subject: What Are Fragrance Notes? [print this page] Notes are individual pieces of music that combine to make a song. When it comes to fragrance notes are the smaller pieces of the puzzle that combine to produce an overall fragrance experience.
When perfumers blend fragrances together they must have an infinite knowledge of the effects of individual ingredients on the overall creation and they must know how to blend those ingredients together to get the desired effect. When they name a fragrance their goal is to blend a creation of ingredients together that will live up to the name. They do a very good job of this and can create a fragrance to cater to a certain crowd or group of people. Fragrances named after celebrities will often cater to the age and statue group of that celebrities fans.
Mens and womens are both composed of elements which produce notes. The notes are composed of certain ingredients and the timing of the note depends on the action of the molecules of the ingredients. For examples, the first note will be always composed of the citrus elements of a fragrance. Citrus molecules are light and will separate themselves and diffuse into the atmosphere first. They may also carry other fragrances with them as they go but generally this will be your first experience when you open a bottle of scented oil or cologne. The first note is the very first impression that you get right out of the bottle and generally doesnt last very long. You can generally expect this note to last up to 45minutes or so.
The second note of fragrance normally carries the flowery fragrances. Sometimes they may contain the heavier citrus ingredients and this note doesnt have to have a strictly flowery smell. Once again it just depends on the trace aromas that the perfumer adds to the mixture. The second note is also called the heart note because it is the most memorable part of the fragrance. The first note will fade into this second note which will last for several hours before it gives way totally to the third and last note. This note will change more slowly as you wear it than the first note therefore it gives a more stable performance.
The base note will consist of heavy woodsy natural scents. These scents are good to use to produce a fragrance because they are heavy and steady. They are normally the first notes used when the perfumer mixes fragrances. Other ingredients are added as necessary to accompany the theme of the fragrance.
I know to add more fragrance once I get towards the end of the second note with some of the fragrances that I wear because the second note is normally the note that I want to maintain. When this note gets more woodsy than flowery I will refresh it.
The perfume or cologne that you wear obviously will change as time wears on so you must be aware of the fact that the notes will change and not smell the same way on you all of the time. One trick that seasoned fragrance oil wearers will use is that they will keep a small amount of their fragrance with them and reapply it as time goes on. If you know how the fragrance will behave for you during the second note and you want to maintain that fragrance you will have to know when to reapply fragrance to maintain the desired effect. I encourage you to experiment by having someone that you trust to give you feedback. You will refine your fragrance wearing techniques as time goes on until you get it down to a science. Fragrance Oil Express
