, gourmand, chypre, fougère, leather and so on. Our scent families follow the same idea.
Orris
The root of the iris, dried and aged for several years before extraction. Powdery, buttery and earthy, it is one of the most expensive materials in perfumery.
Oud
Also called agarwood: a dark, resinous wood formed when certain trees react to infection. Each region gives a different oud, from smoky Hindi to sweet Thai. See oud perfumes.
Ozonic
Notes that evoke fresh air, sea spray or clean laundry, created with molecules such as Calone. The signature of many aquatic perfumes.
P
Parfumo
A large community perfume database based in Germany, where members rate perfumes out of 10 and review scent, longevity, sillage and bottle. Our perfumer pages cite its ratings.
Patchouli
Leaves of an Asian plant, dried and distilled. Earthy, dark, slightly chocolatey and camphorous. A pillar of chypres and many modern woody perfumes.
Powdery
A soft, dry, cosmetic effect, like face powder, given by iris, violet, heliotrope, musks and some aldehydes.
Projection
How far a perfume radiates from your skin in the first hours. Strong projection fills a room; soft projection stays close.
Pyramid
The classic way to describe a perfume in three layers: top, heart and base notes. Useful as a guide, though many niche perfumes do not follow it strictly.
R
Reformulation
Changing the formula of an existing perfume, usually because of new regulations or the cost and availability of materials. It is why older bottles can smell different.
Resins
Fragrant tree saps such as frankincense, myrrh, benzoin and labdanum. Warm, balsamic and often spiritual. See incense and smoke perfumes.
S
Sample
A small vial, usually 1–2 ml, for trying a perfume on your own skin over a day or two. The safest way to choose. See discovery sets.
Sandalwood
A creamy, milky, soft wood. Indian Mysore sandalwood was the classic reference; today most comes from sustainable plantations, often in Australia.
Signature scent
The perfume someone wears so often that it becomes part of how people remember them.
Sillage
French for "wake": the trail a perfume leaves in the air behind you after you have walked past.
Skin chemistry
Your skin changes how a perfume smells and lasts: its warmth, dryness and natural scent all play a part. This is why we recommend trying a sample before a full bottle.
Skin scent
A perfume that stays very close to the body and smells like warm, clean skin, usually built on musks and soft woods. ALTRA has a whole Skin Scents collection.
Soliflore
A perfume built around a single flower, such as a rose or a tuberose, rather than a bouquet.
T
Tincture
A material soaked in alcohol for weeks or months to extract its scent, used for ambergris, musk, vanilla or resins. Tinctures give natural perfumes depth.
Tobacco
Usually tobacco leaf absolute: honeyed, hay-like, sweet and slightly smoky, never ashtray. See tobacco and leather perfumes.
Tonka bean
A South American bean rich in coumarin: almond, hay, vanilla and a touch of tobacco. It warms and sweetens the base of a perfume.
Top notes
The opening of a perfume, the first 10 to 30 minutes: usually citrus, herbs, fruit or spice. Bright, but the first to fade.
V
Vanilla
Extracted from cured vanilla pods, mainly from Madagascar. In perfume it can be smoky, boozy, creamy or dark, far from simple sweetness. See gourmand perfumes.
Vetiver
The roots of a tropical grass, distilled into an earthy, smoky, rooty oil. Haiti, Java and India each give a different style.
Vintage
An older bottle, made before later reformulations. Collectors value vintages because they can show how a perfume originally smelled.
W
Woody
A family built on woods such as cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, guaiac and oud: dry, warm, smoky or creamy. See forest and conifer perfumes.