Journal Number 90
March 2004

EDITORIAL

The Science of Scents 4: A Nostalgic Nosology Of Noses
By Ian St George

Accord: The basic character or theme of a fragrance. Perfume accords are a balanced blend of three or four notes which lose their individual identity to create a completely new, unified odour impression.

Aldehydes: Organic chemicals which can be derived from natural material or manmade from ethyl alcohol by hydrogen loss. They represent a major series of perfume ingredients and are used in extreme dilution in the preparation of perfumes. Aldehydes are used in the perfume industry for their particularly vivid notes.

Amber: Obtained from fir trees and when processed gives a heavy, full bodied, powdery, warm fragrance tone.

Animal: Refers to the warm, sensual and heady base notes once associated with the natural odour of musk, ambergris, civet, and castoreum, now produced by some vegetable materials and aroma chemicals.

Apocrines: A type of sweat gland which contributes to the sexual and body scent in humans and which influences the odour characteristics of one's fragrance.

Aroma: A term used to describe a sensation which is between smell and taste, such as the aroma of coffee.

Aroma chemicals: Any natural isolates or synthetics which have an aroma.

Aroma-chology: A new science, developed by the Olfactory Research Fund, dedicated to the study of the interrelationship between psychology and the latest in fragrance technology to elicit a variety of specific feelings and emotions...relaxation, exhilaration, sensuality, happiness and well-being.

Aromatherapy: The therapeutic use of pure essential oils and herbs in body massage, the result of which is described by proponents as "healing, beautifying and soothing" the body and mind, has its roots in the folk medicine practised in primitive cultures.

Attar (Otto): From the ancient Persian word "to smell sweet". Attar or otto refers to essential oil obtained by distillation and, in particular, that of the Bulgarian rose, an extremely precious perfumery material.

Balsams: Sticky, resinous materials obtained from trees or shrubs which give a combined sweet-woody odour associated with well-seasoned, non-coniferous woods such as maple.

Bitter: Describes a perfume odour which has a metallic green quality, without sweetness.

Body: The main fragrance theme-the middle or "heart" of a perfume. Also describes a fragrance that is well-rounded or full.

Chypre: A fragrance family or type-a complex of moss mixed with woods, flowers or fruit odours.

Citrus: Odours from citrus fruits such as orange, lemon, lime, mandarin and bergamot which give fresh, fruity top notes used especially in eau fraiche, classical and men's colognes.

Classic: A classic fragrance can be considered in the same vein as classic literature or architecture. A fragrance that has been widely accepted by generation after generation and is in use for a minimum of 15 years.

Cloying: An odour that is excessively sticky sweet.

Cologne (women's): A light form of fragrance with a low concentration of perfume oils mixed with diluted alcohol.

Cologne (men's): More concentrated than women's colognes, similar to the concentration of toilet water and in some instances perfume.

Cologne (classical): A term reserved for those fragrances which are basically citrus blends and do not have a perfume parent.

Depth: Refers to a fragrance odour of low volatility with a dimension that is rich and full bodied.

Diffusion: The ability of a fragrance to radiate quickly around the wearer and subtly permeate the environment.

Dry: A sensation produced by certain perfume ingredients which give a woody, masculine effect.

Dry down: The final phase of a fragrance-the character which appears several hours after application. Perfumers evaluate the base notes and the tenacity of the fragrance during this stage.

Earthy: The provocative odour of freshly turned earth, musty and rooty.

Essences: Products which endeavour to capture or emphasize the highly volatile top notes of natural products.

Essential: Volatile oil obtained by various processes from flowers, oil leaves, roots, barks, stems, fruits, seeds and woods.

Evanescent: Fleeting or quickly vanishing fragrance.

Extracts: Concentrated perfume or flower products obtained through the process of extraction using volatile solvents.

Fatigue: Odour fatigue results from overlong exposure to an odour. The nose can no longer discern that particular smell.

Flat: Lacking in lift, diffusion and distinction.

Floral: Fragrance family or type; either characteristic of a specific flower or a blend of several flower notes.

Flowery: Possessing a fragrance resembling a flower. Term often used to describe certain aromatic chemicals such as heliotropin, hedione, rhodinol and artistic aldehyde.

Forest blends: Aromatic, woodsy-mossy notes.

Fougere: The French word for "fern." Fougere fragrances depend on aromatic chemicals to produce the fern-like notes which combine well with lavender, citrus and coumarin in fragrances for men.

Fresh: An invigorating, outdoor or nature- inspired type fragrance with green, citrus notes.

Fruity: The impression of full, ripe, edible fruit odours (excluding citrus) within the fragrance theme.

Full-bodied: Well-rounded fragrance possessing depth and richness.

Fungal: Odours suggestive of moulds, mushrooms and fungi. Important notes in muguet fragrances as well as other florals.

Green: Odour reminiscent of fresh-cut grass, leaves or a warm, moist forest. Green notes add lift and vigour to a fragrance composition.

Harmonious: Order, accord and unity in fragrance.

Harsh: A crude, unbalanced, rough pungent odour.

Hay: A sweet clover odour.

Heady: Exhilarating, sparkling, stimulating.

Heart: The core of a perfume composition which gives it its character.

Heavy: An odour which can be forceful, intense, often sweet and balsamic.

Herbaceous: A fragrance note that is grassy-green, spicy and somewhat therapeutic, e.g. thyme, hyssop, chamomile.

Honey: A very sweet, heavy, syrupy, fragrance note; is tenacious.

Ionones: One of the most valued synthesized products used by the perfumer. Essential to violet perfumes. Used in small amounts in floral, woody and herbaceous perfumes.

Lastingness: The ability of a fragrance to retain its character over a given period of time.

Leafy: One of the many variations of the green note.

Leather: Fragrance type and odour resembling the sweet, pungent smokiness characteristic of the ingredients used in the tanning process of leathers.

Lift: To add life to a fragrance blend is to give it lift and some brilliancy; lift can also refer to diffusiveness of a given blend. A perfume having lift has a brilliant top note with wide diffusiveness.

Light: A generally non-sweet, non-cloying fragrance where the fresh note is predominant. Often formulated as an eau fraiche or a deodorant cologne for all over body wear in warm climates or for sports.

Mellow: A fragrance that gives a balanced, smooth and rich impression.

Middle notes: The middle or "heart" notes make up a main blend of a fragrance that classifies the fragrance family or accord. It usually takes from ten to twenty minutes for the middle notes to develop fully on the skin.

Modern: In perfumery the modern era began at the beginning of the 20th century when synthetic aroma chemicals such as aldehydes were first used. A modern fragrance is a harmonious conception of the perfumer based on new notes or harmonies often unknown in nature.

Mossy: The odour suggestive of the aromatic lichens, and mosses, primarily oak moss and tree moss; reminiscent of forest depths.

Note: Borrowed from the language of music to indicate an olfactory impression of a single smell, or to indicate the three parts of a perfume-top note, middle note, base note.

Odour: Airborne chemicals emanating from water, objects, one's body, flowers or fragrance that stimulate the olfactory system. The characteristic smell of something.

Odour memory: The ability of a perfumer to hold, and bring to recall, hundreds of single perfume odours and odour blends.

Odoriferous: Emitting an odour.

Oriental: Fragrance family or type denoting heavy, full bodied and tenacious perfumes.

Palette: The range of perfume ingredients from which a perfumer selects to use in the formulation of a perfume.

Perfume: Most highly concentrated form of fragrance, the strongest and the most lasting. Perfume may contain hundreds of ingredients within a single formulation.

Pheromone: Chemical substance secreted by all animals (including perhaps humans) to produce a response by other members of the same species. Sexual attractants are the most widely studied and described.

Pomades: Combination of purified fats and flower oils produced by the enfleurage process.

Powdery: Sweet, dry, somewhat musky odour.

Resinoids: Are extracts of gums, balsams, resins or roots (orris) which consist in whole or in part of resinous materials. They are generally used as fixatives in perfume compositions.

Rounding out: Perfume ingredients, often from natural origin, added to fragrance compositions to enrich, modify or soften any harsh qualities.

Specialties: Natural oils, natural isolates or synthetics, either alone or in combination, which are used as building blocks for fragrance compounds. They are less complex than a finished fragrance compound.

Spicy: Piquant or pungent notes such as clove oil, cinnamon; characteristic of notes of carnation, ginger, lavender.

Strength: The relative intensity of a fragrance impression.

Sweet: Can be used to describe a fragrance that has richness and ambrosial characteristics associated with sweet taste.

Tenacity: The ability of a perfume to last, or a fragrance note to retain its characteristic odour.

Thin: When a fragrance complex has not been given enough "floralcy" or warmth to soften the impact of the more aggressive and volatile components; lacking in body and depth.

Tonality: Dominant note or theme of a fragrance.

Top note: The first impression of a fragrance when sniffed or applied to the skin; usually the most volatile ingredients in a perfume.

Undertones: The subtle characteristics of the fragrance background.

Velvety: A soft, smooth, mellow fragrance without harsh chemical notes.

Woody: An odour which is linked to the aroma of freshly cut, dry wood or fibrous root such as sandalwood or vetiver.

Acknowledgement
Abbreviated and modified from the "Anucci fragrance glossary of olfactory and fragrance terms" at www.anucci.com/fyi/tech_glossary.html.