Fragrance Terminology 101: Speak Like a Perfume Expert

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The fragrance world has its own language—and it can feel intimidating when you're just starting out. What's a "house"? What does "niche" mean? Why do people talk about "notes" like they're reading sheet music?

This guide breaks down the essential fragrance terminology so you can navigate the perfume world with confidence.

Brand & Industry Terms

House: A fragrance brand or company. "Maison" (French for "house") is often used for luxury brands. Example: "Maison Francis Kurkdjian is a prestigious fragrance house."

Niche: Independent, artisan fragrance brands that prioritize creativity and quality over mass appeal. Niche fragrances are typically more expensive and sold in specialty stores, not department stores. Examples: Byredo, Imaginary Authors, Matiere Premiere.

Designer: Fragrances created by fashion houses (Chanel, Dior, Gucci). These are more widely available and often more affordable than niche. They're sold in department stores and have bigger marketing budgets.

Mainstream: Mass-market fragrances sold in drugstores and big-box retailers. Think celebrity perfumes or budget-friendly brands.

Perfumer (or "Nose"): The artist who creates fragrances. Famous perfumers include Francis Kurkdjian, Olivier Polge, and Christine Nagel. They're like chefs, but for scent.

Perfume House vs. Fragrance House: Same thing. Both refer to a brand that creates perfumes.

Fragrance Structure & Composition

Notes: The individual scent ingredients in a fragrance. A perfume might have bergamot, rose, and sandalwood notes.

Top Notes: The first scents you smell when you spray a fragrance. They're light and evaporate quickly (5-15 minutes). Common top notes: citrus, herbs, light fruits.

Heart Notes (or Middle Notes): The core of the fragrance that emerges after the top notes fade (15 minutes to 2 hours). Common heart notes: florals, spices, fruits.

Base Notes: The foundation that lasts the longest (2-8+ hours). These are the woody, amber, musky, or resinous notes that linger on your skin.

Accord: A blend of notes that creates a unified scent impression. For example, a "leather accord" might combine birch tar, smoke, and amber to smell like leather.

Dry Down: How a fragrance smells after it's been on your skin for several hours. The dry down reveals the base notes and is often the most important part of a fragrance.

Fragrance Families & Categories

Fragrance Family: A broad category that groups similar scents. The main families are Floral, Woody, Fresh, and Amber (Oriental).

Gourmand: Fragrances that smell edible—think vanilla, chocolate, caramel, honey. They're sweet and comforting.

Aquatic: Fresh, watery scents that evoke the ocean or rain. Often used in men's sport fragrances.

Green: Scents that smell like fresh-cut grass, leaves, or herbs. Earthy and natural.

Chypre: A classic fragrance family built on citrus, florals, and oakmoss. Sophisticated and earthy.

Fougère: A traditional men's fragrance family with lavender, oakmoss, and coumarin. Think classic barbershop scents.

Concentration & Strength

Eau de Cologne (EDC): 2-5% fragrance oil. Light, fresh, lasts 1-2 hours.

Eau de Toilette (EDT): 5-15% fragrance oil. Moderate strength, lasts 3-5 hours. Most common concentration.

Eau de Parfum (EDP): 15-20% fragrance oil. Stronger, lasts 6-8 hours. More expensive but better value.

Parfum (or Extrait de Parfum): 20-30% fragrance oil. The strongest and most expensive. Lasts 8-12+ hours.

Intense/Absolu/Elixir: Marketing terms for stronger versions of existing fragrances. Usually higher concentration or richer formulations.

Performance Terms

Sillage (pronounced "see-YAHJ"): The scent trail you leave behind. High sillage means people can smell you from a distance. Low sillage means it stays close to your skin.

Projection: How far a fragrance radiates from your body. Similar to sillage but more about the "bubble" of scent around you.

Longevity: How long a fragrance lasts on your skin. Citrus scents have low longevity (2-3 hours), while amber and oud have high longevity (8+ hours).

Skin Scent: A fragrance that stays very close to your skin. Only people who lean in can smell it. Intimate and personal.

Beast Mode: Slang for a fragrance with extremely strong projection and longevity. It "performs like a beast."

Buying & Sampling Terms

Decant: A small portion of fragrance transferred from a full bottle into a smaller container (usually 2-10ml). Perfect for sampling without buying a full bottle.

Sample/Vial: A tiny amount of fragrance (1-2ml) provided by brands or retailers for testing.

Discovery Set: A curated collection of samples from a brand, designed to help you explore their range.

Blind Buy: Purchasing a full bottle without smelling it first. Risky and often leads to regret. (We don't recommend it!)

Full Bottle Worthy (FBW): Slang for a fragrance good enough to buy a full bottle after sampling.

Tester: A full-size bottle used in stores for customers to try. Sometimes sold at a discount without fancy packaging.

Scent Descriptions

Linear: A fragrance that smells the same from start to finish. No evolution or complexity.

Complex: A fragrance with many layers that evolve over time. The opposite of linear.

Synthetic: Scent molecules created in a lab (not from natural sources). Not necessarily bad—many modern fragrances use high-quality synthetics.

Natural: Ingredients derived from plants, flowers, or other natural sources. Often more expensive and less stable than synthetics.

Animalic: Scents that evoke animal-derived ingredients (musk, ambergris, castoreum). Can smell earthy, musky, or slightly "dirty."

Powdery: Soft, talc-like scents often from iris, violet, or tonka bean. Think baby powder or vintage cosmetics.

Boozy: Scents that smell like alcohol—rum, whiskey, wine. Often paired with vanilla or spices.

Smoky: Scents with smoke, incense, or birch tar. Evokes campfires or burning wood.

Community Slang

Compliment Getter: A fragrance that gets lots of compliments from others. Often sweet, fresh, or crowd-pleasing.

Signature Scent: Your go-to fragrance that you wear most often. The scent people associate with you.

Dumb Reach: A fragrance you grab without thinking because it's so easy to wear and always works.

Panty Dropper: Crude slang for a fragrance marketed as seductive or attractive. Often overhyped.

Office Safe: A fragrance appropriate for professional settings—moderate projection, inoffensive, not too sweet or spicy.

Scrubber: A fragrance so bad you immediately wash it off your skin.

Now You're Speaking Fragrance

With this terminology guide, you can confidently navigate fragrance reviews, shop niche houses, and understand what perfumers are talking about. The more you explore, the more natural this language will become.

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Learn more: Beginner's Guide to Fragrance | Understanding Concentrations