The notes

To fully understand the meaning of notes in perfumery, we first need to understand the orchestration of a perfume.

The orchestration of a perfume 

There is something magical about perfume: it evokes poetry, dreams, emotion and they tell a story. As in a poem or a symphony, it is the creator's technical mastery that allows us to embark on a real olfactive journey. The perfumer-creator "constructs" and "composes" their perfume: they give it structure by orchestrating physical elements in such a scientific approach. The choice of notes, once assembled according to their chemical characteristics, gives the perfume its full dimension. 

The notes, the base of the olfactory pyramid

The architecture of a perfume is visually represented in the form of an olfactory pyramid, with the top notes being on the top of the pyramid, the heart notes in the middle and the base notes in the bottom. In reality, each part of this pyramid represents notes that overlap and respond to each other. That is how when a perfume is well constructed, be possible to smell the base notes right from the start! It is then said that "the flight prepares its conclusion" (cf. Testing a perfume).

Perfumer Jean Carles established this classification (Jean Carles, perfumer at Roure, now Givaudan). He was the first to create a method of learning raw materials to help apprentice perfumers master this art.Thanks to him we owe the concept of the "top, heart and base notes" that allows us to understand the construction of a perfume. 

It is important to know that the top-heart-base evolution is linked to the fact that the different odorous molecules that make up the perfume have different evaporation rates. This does not mean that there is an absolute truth in this area and a pre-established and structured order of evaporation, with the top notes first, followed by the heart notes and finally the base notes. In fact, it happens that all these notes evaporate more or less at the same time in a joyful mess!

The top notes: the perfume's smile, the perfume's take-off, the first impression

As we said, the top notes, at the top of the olfactory pyramid, are the ones that give the first impression of the fragrance. It is the smile of the perfume. They consist of fresh, volatile and generally sparkling notes, which escape after the first, even more ephemeral scents of alcohol. They are also known as the "flight of the perfume".

Sylvaine Delacourte's perfumes have the particularity of always having very present and smiling top notes that invite you to discover the other notes that will follow (cf. Musk, Vanilla and Orange Blossom Collections).

The heart note: the curves of the perfume, an important transition

Certain other notes or facets can intervene or be felt in the heart notes, as all the scents are intertwined and train each other. If they are well orchestrated, they can give softness and comfort to the perfume and give the desire to continue to feel the evolution of the perfume. The verdict will nevertheless be given by the base note. They are of average volatility. They evaporate after about 15 to 20 minutes after opening the bottle.

The base notes: the memory of the perfume, the soul of the perfume

These are the notes that evaporates after the heart notes, it is the densest and most intense part of the pyramid. They are also called signature notes, the notes that give the fragrance its soul, very significant tenacity notes, which vary according to the olfactive family of the perfume. Oriental notes will have more tenacity than a fresh eau, for example.

As we said, the base notes, which are at the base of the olfactory pyramid, are the ones that give the main message of the perfume. They are made up of tenacious, deep notes that escape after the heart notes. We also speak of "notes that give the memory of the perfume", to qualify these notes that last a very long time on the strip of paper called the wipe or olfactory touch (cf. Testing a perfume).

Depending on the support, these notes will not give the same effect. On the skin these notes are sometimes sublimated. These base notes can last from 3 hours to several days on clothes, and sometimes all day long on the skin.

Sylvaine Delacourte fragrances

Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musks 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.