Scent notes are descriptions of perfumes that are usually observed preceding the application of a fragrance. Notes are divideded into three parts; top, middle as well as base. All refer to groups of smells that can be smelt with regard to the time following the application of the scent. These comments are created with the knowledge of the disappearance time of the substances plus the purpose for which the perfume is intended. That said, each class of note can impact the rest. Thus it is not as easy to sense a particular note as they continually vary over a period of time. For instance, the existence of a certain base or heart note will impact the fragrance perceived when the top notes are strongest, and equally the smell associated with the foot notes will frequently change based on the smell of the heart notes.
The concept of notes is used predominantly to explain a cologne for selling purposes. Occasionally they are referred to by perfumers to depict the different stages of a scents bouquet to the layman.
Top notes.
These are the aromas observed instantly upon the application of a fragrance. They comprise of tiny, light molecules that disappear rapidly. Top notes are crucial to the selling of a perfume as it is these that shape a person's early opinion of a scent. They are mostly described as fresh, sharp or assertive. The ingredients that lead to top notes are volatile, strong in smell, and evaporate swiftly. Citrus and ginger are normal ingredients for top notes. Top notes are occasionally referred to as the head notes.
Middle notes.
Now and then known as the heart or main body of a fragrance, they emerge in the middle of the fragrance's dispersion process. It is the smell of a fragrance that appears just ahead of the closing stages of the top notes. Their purpose is to mask the often unpleasant first impression of the base notes, which turn out to be more appealing with time. Compunds used for a scent's middles notes are generally more mellow and rounded. The middle notes can appear anywhere from two minutes to one hour preceding the first application of the scent. Rose along with lavender are normal ingredients used to create the middle notes.
Base notes.
The middle and base notes together shape the major theme of a scent with the base notes showing immediately before the departure of the middle notes. Base notes establish the strength and depth of a scent. Bass note substances are frequently the fixatives used to unite and raise the intensity of the lighter middle and top notes. The molecules contained in these ingredients are sizeable and heavy which indicate they evapourate gradually. These ingredients are generally deep and rich and are not as a rule observed until at least thirty minutes after the scent has been applied. This time frame is regularly referred to as perfume dry-down. Various of the long lasting base note ingredients can still be smelt in excess of twenty four hours after application. This mostly applies to the animalic notes.
Author Resource:
Elizabeth Rodriguez specialises in the promotion and marketing of Women's Fragrances and has over 20 years experience in the industry.