Top notes

The orchestration of a perfume 

There is something magical about perfume, it evokes poetry and dreams, arouses emotions in the person who smells it or wears it, perfume tells a story. As in a poem or a symphony, it is the technical mastery of the creator that allows us to embark on a true olfactory journey. The perfumer-creator constructs, composes his perfume, gives it a structure by orchestrating physical elements in such a scientific approach. It is the choice of notes, according to their physical and chemical characteristics, which once assembled give the perfume its full dimension.

 

The olfactory pyramid

For educational purposes, the architecture of a perfume is visually represented in the form of an olfactory pyramid where the top notes are on the top of the pyramid, the heart notes are in the middle, and the base notes are at the bottom. In reality, each part of this pyramid represents notes that overlap with each other and respond to each other. When a perfume is well constructed, you can smell the base notes from the very beginning. It is then said that "the flight prepares its conclusion" (cf. Testing a perfume).

The olfactory pyramid allows the perfumer to structure his fragrance and make it harmonious. It is used to balance the orchestration of a formula and also to make the evaporation of the fragrance continuous and gradual. In this way that the perfume can deliver all its facets and the fragrance comes to life (cf. The olfactory facets).

 

An evolutionary or linear fragrance 

The more natural notes the perfume consists of, the more alive and evolving it is. A perfume orchestrated with a majority of synthetic products would be linear. The ideal is to have a greater percentage of natural notes because they are the ones that give soul, life, evolution, and surprise.

As for synthetic materials, they are used to bring stability, technicality, but also power and durability to the perfume. And of course, the perfumer uses them when nature can not provide with some natural ingredients, such as lily of the valley, violet or certain dried fruits for example.

 

 

The top notes 

Definition of top notes

It has been said that the top notes, at the top of the olfactory pyramid, are the ones that give the first impression of the perfume. They are made up of fresh, volatile and generally sparkling notes, which escape after the first even more ephemeral scents of alcohol. We also talk about the "flight of the perfume", to describe these fleeting notes that escape as soon as the bottle is opened or as soon as it is sprayed on a strip of paper called a "mouillette" or olfactory touch (cf. Testing a perfume). These notes, depending on the support, will not give the same effect.

Jean Carles’ method

Jean Carles, perfumer at Roure (now Givaudan), is the creator of Ma Griffe by Carven and Miss Dior. He is also the founder and first director of the Roure Perfumery School (1940s). He was the first to create a method on the learning of raw materials to help apprentice perfumers master this art. We owe him the concept of "top, heart and base notes" which allows us to understand the construction of a perfume. 

The classification of natural and synthetic raw materials 

Jean Carles has thus classified all the natural and synthetic raw materials in the following order:

 

The top note: an essential note

The smile of a perfume 

The top note, however ephemeral, is undoubtedly the most important and complex part to elaborate, as it requires a perfect fit. One could compare the top notes to an appetizer before a meal or a greeting at a first meeting. We also talk about the smile of a perfume, just like the one that makes you want to get to know a person. The top note is an essential introduction of a perfume.

Indeed, well orchestrated, the top notes are smiling and make you want to continue to feel the evolution of the perfume. On the other hand, these same notes, badly dosed, can be aggressive, stiff and put off the customer who does not wish to continue to smell the fragrance.

The importance of the top notes 

The top notes are very important because they only last 5 to 15 minutes at most. Modern life means that the customers are more and more in a rush, for example, when discovering a fragrance in an airport duty free shop. Except that everything can be played on these famous top notes. A bad impression from the beginning can spoil a future beautiful evolution, as we have seen. 

Another characteristic of the top notes is that they immediately involve the heart notes in the construction of a perfume. Thus, if the architecture of the fragrance is unbalanced, it is possible that a "hole", a void appears, which harms the beauty of the perfume. 

 

Take your time to "taste" a perfume

You must take your time when choosing a perfume. Indeed, you must let the perfume evolve on your skin, don't hesitate to take a walk outside the shop before making up your mind, or try to sleep with it. If it has been the perfect companion of your dreams, if you don't have a headache the next day, it's a good sign.

A perfume must be present but restrained, it must also be comfortable for the person wearing it. Maybe a perfume is very beautiful when you smell it, but it can be "tiring" when worn, which means that you are not comfortable with it.

The reaction of those around you is also a factor to be taken into account, even if you are looking for a perfume for yourself. If the fragrance you choose is complimentary, it can probably become your olfactory signature.

This is why in Sylvaine Delacourte's Collections, there are Discovery Boxes of 5 fragrances to continue the olfactory experience at home.

 

Conclusion

In summary, top notes are essential in a perfume. Firstly because they can betray its mediocre architecture and secondly because they sometimes determine a hasty purchase. It can happen that poorly orchestrated top notes, too intense or too hard, are not smiling, but can hide a splendid heart and base note or even a masterpiece.

 

Sylvaine Delacourte fragrances

Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musk and Vanilla Collections. You can try them thanks to the Discovery Boxes (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials as you have never smelled them before.