All perfumes are built around a
modular structure. From the outset, this skeleton has been separated into
3 parts: top notes, heart notes and base notes. But who are they really?
Top notes:
They are the first ones that one smells
in a perfume, and this, regardless of the concentration (eau de parfum, eau de
toilette, eau de cologne, etc.). They are characterized by volatile and
light molecules such as citrus fruits or fresh notes such as aromatic herbs or
green notes. These top notes will “kick off” the perfume. They
usually last between 5 and 20 minutes.
The heart notes:
These are the most important, they
give the complex structure of the perfume and ensure a link in the
latter. Generally composed of floral, fruity or even sometimes amber and
herbaceous notes, the heart notes harmonize the finished product. They can
last a few hours.
The base notes:
Considered the pillars of perfume,
they are often composed of woody, musky or amber notes. These are heavy
molecules with very little volatility which, thanks to their structure, can
retain lighter molecules such as citrus fruits and herbaceous plants by forming
a cage around them. They also make it possible to give cachet to the
perfume and thus add a significant twist to a flower or a fruit. They can
last several hours or even a few days.
For a perfume to be homogeneous,
these 3 parts must work together and create a link. Each facet of the
olfactory molecules must be taken into account to formulate an exceptional
perfume like a great cook. Reaching this stage implies that a perfume is
harmonious from start to finish and that no note is differentiable by an
amateur nose, even if it claims a solinote (a single raw material), which is
actually a complex of raw materials.
Today, even if perfumery is evolving
and modernizing, this structure remains in our customs and makes it possible to
create balanced perfumes on a daily basis which will later be found in our
perfumery shelves.
