The
nuances of fragrances are many. As we have seen, fragrance
is not a fixed, immutable object, but a happening that
develops over time, like a musical composition. Applied
to the skin, perfume opens on a crescendo of top notes,
then mellows as the middle notes round out the sensory
impression, staying on for hours, revealing its true
self. |
Top
note
What your sense of smell first experiences in a perfume
is known as the top note, or the "initial impact".
This lasts 5-10 minutes and draws you further into the
fragrance.
Middle note (heart)
Then, after a few minutes, comes the "bouquet",
the heart or middle note, which gradually blends into
the base note or ''fond"(French). The heart is
the scent that begins to emerge after the fragrance
has blended with your own unique skin chemistry. It
normally takes ten to twenty minutes for the middle
notes to fully develop on the skin.
Base note
The final expression of the fragrance after it has dried.
This reveals how it will smell on you for the duration.
The evaporation process of a perfume could be visualized
as a rocket with three (3) stages of "blast-off"
in succession. The perfume components are placed in
order from the top to the base, according to their volatility,
from the very light ones to the heavy, least volatile
- from the tingling fresh to the warmer ones. The top
note could be fresh citrus and light, volatile green
notes, aldehyde and fruity esters. For the bouquet of
the middle note there could be accords of several flower
notes. And for the base, woody notes: patchouli, moss,
balsamic and animal notes: coumarin and vanillin.
Fixatives bind together the ingredients of the composition
and lead them from the top to the base. Perfume should
not break up into three stages. If a perfume is well
balanced, changes during the evaporation process are
as imperceptible as the movements of the hands of a
clock. A perfume that "falls apart" in stages
is badly formulated.
A perfume should be harmonious, rounded-off, but never
boring. It should be reminiscent of natural and familiar
odors, but also bring new and surprising ones. It should
be a mirror of contemporary aesthetic feeling, but not
simply reflect some passing fashion. |
