Perfume is described to have three notes: top notes, middle notes, and base notes. The notes unfold over time, from the top notes leading to the middles notes and finally, the base notes during the final stage.

Top Notes - This is the initial burst of scent and your first impression of the fragrance when it contacts your skin. Therefore, the top notes are very important to the selling of perfume. Top notes are light, volatile, and evaporates very quickly. It is generally defined as fresh, bright, or sharp … read more »

Michael Edwards, a consultant in the perfume industry, developed a perfume classification method called the Fragrance wheel in 1983. It is used to simplify fragrance classification through visual representation of the fragrance families to show the relationships between each individual class.

The five major families are: Floral, Oriental, Woody, Fougère, and Fresh. The first four families are considered to be more classic compared to the latter, which are citrus and oceanic fragrances that are brighter and cleaner. Each of the families are divided into subgroups and arranged around a wheel, with the exception of the Fougère family. The Fougère family … read more »