Talking scents

Diptyque eau de Neroli. Photo / Supplied

Fragrance has historically been divided into four main families (the first four listed below), but these days generally accepted categorisation is ever broadening. A baffling language all of its own surrounds perfume and its devotees debate endlessly online on a number of perfume blogs. They also use the internet to search out rarities.

We decode scent speak:

Floral: The easiest to understand of the fragrance families, based on essential oil extracts from flowers, which these days can be distilled but are increasingly synthetically created accords. Think rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, etc. Often mixed with fruity and fresh aromas. Classic bouquets include Joy (1935) and L'Air du Temps (1947).

Oriental: Spicy, heady ingredients dominate in oriental or amber fragrances, as typified by the likes of Shalimar and Opium. The overall effect is sweet, intense and exotic, with base notes such as musk, sandalwood and vanilla. The first oriental fragrance was Jicky by Guerlain in 1889, with the same house releasing Samsara a century later.

Mixed with the floral family, oriental perfumes produce florientals.

Chypre: Mixes green or floral notes, with a deep base such as citrusy bergamot, amber and mossy aromas. The distinctive and long-lasting group for men and women takes its name from the island of Cyprus, which exported scent in Roman times. Scents tends to be dry and elegant rather than sweet, with examples being Mitsouko (1919) by Guerlain, and Cristalle (1974) by Chanel.

Fougere: This French word means "fern" and the fern-like, moss family is mainly used for men's aromas. Also contains fresh, herbal notes, typically lavender. Old Spice and Brut are fougeres.

Aromatic: Herbs and spices predominate.

Citrus: Fresh, light scents utilising lemon, bergamot, orange, grapefruit, mandarin, etc. Often used as top notes or combined with other fruits, the florals or chypres for a softer edge. Although time-honoured, these light scents appeal as modern and summery and include Bulgari.

Elemental: Conceptual scents are the new frontier, conjuring up aromas for man-made objects (concrete for instance), imagined environments (outer space), or even states of mind.

Fruity: Non-citrus fruits such as apple, berries and melons have joined the perfume inventory, again often as top notes or in combination with florals.

Gourmand: Refers to Food-inspired aromas such as chocolate and candy, detected in the likes of Angel and Fantasy.

Green: An outdoorsy blend of herbs, ferns, mosses and citrus fruits, that can be lush or fresh. Includes Chanel No. 19. Balsamic greens are softer and sweeter with the addition of resins and balsams.

Leather/Tobacco: Masculine scents with a spicy base note and a warm mix of flowers, woods and balsam. Includes English Leather.

Oceanic: Fresh, sometimes soapy, clean fragrances, with a young, sporty character. L'eau d'Issey is an example.

Ozonic: Watery, limpid-feeling, fresh scents have gained traction for both sexes over the past decade or so, including Calvin Klein's Escape.

Woody: Fresh, dry wood notes, such as sandalwood, cedar, vetiver and patchouli, used in combination with the groups above.

Notes: Fragrance is comprised of three strands: the top notes that strike you first, the middle notes or heart of the scent (making up 50-80 per cent of the blend), and the bottom notes that linger on the skin. Judging a fragrance by the top notes is a mistake, while they give it its initial appeal or turn-off they tend to quickly dissipate. The perfume is concentrated in its middle notes, but the stabilising, lasting end notes are critical.

Dry down: What the fragrance becomes when the notes are released and it settles on the skin. An initially appealing aroma may end up with a disappointing or off-key dry down that changes your view several hours on. This can be due to skin chemistry or something in the mix that eventually jars. It's a key reason to wear a fragrance for a while before buying it.

Accords: A complex of a small number of fragrance notes that combine into their own distinctive melded character.

Aldehydes: A class of perfume ingredients that give a sparkling top note. The organic compounds were first used commercially in Chanel No. 5 and are derived from alcohol and plant materials.

EDT and EDP: Contractions for the weaker eau de toilette and the stronger eau de parfum versions of a scent. Eau de cologne is the latest of all versions, though men's eau de cologne is of a concentration more like women's edts.

Juice: Industry term for a perfume.

Sillage: The lasting power of a fragrance.

Synthetics: Derived or isolated from natural products or manufactured in the lab. Have the benefit of availability, stability and uniformity.