Guide to Perfume Fragrance Types

There are five main fragrance types:

Citrus often combined with herbal notes for Eau de Cologne.

Floral is possibly the widest fragrance family with single note or 'soli flore' through to:

White Floral; combines notes of tuberose and orange blossom for a voluptuous fragrance.

Spicy Floral; A slight spicy texture is given with the addition of notes such as pink pepper and carnation.

Aldehydic Floral; a sparkly fragrance with high level of aldehydes and soft powdery base accords.

Woody Musk; Woody musky notes add a richness to the floral structure and are often combined with a creamy undertone.

Green; Green notes such as notes evoking the scent of freshly cut grass can add a sharper edge to the floral.

Muguet; the key note of a muguet is lily of the valley evoking the feel of springtime.

Watery Ozonic; Notes evoking the vitality and freshness of a sea breeze.

Fruity; Combines traditional florals such as rose and jasmine with fruity notes such as blackcurrant, apricot and raspberry.

Oriental are warm and sensual ideal as evening and winter fragrances. They can be:

Woody; with warm amber and sandalwood or the drier cedar wood .

Spicy; adding spice notes such as cinnamon, clove and nutmeg evoking exotic lands.

Vanilla/Gourmande combining exotic and sensual notes such as of vanilla, liquorice and chocolate

Floral: With powdery notes and a spicy floral notes such as carnation.

Chypre; a classic and sophisticated fragrance based on combinations of labdanum, patchouli, oakmoss and bergamot accords can add:

Foral notes such as rose jasmine, and lily of the valley.

Fruity notes; often exotic fruit notes.

Fougere; Mostly associated with male fragrances as it combines notes such as coumarin, lavender, geranium and oak moss. Watery and ozone tones can be an added dimension.