Perfumery Notes Explained

What are "Top Notes", "Middle Notes" and "Base Notes"
and how do they affect scent? Here's a brief explanation.

Top Notes: These are the fragrance components that you smell when a perfume is first applied. These components evaporate more quickly than the rest, which is the reason you'll smell them first -- they're the first to reach your nose.

Middle (or Mid) Notes: The middle notes are what you smell as the top notes are fading. In a good scent blend, middle notes will be compatible with both the top notes and the base notes. Middle notes typically develop within 10 minutes, and may last for several hours.

Base (or Bottom) Notes: This is what you smell when the middle notes have gone through their "dry down" phase (see below). These components are the "anchor" of the whole blend, even though they may not be apparent when you first apply the perfume. Many perfumers feel the base notes are the most important component of the entire blend, not only because they last the longest, but also because they affect all the other notes contained in the blend.

A successful fragrance blend will be compatible throughout all of these phases. This is called "fragrance accord", meaning all notes are in harmony as they fade and blend into one another.

Dry Down - the "lifetime" of a fragrance; the phases a fragrance goes through when worn.