|
|
- The Different
Olfactive Families Used in Perfume
by Mike
Taylor |
|
Over the years just about anything
and everything that had a smell has been used to create fragrances.
As you can probably guess some of these concoctions were not
very popular but over time a primary grouping of scents have
become the most popular.
Called
Olfactive families by perfume makers they are actually groups
of different scents that have been formulated over time to become
the prime base scents used to make our favorite perfumes and
colognes. Each of these families can be further divided into
sub-families with the addition of other scents to fashion even
more complex fragrances.
The
most popular families (or accords as they are called by perfumers)
of today's fragrances are:
Fougere
Many of today's men's colognes
are based on the Fougere Olfactive family. Coumarin (the sweet
smell of freshly cut hay), lavender and oakmoss are the primary
ingredients in this scent. |
|
|
Chypre
Chypre is the French word for Cypress and is also
the name of the first perfume to use this family of scents. Oakmoss,
Jasmine and the citrus scent Bergamot make up this family and
it is often blended with other families to create new scents.
Chypre has an earthy, fruity smell to it and may also contain
a hint of leather.
Floral
Over half of all women's fragrances
fall into the Floral family because they are suitable for all
occasions and easy to wear. They are based on one or more types
of flowers depending on the scent but occasionally they are made
up of a single flower.
Woody
Used mainly in men's cologne
Cedar and Sandalwood make up this family. Woody will often have
a hint of citrus scent added to it to give it a brighter smell.
Leather
Usually found in men's colognes this family's main
scent is Leather based with subtle hints of honey and wood.
Citrus
Lemon, lime and orange as well as some spices make
up this popular family. The Citrus Olfactive is used in both
men's and women's fragrances and has a light fresh smell.
Orientals
Probably the most popular Olfactive used to make
women's perfume it has a bright floral scent along with traces
of vanilla and musk.
These
main Olfactive families are just the foundations for creating
our favorite scents as skilled perfumers will combine these with
many other scents to create fragrances that are rich, complex
and great smelling. So, the next time you apply your signature
scent try and guess which family your scent is based on. You
can check on the Web to see if you are correct as many perfume
sites will include the Olfactive family in the perfume's description. |
|
|
|
|
|
Refer
