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The world is full of triads. Be it body, mind & soul. Be it dreams, reality & illusion. Or even as tangible as top notes, middle notes & base notes in perfumes; also known as Perfume Pyramid. This triad structure in perfumery is extremely important and fascinating. In this blog we will dwell deeper on perfume pyramid with the intention that consumers can get a good enough understanding to be able to make an informed selection of their favourite fragrance.
What is the Perfume Pyramid?
The Perfume Pyramid is a fragrance classification model that represents the structure of a perfume in three distinct layers: top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Understanding perfume pyramid or fragrance pyramid will require one to understand two more elements to perfumery – perfume concentration and type of fragrance families. The full impact of perfume pyramid rides on the foundation of these two elements. Thankfully, we have covered both these aspects lucidly before. Read our blog on perfume concentration here and back it up with going over our blog on types of fragrance families here.
In modern perfumery, the most important raw material is the fragrance oil or perfume oil. The perfumer’s baby. Using their creativity and imagination, they mix and match different ingredients to create a unified bouquet of scent. Once satisfied, the company will convert this oil into a perfume by adding alcohol, fixative and soluble. Basically, make it sprayable. It’s when you spray the perfume, the ingredients used by the perfumer in the perfume oil, interact with your skin and the perfume pyramid plays out. Let’s understand pyramid perfume a little more.
The Three Layers of Perfume Pyramid or Fragrance Pyramid
The ingredients added by the perfumer have its own individual scent. This is referred to as a ‘Note.’ The smell of rose when converted to a fragrance or perfume oil, is called a ‘Rose Note.’ Now, multiple ingredients (and in different quantities) go into making a perfume and each ingredient has its own ‘Note.’ All these notes blend to form a one cohesive scent bouquet. Think of music recordings where different musical instruments, each with its own unique sound, play together and create a symphony of music.
So, what has all this got to do with perfume pyramid? We say everything. See, when a perfume is sprayed on your skin, the heat releases the notes from the oil and that’s how you smell the scent. But because each ‘note’ has its own intensity and tenacity, the release happens at separate times. Usually, the whole scent has a lifespan of several hours. The reaction with skin and heat keeps happening till all ‘Notes’ are fully evaporated. Depending on when a particular note release itself in the air, it gets classified either as Top Note, Middle Note and Base Notes – the three layers of perfumer pyramid.
Top Notes
These are notes that react instantly and emanate the scent. They have high intensity as in they can be smelt immediately, but they evaporate faster; they are less tenacious. Citrus and are a splendid example of top notes. Usually if Top Notes lasts for about 15 mins to 30 mins max. They are opening notes of a perfume. When you smell a perfume at a store, this is note you smell first. Think of blazing youth.
Middle Notes
After the top notes start fading, you will start smelling the middle notes. Such notes are a good balance of intensity and tenacity. Floral notes like Rose note, Jasmine Note or Spicy notes like Saffron are good examples of Middle Notes. They are also known as the heart of the perfume or the main character of the perfume. They last for 2-3 hrs in the perfume life cycle. Think of midlife in human life cycle. The most productive time
Base Notes
And after midlife, comes the old age. Same with the perfume life cycle. They add stability of the entire fragrance and last the longest. If a perfume life cycle is 8-10 hours, then after about 4-5 hours, what you smell is the base note. The last remnants of the perfume. Woody notes – like Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Vetiver exemplify base notes in a perfume.
The Significance of Perfume Pyramid
When a perfumer is practicing his art of creating a fragrance, he knows beforehand what kind if ingredients are top, middle, or base notes. His expertise is in creating an optimum combination of the fragrance pyramid. And the ingredients in the perfume pyramid must pair well with each other. If only top notes are added, then it will too intense, too jarring when you smell it, and the life cycle will shorten to an hour max. Similarly, if only base notes are added, it will be great at lasting but unimpressive when you smell. Usually in a perfume, 15-20% is top notes, 40-50% is middle notes, and rest is base notes.
So how does it matter to you as a consumer? When you are assessing Perfumes at a store, you are evaluating a Perfume only on the basis on the Top Notes. Whereas the main heart of the Perfume is the middle note. What if you don’t like the middle note? You won’t be able to realise it till you start wearing it. One must wear a Perfume for a few days experience entire lifecycle of the notes before deciding if you like it or not.
How else are Perfume Notes classified?
Aside from being classified in the form of perfume notes pyramid, there is classification of notes into fragrance families too.
The following are the main perfume fragrance types:
Fresh
Sub-families :
Citrus Oils
Aqua or Marine Notes
Imagine the refreshing, energetic scent of lemon or orange. Yes, that citrusy, tarty, tangy notes. These notes are intense and volatile. The main profile is based on lemon, orange, bergamot, grapefruit, or mandarin.
Floral
Sub-families :
Soft Florals
White Florals
Powdery/ Floral Aldehydes
An immensely popular and widely used fragrance family. The best way to imagine a floral note mentioned in a perfume composition is to think about how that specific flower smells. Because a Rose’s smell is soft, sweet, and musky which is different from Mimosa flowers whose smell is Citrusy, and Jasmine whose smell intense and greener. Some flowers like violet and Iris have a powdery smell.
Aromatic
Sub-families :
Green Notes
Herbs
Fourgere Accord
Intense grassy- spicy scents fall under this fragrance type. It’s like combining smells of Fresh Fragrance Family with herbs like anise, rosemary, cumin etc. The best way to imagine this fragrance family is to think about freshly mowed grass. Its intense and masculine.
Amber (also known as Oriental)
Sub-families:
Spices
Resins/ Balms
Think of Oriental region. Scents here have accentuated warmth and sensuality. Includes warm spices like cardamom, saffron etc, and sharp spices clove, cinnamon, pepper.
Gourmand/ Sweet
Sub-families :
Fruits & Nuts
Sugary Food Smells
A tenacious and mouthwatering fragrance family which is extremely popular in perfumery these days. The Fruity sub-family consists sweeter smells like Plum, Peach, and Berries. Some scents of nuts like almond and hazelnuts. The sugary food smells are fragrances are suggestive of foody smells, specifically sweets and desserts, from chocolate to fresh cream to caramel.
Woody
Sub-families :
Woods
Mosses
Leather
As the name suggests, ingredients that are earthen, woody, and mossy. The smells of nature. The scent profile of woods ranges wildly across the different trees but, they hold all diverse types of fragrances together, like elders in a family.
Choosing the Right Perfume for you based on Perfume Pyramid
Perfume Pyramid along with an understanding of Perfume Concentration and Types of fragrances are excellent basis for choosing the right perfume for you. If you want a long-lasting steady fragrance, then pick a middle note heavy perfume. It is warm and cosy – ideal for a date. Check Dopamine Intimate for Him as an example. Similarly, if you want to make a statement at a party, where people can smell your scent as you walk past them, pick a top note heavy scent. Check out Dopamine Memories for Him.
At Dopamine Perfumes, for instance, we believe that Perfumes & fragrance don’t have to smelt, but they must be felt. And the feeling for each occasion varies. How you want to feel on a date is vastly different from how you want to feel at work or at a party. For a romantic evening, a date perfume should make you feel attractive and impassioned, enhancing your charm. On the other hand, and office perfume should keep you feeling fresh, energized, and professional throughout the day.
Conclusion
Perfume Pyramid or Fragrance Pyramid is a fundamental science in perfumery. Understanding it will be immensely helpful in making an informed choice. It will help in enjoying the entire experience of using a Perfume.
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