The Three Notes of Fragrances

Fragrance aficionados are entranced by the delightful scents of perfumes, often captured from the gorgeous flowers and plants that fill our world. Science has created our ability to fashion sensational perfumes, while fragrance noses have given us the perfumed creations themselves. A fragrance nose is an individual who is highly gifted in identifying fragrance notes and combining them to create true masterpieces for the olfactory senses.

Have you ever wondered why your fragrance appears to change from the time you first apply it to some time later? Fragrances have three specific notes that contribute to their delightfully heady scents. These three notes are known as the top note, the heart note, and the base note.

Although fragrance aficionados are often gifted with the ability to distinguish one note from another, many of us have not been so blessed. Therefore, a little explanation is in order.

Each of the fragrance notes creates an impression as the fragrance evaporates from the skin. The body’s heat is the factor that creates the dispersal of the fragrance’s aromatic scents. Upon application to the skin, the fragrance emits its top note first.

The top note is the scent that garners your attention to the fragrance instantly as you apply it to your skin. The top note of your perfume is meant to lure you to appreciate its uniquely designed scent. Top notes are critical since they create the first impression of the fragrances. Common scents that are used in top notes include ginger and citrus.

The heart note appears as the top note dissipates, which is something that it does rather quickly within one or two moments. With some fragrances, it might take as long as one hour for the heart notes to emerge. The body of the perfume can be found in the heart note. It indicates the major ingredients of the fragrance. Heart notes are also commonly referred to as middle notes. Common scents that are used in heart notes include rose and lavender.

The base note appears about thirty minutes or so after the heart note. Along with the heart note, the base note is a major part of your fragrance. Base notes are designed to hold the top and heart notes as well as to provide a boost for their scents. Its scent lingers long after the top note and the heart note have disseminated. Common scents that are used in base notes include musk and certain plant resins.

The top and heart notes are typically lighter than the base notes found in any fragrance. It is the specific combination of the three types of notes, however, that creates each unique perfume.

Author: Susan M. Keenan ©2008